A Few Tears and We Carry On

P

Psalms

Forums Regular
Today Sammy and I met a lovely Sable lady on our walk. In fact, she is the very one I saw several years ago when walking our aged Lab/Setter. When I met her I knew that I wanted our next dog to be a Sheltie. She was so gentle and well-behaved.

Hah! So somehow things got a little mixed up, and we ended up with the Tazmanian Devil in a Sheltie suit. My husband says I should have asked the lady what her dog was like as a puppy. But somehow I know, deep down inside, that that little Sable has never chased a car in her life, and a few other daily stress builders that I won't mention. So after a bit of a cry we will go on. Tomorrow we have another appointment with the trainer. Janet
 
At 6-7 months old, I wouldn't worry about Sammy being tasmanian-like. With a lot of patience and time, he will grow out of it and be a very well behaved dog. Of course, you only get out what you put into training. I'm glad you're seeing a trainer and hopefully he will calm down soon enough! Trust me- I have a 1 year old and for a while I didn't think she was ever going to calm down and kept looking for different outlets for her energy. I can't remember what age she finally just layed down next to me on the couch. Before that I had to put her in her crate to get her to take a nap!
 
Hmmm 6-7 months Sca was a mad man and still destroying stuff. At 1 he was voted most laid back Sheltie. At 6 months Spitfire was a zoom and gone with people. Now at 1 1/2 he is a snuggler though he is still a nutter (he was named correctly) Everyone at flyball agrees he has totally changed on his people skills.

So I agree he will change, though a tired Sheltie is less of a Tazmanian Devil. I do realize that sometimes it seems impossible to tire them out at that age but do the best you can. Oh and sometimes mind games tire them out more.

Now before I stop I feel it fair to warn you that you have the Sheltie teenager phase still. Yep he will start becoming the fantastic pup you hope for when all of a sudden he will act like he forget everything :gaah but that is short lived.
 
Think of shelties as kids in a fur suit. They drive you crazy but then turn around & do the sweetest or cutest thing. You sometimes think they'll never grow up or out of a phase & then one day you realize they've turned out amazing. Patience is the key & a routine helps. I remember the joke about using dog training books on kids & husbands. Maybe we should use kid rearing books for dog training.

Good luck & it will get easier.
 
Train, train, train, and when in doubt, train.

There's an old story among Border Collie trainers:

An old sheep farmer was asked about his two sheepdogs. "How long did it take you to train them" he was asked.

The old man thought for a moment, contemplating his two dogs. "Waal" he said, "that youngun' there is 3 year old. I guess I been training her near bout 3 years."

"What about the other one?" the spectator asked.

"Waaal," he said, "she's more like nine years old, That means I been trainin' her bout 9 year now."

What to take away on this is: You're NEVER finished training. A happy Sheltie is a physically AND mentally tired Sheltie. You NEVER want them to appoint themselves their own job - give them one!
 
Very well said lasheltie. I don't know when exactly Shelby learned to relax. But she was crazy (and sometimes still is) right now she is chasing the shadows on the ceiling as DH sets the dinner table.

But it seems like one day you just realize, wow she really is a good girl. We often are told "she is so good,I want a dog just like that" . What they don't realize is all the hard work that went in to training her. And the training never stops. But hang in there before you know it you be looking back and be amazed at how far you have come.

Mental exercises are great. I would put Shelby's food in different dispensers to make her work for her food and that helped.
 
Not all dogs are bred alike. That doesn't mean that you cannot train your crazy dog. And that' doesn't mean that they won't continuously surprise you with new antics.

For sure, Bacca was a fiend when he was less than 12 months old. He finally settled down after I got his buddy, Indy. Both can still be fiends sometimes, but less so.

Yes, they bark at the mailmain, they bark at the pizza guy, and squirrels and, son Ryan....but not so much that I can't handle it. They don't bark when I'm not home (as far as I know). They bark to alert me. And if one barks, the other will chime in.

Can they be trained. Yes, but you have to be super on top of it.

If you have a non-stop barker, then I would be looking at extraordinary measures.
 
Take heart. They will grow up one day and you will look back and wonder about howhorrible they were. Like others have said train train train.

I had a JRT/beagle mix Jazz, that I read though the behavior books on. You name it she had it if it was a behavior problem. When she was about 7yrs, I had a person said to me I want a dog just like her. No idea of the blood sweat and tears that it took me to get to that point. She was a wondrful dog and I miss her every day. But if you had come to me when she was a year old I would have sold her to you for a dollar.

That dog colored my life with my shelties. I think back and realize none of them have been easy just prospective has changed.

Justice, my perfect dog, used to run though the house and do kick flips off the walls because it was easier than stopping on the hard wood. His energy levels were over the top. I don't remember anything else because he was perfect in my eyes but my friends used to remark that he would drive them crazy.

Ember, oh lord. The perfect dogs niece. She screamed and flopped if you touched her, she screamed in her kennel, she refused to play with toys or me, she refused to come to me, she was food aggressive, dog aggressive, she tried to bite. I seriously do not know why I got her. Her only saving grace is she loved food. Hard hard work and she is a great dog now. People want to steal her every day. She is charming and outgoing and calm. If you met me on the street you would but enthralled with her. Everyone is. Don't be fooled, you have no idea. :smile2:

Diva used to throw herself bodily at any new dogs she saw. SHe climbed on and in everything, she chewed everything. Birch pretty much the same. Training is was the key. Again my family thought they were much worse than I did. Today, my friend and family want to steal any of my dogs.

My point is. Very few come perfect and well trained. That is the rare dog indeed. They are trained and molded and they mature. There is a reason shelters are filled with 10month-2yrs dogs. People don't realize the work that puppies take. Keep your chin up , seek out that trainer, work hard and you will be rewarded in the future with the dog of your dreams.
 
Oh my, thank you all! That was so encouraging. I literally thought you all had near perfect dogs. The problem with training is, first you need to have the techniques. I'm working on that.

Sammy and I learned a lot at our training session today. In fact, we came home and took a walk during which...ahem....Mr. Lunge stayed reasonably close to me the whole time and ****did NOT charge at or bark at any cars***!! Let me tell you, that is huge. So we are learning.

I have a question about "mental work" and giving a dog a "job". I'll ask that in a new thread. Thanks again so much. Janet
 
I couldn't agree more with what everyone has said! Darla is a year old tomorrow (puppy party for her!) and I can already see her becoming more calm and attentive. The puppy days are hard work but so rewarding, so much so I already want to do it all over again! :winkgrin:

Chin up, keep on going and you will both make it through on the other side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top