When did your sheltie start to bark?
- Thread starter Shelby+Julie
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Greenepony
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Olive, at one and some odds months has become more vocal. We know she barked occasionally at her fosters' (probably her foster brother's fault 
) but for the first month she never/rarely made any noise until we got her around other dogs. Now she will bark when someone is in the hall or out in the courtyard and will make happy growls at her toys... oh and made pitiful noises when I don't let her follow me into a room.
She's still not that talkative by Sheltie standards but definitely more vocal than she used to be.
) but for the first month she never/rarely made any noise until we got her around other dogs. Now she will bark when someone is in the hall or out in the courtyard and will make happy growls at her toys... oh and made pitiful noises when I don't let her follow me into a room. She's still not that talkative by Sheltie standards but definitely more vocal than she used to be.
We got Olive at exactly 8 weeks, and she wasn't barking then. She did have some little squeals that she'd use when she was excited about something. I don't think we heard the first real bark until she was around 4 months old. Now, at 9 months, she's still not much of a barker. She barks when it's 'important'--people at the door, cat eating her food, needs to go out, etc. My angel Pavi would bark at anything, anytime, and I think Olive's approach is a definite improvement. I guess they are all different!
Tinsel has a hard time making a noise that sounds like a bark and had only done it about 9 times in the eight months we have had him. He came from a mill where they might have done something to him or maybe it is just from living in ammonia hell. Who knows???? Then his sheltie "cousins" came for a 4 day stay. One likes to "talk" inside and the other outside. Now every time I make Tin's breakfast or dinner he tries to bark. He only manages to get one sad little bark out per meal.
Gem, the sable cousin, was barking when she came at 8 weeks. I told my daughter I think she must have started in utero
Connor she got when he was 6 months. He was pretty quiet then and really only barks when he is playing with you.
Gem's mother was a barker, Connor's was not.
Gem, the sable cousin, was barking when she came at 8 weeks. I told my daughter I think she must have started in utero
Connor she got when he was 6 months. He was pretty quiet then and really only barks when he is playing with you.
Gem's mother was a barker, Connor's was not.
Tagg, reading about Tinsel trying to bark makes me kind of sad! Maybe when he has more interaction with his cousins, he will keep trying and maybe find his bark. What could the people at the mill have done to this sweet little baby? 
I hope he does find his bark eventually. Is this your first Sheltie? God bless you for getting him out of the awful situation he was in.
Maida, owned by sweet Christopher, sweet Ritchie and my eight wonderful precious Sheltie angels
I hope he does find his bark eventually. Is this your first Sheltie? God bless you for getting him out of the awful situation he was in.Maida, owned by sweet Christopher, sweet Ritchie and my eight wonderful precious Sheltie angels
Yup, my first sheltie. I am grandmother to 2 others as well. My daughter always wanted a sable female sheltie from the time she was old enough to say sheltie. We bred Westies and Belgians so she had to amuse herself by handling them in Junior handling any time she could get her hands on one. Once she got into her own house, the shelties came soon after. She joined the sheltie rescue and volunteered me to foster one of the mill dogs from a seizure in Quebec. I found out later that she bet her husband $20 that the dog would never leave our care! I think I should get the $20 Something has damaged his vocal ability. Whether it was a botched home debarking or just the high amount of ammonia that he was forced to breathe day in and out, we don't know. There was 527 adult dogs at the mill. The vet had a look and thought there was some scar tissue but couldn't determine the cause. Who knows, we might find that putting him on thyroxine will cause his muscles and ligaments to work better and he becomes a barking fool. His T4 and Free T4 are quite low while his TSH is low normal. I'm going to ask to put him on a trial for 6 weeks tonight when he goes to have his stitch removed from the dewclaw surgery he had a couple of weeks ago. He has a number of symptoms that point to hypothyroidism. He's safe and happy now but has the energy of an elderly dog. I guess I'm one of the few sheltie enthusiasts that gets excited when her little one barks.
Something has damaged his vocal ability. Whether it was a botched home debarking or just the high amount of ammonia that he was forced to breathe day in and out, we don't know. There was 527 adult dogs at the mill. The vet had a look and thought there was some scar tissue but couldn't determine the cause. Who knows, we might find that putting him on thyroxine will cause his muscles and ligaments to work better and he becomes a barking fool. His T4 and Free T4 are quite low while his TSH is low normal. I'm going to ask to put him on a trial for 6 weeks tonight when he goes to have his stitch removed from the dewclaw surgery he had a couple of weeks ago. He has a number of symptoms that point to hypothyroidism. He's safe and happy now but has the energy of an elderly dog. I guess I'm one of the few sheltie enthusiasts that gets excited when her little one barks.Tagg, thank you for the nice note. Man, 527 adult dogs! I am sure glad little Tinsel got you. I would definitely ask about a trial of thyroid medicine. I have adopted 9 older Shelties myself and most of them have been on thyroid medicine. It should help Tinsel's energy. Good luck. And you probably are owed the $20!
Maida, owned by sweet Christopher, sweet Ritchie and my eight wonderful precious little Sheltie angels
Maida, owned by sweet Christopher, sweet Ritchie and my eight wonderful precious little Sheltie angels
dawns2shelties
Forums Sage
All my bark know quiet but if one goes they all go now. Sigh.Ember and Diva go back and forth as to who is going to be all mouth for the day. Birch is actually pretty quiet, though at Dawn's he was in rare voice and def. overstimulated by Hartley.
Sure Blame it on Hartley!
Hartley probably barked the second he entered this world....He talks, grumbles, barks you name it. The most vocal Sheltie I have ever had.
My Barkers
I don't remember when my two older dogs began. Actually Kenna was an adult rescue so I didn't have her when she was little. She barked anytime anyone got up to move around. She was a noisy girl. My Duncan would bark when he heard something interesting.
Now we have Quinn. He's almost 5 months old, but we hardly hear from him at all. A little bark here, a little bark there. Not much. We'll see what happens as he gets older.
K
I don't remember when my two older dogs began. Actually Kenna was an adult rescue so I didn't have her when she was little. She barked anytime anyone got up to move around. She was a noisy girl. My Duncan would bark when he heard something interesting.
Now we have Quinn. He's almost 5 months old, but we hardly hear from him at all. A little bark here, a little bark there. Not much. We'll see what happens as he gets older.
K
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
Indy has always barked and he barks at everything....squirrels, dogs who dare to walk behind our propery (the nerve!) hair dryers, son Ryan getting out of bed (truly!), etc. He has always been a barker, and actually was de-barked (before I got him at 10 months old). The bad news is that the debark has worn off and Indy barks in that lovely shrill, fingernail on the chalkboard kind of bark....
To Indy, Timmy is constantly drowining in the well...he is alert, alert, alert!
Bacca is more "refined" in his barking moments. If Indy is otherwise occupied and not able to bark at passing dogs, Bacca steps in and does a few token barks, for good measure. Bacca also helps son on his way out the door each morning with a few healthy woofs (and a nip or two at the heels); and he loves to grert the pizza man with great enthusiasm
and great leaps....yeah, got the door slammed on my foot with Bacca jumpingup and slamming the door on my foot while I was trying to open it
Sometimes I wonder why I like shelties.....
To Indy, Timmy is constantly drowining in the well...he is alert, alert, alert! Bacca is more "refined" in his barking moments. If Indy is otherwise occupied and not able to bark at passing dogs, Bacca steps in and does a few token barks, for good measure. Bacca also helps son on his way out the door each morning with a few healthy woofs (and a nip or two at the heels); and he loves to grert the pizza man with great enthusiasm
and great leaps....yeah, got the door slammed on my foot with Bacca jumpingup and slamming the door on my foot while I was trying to open it Sometimes I wonder why I like shelties.....