New member from so cal!!

[KenRC51]

Hey members!

I'm Ken and I live in Los Angeles County California. I have a 10 year old English Bulldog named Stitch. I love her very much. I am into photography and love to take many pictures. I will post link to my website as soon as I get it up and running.

I am really considering buying a Sheltie very soon. I like to learn more about this breed before I do go out and buy a puppy. I like some opinion of member here to see if I am suitable for a Sheltie.

I currently work part time and go to school part time. 4 days out of the week I will be home most of the day, usually tuesdays, thursdays, saturdays, and sundays. The other days I would probably have time for a short walk in the morning and 30 to 60 minute walk at night. I am very active person and love to go running. I run about 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week and would like to bring my dog (Sheltie, if I decide on getting one) on my runs and hikes.

I live in a house with my parents that are always home 24/7 and have a pretty big back yard.

Please tell me what should I consider before buying this breed? or if you think I am the right candidate for a Sheltie or not? Thank You

 

[seashel]

Hi and welcome to the Forum Ken.

First let me say well done for doing plenty of research before getting your pup to make sure the breed is right for you.

It dosn't sound as if the pup will be left much as your parents will be around when you are not so that is great.
Shelties are active little dogs as you will probably have gathered from this forum. They do like hikes, my 11 year old Revel recently did a 5-6 mile walk with no problems at all and was full of beans at a sheltie party in the afternoon and we walk for an hour briskly every day. Running is not exactly an issue but:
1. Do not run any distance until pup is at least 12 months to avoid damaging developing bones and tissues etc.
2. Obviously puppy would need obedience training before comencing trying to run and running should be introduced very slowly.
3. I wanted to do Cani cross with mine but it was a no go as running gets them so geed up they dance around in front or behind and I admit have nipped through being over excited on occasion. I know lots of herding breeds which find running alongside someone hard as their instinct is to run behind and the nip was used to encourage reluctant stock to move. This is where the training part would come in.



Stitch sounds lovely, I have a soft spot for Bulldogs so am looking forward to your pictures

 

[Pal's Mom]

Welcome to the forum there is a ton of info here regarding the breed. You'll love being owned by a Sheltie!

 

[SheepOfBlue]

Welcome. As was said you need to wear them out or they will wear you out. Sca loves to chase things and either plays frisbee or tennis ball almost every night. He also loves to go on walks.

What is your screen name? I actually have a Honda RC51 but figure that is not wear yours comes from

 

[KenRC51]

Hi and welcome to the Forum Ken.

First let me say well done for doing plenty of research before getting your pup to make sure the breed is right for you.

It dosn't sound as if the pup will be left much as your parents will be around when you are not so that is great.
Shelties are active little dogs as you will probably have gathered from this forum. They do like hikes, my 11 year old Revel recently did a 5-6 mile walk with no problems at all and was full of beans at a sheltie party in the afternoon and we walk for an hour briskly every day. Running is not exactly an issue but:
1. Do not run any distance until pup is at least 12 months to avoid damaging developing bones and tissues etc.
2. Obviously puppy would need obedience training before comencing trying to run and running should be introduced very slowly.
3. I wanted to do Cani cross with mine but it was a no go as running gets them so geed up they dance around in front or behind and I admit have nipped through being over excited on occasion. I know lots of herding breeds which find running alongside someone hard as their instinct is to run behind and the nip was used to encourage reluctant stock to move. This is where the training part would come in.



Stitch sounds lovely, I have a soft spot for Bulldogs so am looking forward to your pictures

Yes, of course I wouldn't run the pup until its adult age or pretty darn close. I will slowly adjust the speed for the pup starting off with walking for a few months then a light jog and walk until about a year then introduce a jog/run.

The really reason why I haven't gone out to buy a Sheltie already is because of their barking. I don't really like barking. I know that all dogs bark but I believed that with time and enough training you can debark them. Don't get me wrong as if I don't like all dogs that bark. I don't mind the barking just as long as its not in the middle of the night out of no where or when she hears a tiny little noise.

Welcome. As was said you need to wear them out or they will wear you out. Sca loves to chase things and either plays frisbee or tennis ball almost every night. He also loves to go on walks.

What is your screen name? I actually have a Honda RC51 but figure that is not wear yours comes from

Hey SheepofBlue, actually I had a RC51 but sold it 2 months ago. Been a proud own of the beast since 04. I love that bike, V-Twins are the best.

 

[Calliesmom]

welcome
got 3 shelties- one is laying on the keyboard- find a breed that doesn't do that- don't worry about barking

 

[Justicemom]

Welcome to th forum.

Sounds like you are a good active home for a sheltie.

Funny enough, I don't like barking either. I train my dogs from the time the come home to be quiet. They get one or 2 barks, I check and thats it. No more. I don't encourage barking for attention. The quickest way to get me to ignore you is bark at me. I don't encourage barking in greeting or just talking. I find the more bored they are the more they bark. Sure my dogs still bark but they are not any worse than any other dog. My brothers lab barks way more than all of my shelties put togther.

I have noticed some lines bark more and that dogs with poor nervous temperments bark more. Get your sheltie from a good breeder that socializes and handles their pups. Ideally raised in the home not a kennel. I play noise tapes for mine for the time they are little so they are use to normal noises and don't react to them.

Good luck with your search.

 

[KarenCurtis]

> New member from so cal!!

Hi and welcome. You seem like a good dog owner! I must be honest and say that in my opinion shelties bark alot. Sandstorms breeder told us that compared to other shelties, Sandstorm does not bark as much. That may be true, but he is our fourth dog and barks more than the others- and we did have a german-belgian shepherd. Sandstorm barks at the hair dryer when I use it, the coffee grinder, and the t.v. at times. He is very sensitive to our body language and certain sounds. Then again, a tree service truck was on our road, lots of noise, he barked and then when he was distracted by a ball he ignored that sound. Good luck with your decision, shelties are wonderful dogs and I don't think I would choose another breed. They are very trainable and smart. Sandstorm is very special to us and we adore him.
Karen

 

[OntarioSheltie]

Welcome to the forums!

You sound like a really great dog owner and are asking all of the right questions.

That being said, shelties are far from silent. From my experience, I would say they are a moderate barker (Compared to a room mate's Min Pin. that NEVER stopped barking EVER), but even moderate barking can be annoying.

Milo, my parent's sheltie was trained badly. We told my Dad that shelties did not need to be taught to bark but he wouldn't listen. As a result, he goes insane when someone comes to the door or pulls in the driveway. He's fairly quiet otherwise.

Sadie, my 3 year old sheltie girl, has an annoying habit of yipping at noises she hears. It is usually kept under control with exercise, but it can be annoying. Our neighbor's house was under construction and I thought I might kill her, she barked at every noise. Usually though, she's not too bad, although the yipping is a whole different annoyance than the all out barking (yip....yipyip....yipyip...yip...yip... versus Milo's barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark....)

Ginny, my 1 year old is pretty good 80% of the time, but barks a lot when she's excited, usually when playing). Nothing we can really do about this but try to keep her calm. At times though its just not possible, we have to let her bark to express herself, like when she's playing. She has an extremely annoying, high pitched bark (yapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyap.....)

It all comes down to what you can and cannot tolerate personally.

 

[Sharon7]

Welcome, Ken. I live up the coast from you in So Cal, nice to have another potential Sheltie Nation member from my area!

My comments are, Shelties bark. Yes you can train them to be quiet, but most of them are noise sensitive. Asta barks much less than Ally, who needs to remonstrate with the vacuum, coffee grinder, hair dryer, lawn mower.... you get the picture. Our first Sheltie used to attack the telephone when it rang, altho she grew out of that after many corrections.

There is a Sheltie club, I believe it is Tri Valley Shetland Sheepdog club and I know they are holding a special Sheltie show of some kind in November. If you Google it you'll probably find it. I believe it was going to be in the neighborhood of Santa Paula. It would be a great place to observe tons of Shelties and also talk with owners and breeders.

My one caution would be breeders who advertise "high performance/drive Shelties". My friend got one from San Diego area and the dog is just nuts. She goes so crazy during agility class - spinning, barking. She was disqualified from a Rally competition for excessive barking. So, do your research. My two Shelties like agility but they don't lose it like that.

Good for you for getting information BEFORE getting a dog!

Sharon