need opinions if sheltie puppy is right for us?

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bdg0221

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I have fallen in love with a sheltie! I had no intention of buying a dog but the minute I saw him, I thought he looks like he belongs with us. I am not normally someone who has to have every dog they see either. I have never owned a sheltie though.

My concerns are that I work all day and he will be crated 10 hours a day. I will go home or someone else will go home at lunch to let him out for about 30 minutes. It will only be for 4 days a week. We do not have a fenced in yard but will be getting electric fence and training him in the spring. We will take him out for walks and to play every day though. I have 4 kids ages 2-11 so he will get lots of interaction with them. I don't want to crate him all night since he is crated all day and I am not sure where he should sleep?? I don't want to get him if it isn't a good match for us. Thanks!
 
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I would DEFINITELY not do an electric fence, and I think some of the other members here will chime in as well. There is a ton of data showing that these are not effective and can even be harmful.

I live in an apartment, so my sheltie never has free reign in the back yard area. She does just fine with daily walks and playdates with her friends.

My concern would be the kids - shelties are sensitive, and some do not do well with small children. And most shelties are small enough that a small child can be too rough with them, and they will get injured. Shelties also tend to herd anything they perceive as a "herd" and children sometimes fall into that category. Be prepared for the children to be herded and (until the puppy is trained) possibly nipped. It's not aggression, it is how shelties would herd their "sheep". The puppy can absolutely be trained not to nip, but just be prepared for it in the beginning.

My sheltie sleeps on my bed, no problem there.
 
Thank you! The fence was just an idea to give him a place to run-we will look into it!

I know I have read they are good with kids but my kids do like to run around the house a lot so I can definitely see where the dog was thinking it was herding them. Is crating a puppy during the day awful? I have heard that it is but don't know what else to do while I work. I don't want the dog to be miserable.
 
Cara Sandler said:
I would DEFINITELY not do an electric fence, and I think some of the other members here will chime in as well. There is a ton of data showing that these are not effective and can even be harmful.

I live in an apartment, so my sheltie never has free reign in the back yard area. She does just fine with daily walks and playdates with her friends.

My concern would be the kids - shelties are sensitive, and some do not do well with small children. And most shelties are small enough that a small child can be too rough with them, and they will get injured. Shelties also tend to herd anything they perceive as a "herd" and children sometimes fall into that category. Be prepared for the children to be herded and (until the puppy is trained) possibly nipped. It's not aggression, it is how shelties would herd their "sheep". The puppy can absolutely be trained not to nip, but just be prepared for it in the beginning.

My sheltie sleeps on my bed, no problem there.
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I agree with a lot that Cara has stated.

No on the electric fence. It is not effective. Shelties are a timid/sensitive breed and that will cause more issues in the long run.

There are many people that have shelties in apartments and do not have an issue with not having a yard. At least 30 minutes a day walk is good but more is always better. So no fence is not an issue.

I crate Cleo at least 6-8 hours a day depending on if my husband is working overtime and she does fine. She is let out at least once during that time on my lunch hour. I do not think it would be an issue since there will be a 30 minute break in there.

My experience with children. I have two children, one 11 and one 5. I just got my second sheltie. They do herd children. My children, like typical children, like to run in the house even though they know it is something they should not do. That turns into the dogs chasing the kids and me yelling at them to stop before something happens. Cleo has accidently nipped my youngest from getting too rough with her. She thinks of him as her playmate. And while it may be cute, it is not a good thing. Dogs play bite and that is and issue in itself. I have come across that from time to time with the two of them. You need to make sure you don't let that become an issue and that both the dog and child do not think it is okay. Because let me tell you, my son would laugh and then Cleo would continue to do it! I had to train them both. Haha. It is much better now though. Also hyper kids, as mine are, can be too much for shelties at times. Make sure to give them a place to get away from all of the crazy. It may be a crate or a quite room. Cleo would also be lost without my kids. When I am home she likes to play with her toys and snuggle with them. She is always excited to see them and misses them when they are gone. The kids also love her and have worked with her on her obedience training (Once I have shown them how to do it). They love how smart she is and how well she will listen. These are some things that I have experienced with my kids.

Both of my shelties sleep in the bed with me and my husband and it is not an issue.
 
Do not do an electric fence! First things first, the electric fence might keep your dog in but is willl not keep other dogs out. You can search the forum for the MANY encounters with off leash dogs folks have had with their Shelties. Second, the tone or shock from the fence can result in a timid animal. Third, IF your dog gets out of the fence area, they won't be able to get back IN because of the annoying tone or shock.

As for the crate, I know there are a few on this site that feel otherwise but a crate really can be your dogs best friend, especially as a puppy. (You didn't specify age so I'm assuming puppy.) If you make the crate a positive place for the dog it becomes their room in your house. With a number of active children, it can become a safe place for the dog to get away from them for a bit if necessary. (The kids should be taught if the dog is in the crate to leave it alone.)

With a puppy, it's a great training took for house breaking. I won't get into details here but, simply put, a dog won't pee/poop where it has to sleep. Also with a puppy, you should crate overnight if for no other reason than to keep it out of trouble since puppies can and do put EVERYTHING, including electric cords, in their mouths. It is also a good time out place for them to nap. My puppy needed to earn his right to be out of his crate overnight and even he is still crated some nights when he can't settle down. There are also some nights he'll go into his crate on his own and crash out for the night. (I leave the crate door open for him at this point so he can go in and out as he pleases.) My 10 year old LOVES his crate and will go in there at various times of the day just to take a nap.
 
Thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear your experience especially with the kids. We have a large yard for the kids to take her outside and run around in-when she is older we will have to figure out how to stop her from chasing cars. We are not near the road but close enough that I would feel uncomfortable without him being leashed, but as a puppy I think the kids can run him around out there in the evenings. I figured he would either sleep with my 11 and 8 year old or with me. I just don't want him being destructive at night. He is two months old now-and I plan on crating him about 4.5 hours then letting him out over my lunch. Like I said it's only 4 days a week-the other three days he will be out and played with most of the day.
 
Is crating all night say from 10 pm - 5 am then again from 7:30 am-5:30 pm too much? Ideally, I'd like him crated at night until I trust he wont get into anything. I also thought about getting one of those playpens for him during the day? He would have more room that way...
 
NO on the electric fence. However, you can make a small yard with T-posts and no-climb fencing if a big fence is not in the budget. Even a large dog kennel / run. That would be a safe place to go potty. That would not be somewhere to stay when no one is home. This goes for any dog, sheltie or not, but make sure the fence is higher than you think. Some are jumpers big time. My 3 dogs have a small potty yard and spend the rest of the time in the house. We live in a rural mountain area and walks are out and it is way too dangerous to leave a dog outside alone.

As for crating a long time, lots of dogs are crated or x-penned when their owners work. You can work out a system. You could even baby gate into a laundry room IF the dog is not the type to eat the walls (some do).

My dogs have always slept on the bed pretty much from 6 months old on.

As to kids, lots of shelties and other breeds grow up with dogs. The kids have to be trained to respect the dog and the dog's space.
 
I do have an outside kennel. The previous home owners had one and we've never really used it but its probably 5x10 chain link with concrete floor. I think it is probably 6-8' high. I could also tarp the top so the dog wouldn't be able to climb out. That might be a better daytime solution for the puppy. Just need to clean it up and get a house.
 
No kids here but Sca ADORES kids and is fabulous with them, Spitfire considers most little vermin (though every once in a while he will let a little girl pet him).

They have a big yard and chase each other all the time. The next place will have squirrels LOL

Sca loves frisbee and tennis ball and will go for a long time then want more. Spitfire just likes to run around like a lune. Though he does fetch some because well Sca is LOL
 
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