Tell me about the sheltie's dark side

Foxy said:
I don't mind a dog following me around or coming up to me while I'm working. I think it's when they don't seem to have a mind of their own?
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Oh they have a mind of their own! One of ours has a bit too much mind of her own.

My husband works from home about 50% of the time. He works on the couch, and they take turns laying beside him. But they allow him to work. Now, when he gets home, he needs to play with them a bit, because they've been crated for up to five hours by that point. Just fifteen minutes of play and they allow him to work.

We have a 16 year old, and in the morning, when she has to go potty, she wakes us up. We allow her to dictate, because she can't hold it like she used to and will have an accident if we don't. But she lets us go back to sleep when she comes back inside. In fact, the rest of the dogs usually go out with her. My DH likes to ruffle them when they come back in. I am always MS. GRUMPY in the morning and just try to go back to sleep. One of the younger dogs has taken to laying on the OTHER side of me so she can nap too.

We don't compete our dogs, they are just pets. But they are wonderful pets. I will say this much: As a puppy, our Annabelle was the most stubborn, hard headed, hard to train puppy I've ever encountered. She took forever to get the "housebreaking" concept. She barked. She hated her kennel, and if crated she barked. She hit a year old and it all stopped. She is now the best dog we have. I am so glad we out-stubborned her.
 
all over the map

We are the proud stewards of a 4 dog Sheltie pack.

Joy keeps watch out the front window & will bark at anything that moves -she's not clingy at all (rather aloof actually) and has no interest in being a bathroom attendant.

Gage ignores the outside -is very needy & super high strung -he barks every time I get up from the table or chair , etc..

Tyke is rather aloof, doesn't bark except at mealtimes (and occasionally when playing), he doesn't give "kisses" like the other dogs & seems shy sometimes -he is his own dog -very much the "observer" -he is a bathroom attendant though.

Jack is VERY "squirrelly", hyper sensitive -constantly underfoot -doesn't bark that much -LOVES to play -another bathroom attendant.

they are all very high energy dogs (though Joy has slowed down due to age- 12 yrs), but after a walk & playtime they settle down usually.

Good luck with your search/choice.

I am totally sold on this breed -what personalities! I love dogs in general -but these guys in our pack make us feel like we had to earn their trust & love -it somehow seems that much more priceless because of the effort involved.

scott and deb
 
Barking

Adopted Lilly Just Shy Of A Year. She's Now 2 And Has Yet To Bark! I Know She Can B/c She Does In Her Sleep, Go Figure . . .
 
I would watch the parents of a prospective pup working in the venues you want to do. My pup's sire is not environmentally sensitive, very socially open and a quiet determined worker in his agility and obedience. He does sneeze some if he gets very drivey in heeling. Is it drive leaking? Maybe. He does not like to be wrong and has to work through that but is resilient. Though the dam is not titled, I know her character too.

As advised above, go with a breeder who competes in your area of interest with their dogs. Look at how their dogs work and behave. You will learn a lot about the genetics. Then carefully pick the puppy. Don't be in a rush.

Shelties can be shy, sensitive and noisey. So, care in selection is the key.

I love my young Sheltie. He is so quick to learn that I have to be sure and teach behaviors right the first time. He has great food drive. Absolutely no problem in the house, but always ready to work. He is disobedient when it is time to crate up while training though and will run and stand in the ring or on the field. :-)

I also look for pups raised with the Biosensor program. A litter exposed to many sights, sounds, surfaces, wobble boards, elevated surfaces, multiple people, different places, etc. This takes real time committment and care to get done while still protecting vulnerable youngsters.
 
Samba said:
As advised above, go with a breeder who competes in your area of interest with their dogs. Look at how their dogs work and behave. You will learn a lot about the genetics. Then carefully pick the puppy. Don't be in a rush.

Shelties can be shy, sensitive and noisey. So, care in selection is the key.

I also look for pups raised with the Biosensor program. A litter exposed to many sights, sounds, surfaces, wobble boards, elevated surfaces, multiple people, different places, etc. This takes real time committment and care to get done while still protecting vulnerable youngsters.
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I didn't know there was a program for how to raise pups right, learn something new everyday :smile2: Fillion's breeder would tell me on FB what she was doing with the litter. Something about 7 surfaces, and having friends come over to play, with kids, without. Tunnels in the backyard for them, etc. Sounds like the same kind of thing. Well it works. He's happy, confident, curious. And now that I have the father, I can really see the genetics at work. He's his father's son, no doubt.
 
Justme said:
Yes, Shelties demand, and deserve, treatment that is (always) both soft-spoken and very physically gentle.
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That's the absolute truth. I once had an Irish Setter whom you could beat over the head with a 2x4 (figuratively speaking) and he'd wag his tail and look for more. Not so a Sheltie. To them, hard words are as blows to other kinds of dogs.
 
Mignarda said:
That's the absolute truth. I once had an Irish Setter whom you could beat over the head with a 2x4 (figuratively speaking) and he'd wag his tail and look for more. Not so a Sheltie. To them, hard words are as blows to other kinds of dogs.
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This is the MOST important thing about a sheltie. I said they are stubborn. But they also get hurt feelings very easily. And if you hit them, they are likely to never fully recover. Our Clara is stubborn, but if you raise your voice to her, she'll cower under a piece of furniture.
 
My sheltie is 8 months old and is only really excited and crazy around his favourite playmate. When he's not with her he is content roaming around the house keeping an eye on everyone or getting all of his toys out and playing by himself.

He does follow me to the loo but just to see where I'm going and then he'll go back to what he was doing. He's such a nosy Parker lol he is sad when we leave him cos shelties are people dogs but we are going to get him a sister soon :)

He's never barked at other dogs while walking or anything or at the phone or doorbell but if that vacuum cleaner was on boy he'd go crazy! Also he'd try and attack any kind of tool - hand tool or power tool. So I started to teach him to speak on command and now I can tell him to stop speaking if he's barking. Now he doesn't even care if you are using a drill or a saw or even vacuuming!! He's like a different dog! And it was so easy to fix! And he used to nip our heels but with a firm 'no' when he did it fixed it up real fast.

I researched for months what kind if dog would suit me and I was worried about all the things that you have raised but Charlie is the most perfect little man. He loves training (obedience, rally-o and beginner agility), he loves to give kisses and to play fetch. He is more than I had hoped for. He doesn't bark excessively but if there's something odd outside he'll give us a warning growl and bark but that's it so he's a pretty good guard dog too.

Charlie is my first ever dog and I can tell you now I will never get another breed of dog ever :)
 
I don't mind a dog following me around or coming up to me while I'm working. I think it's when they don't seem to have a mind of their own? When they can't lie down without being right there, touching your leg (sometimes is fine), or can't sometimes play with their toys without you? Does this make sense at all? It's not the loyalty, it's the "I can't do absolutely anything without you" attitude that it seems a lot of toy dogs have bred into them (correct me if I'm wrong).
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One thing to remember with toy breeds is that they've been bred for thousands of years to be companions. They take that job to heart through and through.

That said my young one is a mess. If I'm not watching her 24/7 she's up on top of the counter trying to steal food. She is incredibly determined for an 8 lb dog and will not give up for hours. The bad ideas are almost constant with her.

I think as much as you try to generalize along a breed it is somewhat tough. My 3 shelties were all different. My old girl was bold as brass, hard headed, sharp, very smart, and kinda mean to be honest. She was full of it lol. I adored her. My male was timid, sensitive, sweet as can be, dumber than a box of rocks (I say that lovingly)... So it's hard for me to say 'shelties are high energy or shelties are smart' Some are and some aren't so much. They're all individuals.

I've had 7 papillons and they're all very different too. My youngest papillon is way more like my older sheltie than any of the other paps. It's funny. I have one pap that is very timid and lazy then one of the others is a firecracker. And another is pretty much a golden retriever in a pap suit. One is not a big thinker and the other is an evil genius. Never had a smarter dog.

A good breeder though of any breed will set you up with the right dog.
 
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