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Shetland Sheepdog


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My main thought about the dog spending some time outside is to teach him/her to entertain itself when I do have to go out. I'm a stay at home Mum, but even I need to go out and you can't take a dog everywhere. I would want to dog to have some independence, so it doesn't develop seperation anxiety. The water pistol sounds like a great idea.

I don't mind having a little shadow, but I wouldn't want the dog flippin out when he was on his own, does that make sense?

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I don’t think separation anxiety would be an issue. Shelties are a very sensible breed and quite accepting of most things. Mine know when I pick up the biscuit barrel I am going to work so there is a mad rush to their kennel where they get a biscuit. I have a dog door for my oldies into the house and they are quite happy waiting on their dog bed for me to get home. Never had any issues that way

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Thanks for your reply Jn Inoz, so did you do the water squirting since she was little. Does your girl spend much time outside on her own, does she seem to enjoy it outside?

yep - did the water squirting from when she was small.

Rommy spends each day by herself when I am at work. I have a good security door with a dog door in it - so she can choose to be out or in. She amuses herself quite well - plays with some of her toys. I have some pebbles in the garden which she loves to push around - i come home to having a couple near the back door each day. I suspect that she sleeps alot though when i am not there though - now that she is a bit older and not quite a puppy anymore. Neighbours tell me that she doesnt bark alot - just when there are strangers around - so maybe once in a day, maybe twice - maybe not at all. Always to greet me when i come home though - that starts as two or three quick barks, then into the house and cry a little with excitement until i come in the door.

She is my shadow when I first get home - she will follow me everywhere - i learnt to do the 'sheltie shuffle' (not lifting feet very high) when she was a puppy - she was often underfoot. Now, she follows me around until I am settled on a task, then she will often go off and do her own thing and then come back. Once I am settled in the evening, she will come and sit next to me - making sure some part of her is touching me. I love that part of the day.

I worried about separation anxiety - but she is fine. I throw some treats around the backyard when I go out - and she doesnt even bother to watch me leave - too interested in finding the treats.

Rommy is actually only worried about separation when I am at home and she cant get to me - actually only when i am in a part of the backyard that she isnt allowed in - she doesnt like that.

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Thanks for all your advice and suggestions, its much appreciated.

ETA - How do you think a sheltie pup would cope with a 4yo boy? I personally wasn't planning on adding an addition till sometime next year at the earliest.

Edited by Mich & Jake
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We run a farmstay and in the last month have had children aged 3,4,5, and 8 wanting to come into the house yard to see our dogs.

Neither of our pups, (aged 9 months) nor Cassie (2 1/2) have been around children before and have been fine, provided that the children do not run around (that means a game of chase). We ask that the children sit down quietly and let the dogs come up to them.

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We find our puppies quiet easy to toilet train them, we put newspaper down in one corner of the room and when they wake up we put them on the paper and they soon get to know this is where they go..... out side we take them over to one patch of grass as soon as they wake up so they get to know where to toilet. We find it doesn't take them very long :laugh:

Everybody will have different ideas though.

As for letting puppies go into new homes ours don't leave until around 11 wks as we desex all our pet puppies prior to leaving.

As for food orientated, I have one that is not too fussed with food but the other 3 I have to watch there weight lol!!!

Edited by Owned by Shelties
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It's safe guards against any unwanted puppies and gives us peace of mind that our babies won't be used for breeding......... We also found alot of our puppy buyers are so happy to hear they have been done as it saves them the worry about getting it done at a later time.

Edited by Owned by Shelties
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my girl is fine around small children. My friends with kids aged 10, 8, 6, 3 have been coming over to play with rommy from when she was small and getting socialised. She does love to chase running children. My rule with children is that they arent allowed to chase rommy but rommy is allowed to chase them. It's one of her favourite games. I dont let them do this for a long time. If they want to pat her, they have to sit quietly. They also start quietly with her when they first arrive - sitting and patting. They play chasey latter.

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Better late than never joining in with some information :)

I have been showing & breeding shelties for 15 years now and I don't think I would ever be without one.

Although I don't have children visiting at home, my dogs will interact with children when they meet them. Most of mine have attended various pet expos over the years and love all the pats & attention. I would just be making sure that smaller children and sheltie pups are not left alone. Too easy for damage to be done if a pup is picked up and dropped. Children should be shown that all interaction occurs on the ground - not with the pup being carried around.

Most of mine are quite outgoing in their nature - only one girl is quite reserved and will stand back from meeting new people. Sheltie temperament has improved over the years and you see more that are self confident than timid these days.

Being left alone during the day - my first sheltie was on her own for a few years and it didn't bother her. Most enjoy having doggy company but I think they could cope quite happy being an only dog. As long as they have a few toys to play with and a nice cosy bed to curl up on, I think they would be fine.

As to barking, if it is not allowed when they are young, it is much easier to train. Yes can be cute when they are little but not so cute when a dog get older and its bark gets louder. Normally a stern "no" or "enough" will get their attention and they learn quite quickly what is acceptable and what isn't.

Have even trained mine to stay off the carpet (although now that I have gotten rid of the hubby, that doesn't matter :laugh: ). Shelties love pleasing their owners and any bad behaviour should either be ignored or just a stern "no" issued.

Have found that the boys are more interested in cuddles and contact than the girls. Don't get me wrong, the girls enjoy cuddles & pats but the boys seem to make sure they always get extra. My boy will even use his paw to pull people closer so that he can get a cuddle :thumbsup:

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No, they are not "out of control" puppies. They will play in bursts, just like all pups, and then sleep. They like to play with soft toys and balls. You can even train sit, down & stay as most are very food orientated. I hate seeing people teasing puppies and not knowing when to stop - might be cute when they are babies, tugging & growling on things but not funny when they become older and do the same things. You must remember that puppies, like babies & young children, need sleep and if they are asleep, should be left to sleep.

Rules should be set and adhered to ie if you don't want the dog on your lounge, don't let it up when it is little and then try to stop it when they are older. Mine know they can lay on the sofa lounge in the family room but are not allowed on the good lounge in the loungeroom. I never have them on my bed either - injuries can occur when little jumping off pieces of furniture.

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I wouldn't call sheltie puppies "out of control energetic puppies".

We have two here aged 9 months, they will play in the mornings for an hour or so and then sleep for the better part of the day until early afternoon when they will either play amongst themselves or with the others for a couple of hours. A game of chase, perhaps one will get a toy or a ball and then it's all on. But as Shelby as mentioned the playing is in bursts.

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Can you guys tell me what are shelties like as pups? Obviously they're going to be full of energy, but are they out of control energetic?

mine certainly wasn't out of control energetic. definitely playful though. She was a smart girl and learnt very quickly. She loved 'fetch' as a puppy.

We had a routine - especially when i was home from work:

play... time in crate..... toilet..... play (3/4 hour or so), time in crate.... toilet.... play and so on.

She loved running around (still does) but also liked long periods of resting and sleep.

eta - adorable when little - how could you resist this face?

sweetface.jpg

Edited by jr_inoz
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Awwe thanks for all the extra info about the sheltie babies. How gorgous was your little one Jr, adorable. I definitely think I could handle a sheltie, in fact they sound perfect for me and my family.

The reason I asked about how they are as puppies, I just visited a friend this week who has a golden retreiver puppy, she's about 5 months old and that dog was crazy. She was quite literally galloping through the house like a horse. I was a bit gobsmacked. I know the dog is a pup but they had no control of the dog at all.

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All puppies have what I call their crazy times. I kept 2 litter mates from my last litter and they have a race track in the yard they spend hours running round. They do egg each other on but I consider it normal for them to run and play. I am sure the Golden is a normal puppy just perhaps a bit big to be romping inside, it is up to the owners to direct play. I have no issue with mine playing outside but firmly put a stop to play when the race track was extended to inside and included over my couch. They do also spend many an hour snoozing on that couch but play is important in a developing puppy.

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  • 2 weeks later...
May I ask usually when would it be the best time to have a sheltie puppy (or puppies in general) desexed?

I know some breeders send their puppies de-sexed to their new homes. Others have a contract with the new owner that the puppy will be de-sexed when it is a little bit older. Some of the sheltie breeders will hopefully be able to tell you what they do.

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May I ask usually when would it be the best time to have a sheltie puppy (or puppies in general) desexed?

I prefer my bitch puppies to be done at around 6mths prior to their first season but like to wait a little longer for the males, around 9-12mths is ideal.

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