I think he does not like me...

Haha, you think you have it bad now, wait until he gets to be 4-6 months old. My little girl would bite me when I tried to pick her up, growl and when she was out in the yard at 10pm at night, she would not come to me. 2 Hours trying to catch her later, I learned to leave a harness and cord on her so I could just step on the cord to catch her. Always Much more interested in other dogs then me. At about 1 1/2-2 years, I could remove the cord and let her run free. I think because of the cord training, she has a 100% recall, heels closely, never leaves my side. Sleeps under my arm every night. She is a PERFECT dog.... but at 6 months I never would've thought that.

My advice is teach Lucien some tricks, shelties love that stuff. Try "spin", "shake", "bark", "jump", etc. That was beneficial in my relationship with my sheltie.

Anyone who wants a Sheltie to act like a lab, shouldn't have one. They are hyper, barky, determined, naughty, and more (AS PUPPIES). Get through the puppy stage and you will have the best companion ever (actually mine is THE BEST).

Good luck
Brianna
 
Just like everyone says.. give it time. Bella was real stand offish as a puppy with me and then all of a sudden one day I was crying about a friend and she climbed in my lap and kissed me and looked at me with these eyes and it all became clear. she is not a real cuddler but she will kiss your breath away if you let her and the older she gets the more affectionate she becomes.


Now Puppy Dodger............guess why he got that name???
We would think he was running to us and he would go right around LOL

He could care less about us humans he is all about Bella.. that was at 10 weeks.. now at almost 5 months he is warming up to us a bit more. ..most times if i head towards him he will run to his crate..he will not come at all.. I am not even using the word with him yet.. we can hoop and hollar and say puppy boy and if he comes we treat and cheer. He was so reserved but with patients and love we can see him coming out of it. Its almost as if coming into a home with Bella was all he needed.. to heck with you humans..after he broke his little leg he has begun to bond with us more. Things happen in strange ways I guess.


I believe their reservations and stepping back to assess things first to be a sign of extreme inteligence. It just stings a bit when you bring this cute little puppy home and all you see in their eyes is "STRANGER DANGER" like we taught our kids.. it just comes naturally to Shelties.


One day when you least expect it something will happen and you are going to have a warm feeling in your heart and you will know that puppy loves you dearly.
 
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Sounds very familiar to me !

Mine also struggled when picked up as a puppy. I was encouraged to work with him to "settle" from the outset. Pick him up, wait for him to be quiet, praise him for relaxing in a soft voice, stroke an ear, then release him. The whole thing might have been only for a few seconds at a time initially. Frequent handling by you will also pay off when the puppy needs to be handled by others such as veterinarians.

I'd give a verbal correction when he is biting your pants leg. You might work with his herding instinct, having some fun with with a ball. Roll one, throw one and watch the fun begin.
 
When Bacca was a little pup, I didn't try to snuggle with him when he was alert and in play mode. Snuggle time was just before bedtime. After he had eaten, played and done his business, I would put him on my lap while I checked out what was going on on Sheltie Forums!

I don't think it has anything to do with you being the discplinarian (although as some of pointed out, you might to need to consider some different techniques). Eventually, because you are establishing yourself as the leader, the pup will automatically gravitate towards you first and foremost.
 
I think everyone has given great advice and stories.

Cranberry is the only sheltie that I got as a puppy and I do believe that it is dependent on each pup's personality. He's very special as we did bond right away but really he was all about playing as a pup- with anyone (people or other pups). and really- he still loves to play even now that he's a big almost 15 month old boy. but he does cuddle on the couch- but not as much as his sister Dixie who came at 10 months- she's a huge cuddlebug :smile2:
Give Lucien some time and do continue to do what you are doing. playing and teaching him what he needs to know will pay off in the long run :yes:
 
Actually it sounds like you are his favorite. He is herding you to make sure you don't get away :yes:. As to cuddling Sca had a 3 second cuddle rule once he got beyond 2 months. Now though he will snuggle for a long time some evenings (he does need to be tired though) I expect when Alabama summer returns we will both demand a few inch buffer though :lol:
 
The only one of my dogs that I bonded to immediately was Justice. He was mine for the minute he hit my arms. Bock took about 1 week and then he decided I was cool, Diva about a month and Ember "sigh" about 6 months.

Ember is my only dog I can say is totally mine. She likes people and will interact with them(if she thinks they may gave her food) but I am her person. You need to earn Ember's affection and respect. I think alot of shelties are like that. Don't worry I sure Lucien will come around.
 
Sounds like my experience with Cadbury (labrador). He was a very independent and willful puppy. He would mouth if you tried to cuddle him (though brother could cuddle him for hours) saw no reason to pay attention to me, and ran off the first time he was let off lead at 16 weeks.

I cried so often with that dog! But I also learnt a few things, particularly that I spent too much time saying 'no' and not interacting in a fun way. I honestly had no clue how to play with this pup, yet once I did and once we really got into training things started to click.

Roll on to Merlin (sheltie). Since the day he arrived I have spent a lot of time just playing with him - tug, chase me, fetch, etc - also started training straight away with a clicker, and I am the only one who uses it. His bed is always next to wherever I am and usually he sleeps there, but sometimes he does go sleep with Cadbury.

After a week I can see we are close and he likes to do stuff with me, but at the same time he also adores Cadbury and my mum. I also realised after the first couple of days that I was trying to hard and by backing off he is responding better.

But will he come in from the garden when called? NO!:rolleyes2:

What I am trying to say is that every pup is different. Some take time, some are more instant, but whatever the case if you play, train, walk and even set rules, they will eventually come round.

Take heart, it will work out:smile2:
 
Eleore said:
I'm writing this in a moment of very low spirits, so please bear with me.

After two weeks at home, I'm beginning to think Lucien does not like me. At all. Granted, I'm the only one at home that scolds him, while everyone else babies him, but I'm also that one that spends the most time with him, and the only one who feeds him. He is always following me, but only to bite my pants, or because I'm moving fast and that catches his attention. He seems to hate cuddles and will struggle in my arms. I also tried sleeping next to him, but he will usually stand up and go lie down somewhere else (I'm willing to blame this on the heat - could it be possible that he goes away because it's too hot? We are in summer here). If he is in the xpen and I put my hand inside, Lucien will mostly stare at it (he sometimes comes running though).
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sheltie pups are sometimes like that. Nellie does NOT like to cuddle, but she shows her love in other ways. I feel that once Lucien gets older, he will find ways to show his love. This must be a very difficult time for you.:(
 
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