why Shelties considered to be soft dogs?

Mine are sensitive to varying degrees. Beckon is my big, tough boy. With his fear aggression, he needed firm control and many leash pops in his obedience class to get past his knee-jerk reaction to other dogs. Not there's almost no issue in training -- hooray. Layla, Bitsy and Annie -- well, you just don't get angry with them. Each would be totally crushed. Now when I'm generally hollering, "Shut up, you little morons!!!" when they start a fake-out barkfest as soon as I get on the phone -- well, they all seem to know that this is a generally directed order to cease-and-desist: nothing personal.

They're physically tough little dogs, but very sensitive: Crunchy on the outside, melty on the inside! :lol:
 
Liam by far is my tougher dog. Nothing seems to stop him. Even though I disliked having to do it, I had to put him down yesterday, very gently and into a big soft pile of snow because he would not back away from biting in play (similar to what he does with Emma) and I had repeated told him to stop, held on to him, etc. Emma does. He is trying very hard in the last month to establish that he is top dog in the house and there are times that no matter how much I tell him to stop, correct him, make him sit, he will not listen. If I can get him to stop and just touch the back of his neck, not holding on, etc., he will stop. I tell him he is a typical boy - a teenager almost - who refuses to listen. There has been a lot more stress at home with Dad's health declining more rapidly, and both Emma and Liam are picking up on it. With Noah and Emma, because I had them from the time they were 10 weeks old, I had very few problems in their training. Liam I got at 10 months, so I am having to deal with some things I haven't in the past with the other pups. Neither one requires tough correction. They are driven to please and quiet commands work best for the most part. I found that if I spoke in a low growly type voice - they reacted well, and then went looking for the "other dog" in the house.

Shelties pick up on our emotions - good and bad. I have talked about this with Emma in another thread. If you are upset or in a bad mood, don't train - it won't work. When I went to take Emma for obedience training, the trainer talked about good correction - spray bottle, etc. That turned me right off as I knew it wasn't necessary for Shelties. Even though I shoved Liam off the bed by accident, he still sleeps there - no offense taken.
 
Shelties can be soft, and the problem is exacerbated by breeders who insist on showing, finishing, and breeding dogs who are scared of their own shadows. If your dog can't walk into a building, be scared, and then *get over it*, it should be neutered. I don't care how pretty it is.

I'm sorry, I know it's harsh. But having had a sound-sensitive dog, I can say first hand that I will never again have one, and I bust my *** to make sure I don't produce them.

This is why I will probably never breed to a dog who doesn't have some kind of performance title. That is at least some indicator that even if the dog is a fruit, it can get over it enough to work. Though that is not 100%, I know several Ch/performance titled dogs who were nuts, as were their littermates. There are some families where the fruitcake-ness is endemic.
 
Neither of mine are 'soft' either.
Revel is certainly the more sensitive of the two, in that you can tell him off (not that I ever do of course:winkgrin:) and he will take notice and he does have issues with thunderstorms.
Yogi is much tougher, although during the last year he does seem more concerned about angry raised voices - just not when they're directed at him. Part of his problem is you simply can't tell him off.

My friend's beardies though are very sensitive. She had one at club when it was about a year old and a pile of chairs fell down - not a massive noise - but the dog has never forgotton it and is always really wary of coming into the hall - 10 years later!!:eek2: I think beardies are well known for having phobias etc. Love them as I do, I personally could not cope with a dog having so many issues. I enjoy being able to take my dogs anywhere - towns, steam trains, country fairs etc. A few years ago I went to a steam fair with them and was so proud, all these whistling, clanking machines and they didn't turn a hair, didn't even worry when I had a ride in a helicopter!!

However, I have come across shelties who have been traumatised for life by something fairly incongrous happening at a show - with the result this has affected their show ring career forever. Whether this was due to insufficient socialisation giving them a lack of 'coping' ability or simply nervousness I don't know but I certainly agree that whatever the other faults, the temprement of any dog used for breeding should be 100% sound. I often think it is a great pity that here, the vast majority of shelties are either 'show' or 'performance' and there are very few stud dogs who have proved themselves in anything other than the show ring. Something I would love to see change in the future.

I know in the early days shelties had a reputation for being scared of their own shadows and temprement has improved so much, it would be a great pity if things were to revert again.
 
Soft, no.
Potential skittish, yes.

These dogs will develop certain evil things to bark at if you let them. And once you cure one, they will often find another.

I've finally now gotten the dogs to stop doing going crazy over the hair blower. Indy will sometimes relapse but he's over the worst.

Today's challenge is the dreaded paper towel holder. Yes, I pull two sheets of paper towels and the dogs go wild. Watering plants is another evil that they seek to destroy. MUST-NOT-ALLOW-PLANT-TO-BE FED! Bark and growl! Charge and destroy the evil watering machine.

So once I cure them of these evils, what next will they find?
 
Barb - you described Liam exactly. His biggest beef right now - loud music in vehicles driving down the next street AND the windows are closed.:lol:
 
You mean there might be a reason the Japanese require a CD for a dog to get it's Grand Championship in conformation? :razz:

I think that's a marvelous idea.
 
I think shelties respond better to 'soft' training methods, and I agree with the others that harsh measures could shut a sheltie down. As a breed I think soft training methods will work for shelties 95% of the time.

There is always the potential for the required 'reserve' to become skittishness - but I haven't seen a skittish sheltie in a long time, although even my ratbags can appear quiet and reserved around strangers.

I think the writer's statement is spot on that the trainer needs to read the breed before deciding on a training method - and shelties are one of those dogs its best not to use harsh methods with.
 
Well Cosmo is what I would consider a little bit soft, he is a bit timid,& sensitive, you can upset him by being too firm with him Not dought about that. raising your voice can make him crouch & cower, so you really need to take that into consideration when training him. That being said he is extremly eager to please, devoted, affectionate, and will bend over backwards to give you what you are looking for when it come to training or behaviour. I think that doing agility with him has been an imense great help at giving him a lot of self confidence and at bringing him out of his reclusive and shy puppy behavoiour, that he had.

Storm on the other hand is fearless, very self confident, and not the least bit standoffish of anything I have seen so far, cheekey. the difference between the 2 as pups is like Night & day.
 
I wouldn't consider Bailey soft at all. She is reserved around strangers and can be a little noise sensitive, but that's as soft as she gets. In fact, she needs a little harsher correction than probably most shelties. A simple "no" just doesn't work for her. And those of you who have read my stories about her know she is definitely not sensitive to my emotions. :lol:
 
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