Vaccum cleaner elicits vicious attacks with biting, broom monster must be attacked, we used to grind coffee beans now just getting the ground coffee out of the refrig is enuf to set it off, but the most amazing is I make soda water and now even when I start to fill the water bottle the barking starts and when the water is gassed it is pandemonium.. My girl is the worst but the male joins in cause it look like fun. This happens even when the dogs are outside and more than a room away from the kitchen. Also, outside they have a new fascination- a neighbor who lives 300 yd away thru a forest of trees gets the bark treatment when he is outside doing anything. Yeah ours go nuts over the mail truck and certain trucks hauling specific brands of fuel oil and a few makes of cars-- at least the barking is short lived?? On walks they are perfect angels.
OK fess up, what are your Sheltie's quirks?
- Thread starter Sharon7
- Start date
Piper's mom
Moderator
Yup…angels when out in public. I always get ‘oh they’re so well behaved’….I’m like ‘they’re not like that at home’
People are surprised and I think unbelieving lol
Sandy in CT
Premium Member
Glenn's response made me LOL this morning.. oh so true!
Brodie is my quirky dog...
He shares the garbage pail thing... oh my goodness the barking that ensues when I roll the cans back! I can't tell if he is herding me or them or warning me or what. He then jumps on me, soft mouths my arm and tries to pull me to the back yard so I feel he is attempting to drag me to safety. If I open our front door, when I come in he will also soft-mouth my arm to pull me away from the door like there is stranger danger out there... any other door is fine.
Brodie will not drink from a public water bowl - I've pulled plastic cup holders out of vehicles in the past, now carry collapsible ones and have a set of stainless ones in the console of my Yukon.
Brodie, he who LOVES fetching and running and ALL things ball related, was an absolute FAIL at flyball training - he refused to pick up a ball that had been in another dogs mouth.
Brodie will not accept treats from strangers. He also will not accept food from a hand that has another's dog slobber on it. He truly is a snob. In classes, as we treat share, he will only accept treats from friends if I offer their food - he will accept treats from one of my girlfriends, but spit it out - it's like he pretends to be kind and gracious to her and not tell her he thinks her treats are beneath him. Deacon will eat anything from anybody.
He goes nutso over my powered wine bottle opener but hubby thinks he mistakes it for their drone toy - I feel he knows the difference.
Deacon is too 'chill' for most quirks...
BUT, he sneezes anytime my husband walks down the stairs.
Deacon has unbound less energy and is unbelievably fast and agile, but try to get him to exercise and he's like no-way. A few times, I have walked him, he will pretend limp if we try to walk the long way around our neighborhood - cost me money for a vet visit the first time after I carried him home. Limp always starts up if we try to head up the hill instead of just going around the circle. I've learned if I ignore him, the limp will go away.
Deacon is extremely smart, but has a wild stubborn streak. He knows a ton of tricks - Brodie has numerous trick titles and we tried with Deacon - Deacon will stare at you like he has no clue what SIT means. Off topic - trick training is fun - both dogs will sneeze if you ask them if they have a cold - during Covid, we'd ask them if they had Covid.
Deacon LOVES the scent work class we have at the end of each Rally session, but he will only do the first 2 turns we have. Try to get him to do any more and he leaves the floor to go sit by Scott who always brings good stuff like bologna or hot dogs to our scent work fun.
Deacon loves to sneak chew, although he knows it is wrong. He has eaten many of my panties, many socks, the straps off my bra, my hair ties, my daughters expensive silk scrunchy, the wool balls from my dryer, the bottom of 1 of the curtains in my family room - there are 12 but he only likes 1. He loves the straps of flip flops and cost me a LOT of money last year when he snuck off with a Birkenstock my husband brought me home from Germany - thankfully did not eat the metal parts and thankfully, I found a replacement pair at the local DSW an hubby is clueless. He has an iron stomach, requires 2 doses of HP to vomit where Brodie can see the bottle and start gagging... When Deacon gets his dose of HP, he goes to the bathroom, stands between the wall and the toilet with his head in the corner like he is ashamed and will never do it again - he lies.
Brodie is my quirky dog...
He shares the garbage pail thing... oh my goodness the barking that ensues when I roll the cans back! I can't tell if he is herding me or them or warning me or what. He then jumps on me, soft mouths my arm and tries to pull me to the back yard so I feel he is attempting to drag me to safety. If I open our front door, when I come in he will also soft-mouth my arm to pull me away from the door like there is stranger danger out there... any other door is fine.
Brodie will not drink from a public water bowl - I've pulled plastic cup holders out of vehicles in the past, now carry collapsible ones and have a set of stainless ones in the console of my Yukon.
Brodie, he who LOVES fetching and running and ALL things ball related, was an absolute FAIL at flyball training - he refused to pick up a ball that had been in another dogs mouth.
Brodie will not accept treats from strangers. He also will not accept food from a hand that has another's dog slobber on it. He truly is a snob. In classes, as we treat share, he will only accept treats from friends if I offer their food - he will accept treats from one of my girlfriends, but spit it out - it's like he pretends to be kind and gracious to her and not tell her he thinks her treats are beneath him. Deacon will eat anything from anybody.
He goes nutso over my powered wine bottle opener but hubby thinks he mistakes it for their drone toy - I feel he knows the difference.
Deacon is too 'chill' for most quirks...
BUT, he sneezes anytime my husband walks down the stairs.
Deacon has unbound less energy and is unbelievably fast and agile, but try to get him to exercise and he's like no-way. A few times, I have walked him, he will pretend limp if we try to walk the long way around our neighborhood - cost me money for a vet visit the first time after I carried him home. Limp always starts up if we try to head up the hill instead of just going around the circle. I've learned if I ignore him, the limp will go away.
Deacon is extremely smart, but has a wild stubborn streak. He knows a ton of tricks - Brodie has numerous trick titles and we tried with Deacon - Deacon will stare at you like he has no clue what SIT means. Off topic - trick training is fun - both dogs will sneeze if you ask them if they have a cold - during Covid, we'd ask them if they had Covid.
Deacon LOVES the scent work class we have at the end of each Rally session, but he will only do the first 2 turns we have. Try to get him to do any more and he leaves the floor to go sit by Scott who always brings good stuff like bologna or hot dogs to our scent work fun.
Deacon loves to sneak chew, although he knows it is wrong. He has eaten many of my panties, many socks, the straps off my bra, my hair ties, my daughters expensive silk scrunchy, the wool balls from my dryer, the bottom of 1 of the curtains in my family room - there are 12 but he only likes 1. He loves the straps of flip flops and cost me a LOT of money last year when he snuck off with a Birkenstock my husband brought me home from Germany - thankfully did not eat the metal parts and thankfully, I found a replacement pair at the local DSW an hubby is clueless. He has an iron stomach, requires 2 doses of HP to vomit where Brodie can see the bottle and start gagging... When Deacon gets his dose of HP, he goes to the bathroom, stands between the wall and the toilet with his head in the corner like he is ashamed and will never do it again - he lies.
Ann
Moderator
I think quirks are part of the Sheltie DNA! We have lots....Sprite is a water diva. She cannot possibly drink from a bowl that other doggie lips have touched. She has to be first to the water bowl after it's filled. I always fill the upstairs bowl before bed at night. She marches into the bathroom and stands by the sink until it's fresh, then has a drink. If someone else gets there first, she stares at me until I refill it with fresh, untouched water. If there's any doubt, she sniffs it first just to make sure the bouquet meets with her approval.
When we open a bottle of soda, Misty goes bonkers at the "pfffft" sound it makes. We play kickball with soccer-sized rubber balls every day. We have a light blue one, and a light green one. Flurry prefers the blue one and will only chase that. They are identical except for the color! Ruffles is secretly a bird dog. She is obsessed with herding the birds and races around the yard, leaping in the air and barking at them. She considers planes in that category too.
But my all-time favorite was our Sheltie angel Barkley's obsession with the Empire Rug commercial. They had a jingle that drove him nuts. He would come from anywhere in the house or wake from a sound sleep to leap up and down in front of the TV for as long as it played.
When we open a bottle of soda, Misty goes bonkers at the "pfffft" sound it makes. We play kickball with soccer-sized rubber balls every day. We have a light blue one, and a light green one. Flurry prefers the blue one and will only chase that. They are identical except for the color! Ruffles is secretly a bird dog. She is obsessed with herding the birds and races around the yard, leaping in the air and barking at them. She considers planes in that category too.
But my all-time favorite was our Sheltie angel Barkley's obsession with the Empire Rug commercial. They had a jingle that drove him nuts. He would come from anywhere in the house or wake from a sound sleep to leap up and down in front of the TV for as long as it played.
SheepOfBlue
Premium Member
The rug commercial reminds me. On season MotoGP online would use this dong sound between transitions. Drove Sca and Spitfire into a frenzy. Year before no reaction. Thankfully year after they changed it again and no reaction again.
Sharon7
Moderator
Meadow absolutely LOVES to stuff her whole head inside a shoe - especially sheepskin slippers. If my ankle high slippers are out she's in heaven. She also will rub herself all over my hubby's synthetic motorcycle outerwear. You just gotta shake your head and wonder!
Love hearing about everyone's dogs!
Love hearing about everyone's dogs!
GlennR
Forums Enthusiast
It seems that Willow shares in other Sheltie's oddities.
Spray bottles invoke a barking fit when used unless it is her grooming spray.
Long handled anything, brooms, shovels, rakes, ...) get barked at
The upright vacuum gets barked at, the Roomba does not.
If my wife heads towards the bathroom, Willow chases her in barking, I can go in peace.
Garbage trucks, recycling trucks get barked at.
She competes for maximum volume against the Vitamix, if my headphones or earbuds are handy I use them to block the sound. You can stop her from reacting if you give her a kibble dispensing ball, so it is totally by choice that she has her little fit.
I could go on. and if we run out of items to add, I know if I wait a bit some other strange behavior will manifest something new and odd. I have had different breeds along the way but none of them acted like Willow. German Shepherd, Irish Setters, Keeshond, Australian Shepherd, Standard Poodles and one bundle of busy, the one and only Willow.
Spray bottles invoke a barking fit when used unless it is her grooming spray.
Long handled anything, brooms, shovels, rakes, ...) get barked at
The upright vacuum gets barked at, the Roomba does not.
If my wife heads towards the bathroom, Willow chases her in barking, I can go in peace.
Garbage trucks, recycling trucks get barked at.
She competes for maximum volume against the Vitamix, if my headphones or earbuds are handy I use them to block the sound. You can stop her from reacting if you give her a kibble dispensing ball, so it is totally by choice that she has her little fit.
I could go on. and if we run out of items to add, I know if I wait a bit some other strange behavior will manifest something new and odd. I have had different breeds along the way but none of them acted like Willow. German Shepherd, Irish Setters, Keeshond, Australian Shepherd, Standard Poodles and one bundle of busy, the one and only Willow.
mimiretz
Forums Enthusiast
I hardly even know where to begin --
but for starters if I give a treat to both of them after Oberon eats his he comes and attacks Oreo, who has learned to eat his treats very quickly or Oberon will get there first. Oreo nips at the hem of my nighties but not my dresses. Oberon knows when I put on my shoes it means I'm leaving so he'll "steal" one of them while I put on the other. Oreo likes to play in the space between the mattress and footboard when our the head of our bed is up -- we call it "Oreo Alley". They both bark at anything electric/mechanical -- like Lee's electric drill. If I have a timer set on the oven and I'm out of the room they'll come "tell" me when it beeps, same with the microwave.
but for starters if I give a treat to both of them after Oberon eats his he comes and attacks Oreo, who has learned to eat his treats very quickly or Oberon will get there first. Oreo nips at the hem of my nighties but not my dresses. Oberon knows when I put on my shoes it means I'm leaving so he'll "steal" one of them while I put on the other. Oreo likes to play in the space between the mattress and footboard when our the head of our bed is up -- we call it "Oreo Alley". They both bark at anything electric/mechanical -- like Lee's electric drill. If I have a timer set on the oven and I'm out of the room they'll come "tell" me when it beeps, same with the microwave.
Sandy in CT
Premium Member
I LOVE this one!!!!
Sandy in CT
Premium Member
My dad worked for UPS when I was growing up. My childhood sheltie, Sarah Lee, went bonkers over the mailmen when they came to the door but anyone else was fine - even allowed folks in to ransack our house. They locked her in a back bedroom, we figured she wanted pets and wouldn't leave them alone.