Puppy Questions

Deska supports the inclusion of flying thing security activities in the contact. He would also like to add noisy electrical appliances, rakes, brooms ... heck if it moves or makes a noise it should be herded!

Stopping herding behaviour in a herding breed is near impossible. When dogs get aroused they tend towards instinctive behaviour, and for most shelties herding is instinct. Your pup may just be wanting to mouth a lot because of the teething - and this will settle down. In the meantime give her lots of things to chew on. I would also teach her to tug, so you can redirect her mouth.

Your pup may be excited by movement so try teaching her to chase a ball - then when she gets excited she can redirect it into another exciting and satisfying activity. I started Tully with an Air Donut (by Kong) you could also try a squeaky ball - something that will attract her attention. Then roll it along the ground, don't throw it in the air just yet. Moving it along the ground will catch her herding instinct. My Deska likes to mouth when excited so I have a stick or squeaky toy handy to redirect him. Tully likes movement. It is just a matter of learning what attracts your pup the most.

Time outs are a really good settler for over-exhuberant puppies.
 
danisgoat said:
(even though I do not use ivermectin for heartworm, I use Interceptor).
Click to expand...

Ivermectin is also a medicine used to help treat hereditary mange. Shetland sheepdogs, collies, and several other breeds of dogs should not take this medicine. There was a post about taking ivermectin with Comfortis (the flea pill)

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=342

Actually I had forgotten about this. Even if I had a dog that tested negative for the MDR1 I wouldn't give them ivermectin. Why take the chance?
 
oh my, so many responses!

Let's see if I can address everything said...

Yes, I think flea collars are a huge joke. I'll never use one on a dog and actually THINK they work. I have been known to put them in my old vaccum (when we had one with an actual bag) that way the fleas die after I vaccuum them all up.

I have found puppy flea preventive stuff, and after her bath today (Lemon Joy, dish soap, is a wonderful flea killer and great on the skin) she'll have her stuff applied. I did give her a bath yesterday but only found 2-3 fleas..So she's either allergic to flea bites (I've had a dog be) or she just needed a bath for her skin. I found that, before the flea idea, I would be brushing her and have white skin mingled in with her loose fur on the comb. She's feeling so much better now, though.

By asking what to do with the herding problem, I only meant the nipping. Yes, shelties are a herding breed, but if you allow them to bite to herd then you possibly could end up with blood eventually. That's what I'm stopping. She has realized that when she nips, I stop walking, and seeing the progress is good.

She's settling in nicely, and doing very well on her potty training. She hasn't really gotten the whole "tell mommy" yet, but she does wake me up religiously at 7am and again at 10am to go outside. She is learning that the crate isn't such a scary place. Full of toys and treats, and willingly goes in now, but doesn't quite like the door being shut just yet.
I do have a kong, two sizes in fact, one's being frozen right now with peanut butter mixed with jelly and her kibble. She loves chewing on her raw hides, but soon she'll be devouring them and not just nibble, so I need to redirect her of em.
 
Sounds great!

Buffy started letting us know when she had to go at about 4 or 4.5 months. I think it takes a little while before they recognize the signs.
 
MarilenaLuiz said:
oh my, so many responses!

By asking what to do with the herding problem, I only meant the nipping. Yes, shelties are a herding breed, but if you allow them to bite to herd then you possibly could end up with blood eventually. That's what I'm stopping. She has realized that when she nips, I stop walking, and seeing the progress is good.
Click to expand...

No criticism of the question - its just that shelties actually do herd by nipping so when they revert to herding instinct that often includes the nipping or mouthing as well (there are a few other small herding breeds that also nip). The stronger the herding instinct the harder to break. But that's great you are getting progress.

I never have quite worked out the peanut butter and jelly thing (does that mean jam/conserve or the gelatin variety of jelly?). It sounds horrible - and I don't have the courage to test it out. lol
 
Caro- I know it sounds horrible, it even looks it too. The reason I mix it, then freeze it, is so they don't get a mouthful of peanut butter. By mixing it with jelly (In my case last night, I use Strawberry Jelly from Smuckers), it gives the mixture a smoother taste. After I mix it all together I put teh kibble in, mix it, put it in the kong and freeze it. I got the idea from my rats, since they can actually choke on just peanut butter. A
 
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