Timid Sheltie

C

cody6

Forums Regular
Hi all,I recently purchased a B/W male from a breeder,at the time of purchase he was 14 months old.According to the breeder he was orginally going to be a keeper for show & breeding.Unfortunatly he was approx 1" too big for show.so she decided to sell him to a good home.I must admit he is an absolutely gorgeous dog.With my wife & me while in our house or on our property he is every thing a shelltie should be affectionate,playful(likes wrestling with our 4yr old cat):lol:etc.However once off our property,he becomes very timid,once he's finished his business he wants to go straight back home.Trying to get him to for a longer walk has turned into a test of wills his & mine,he stops every 30 feet or so & heads for home(he's on a harness & leash at all times when off our property)My two previous shelties liked going for walks,nearly broke the door down when I picked up their leash.Any ideas to improve his willingness to go for a walk?:smile2:Cody
-he socializes well with other dogs
-he's been debarked & neutered
 
I have a sheltie, that I too brought home when she was 14 months old.
and had and still have some problems with meeting new people and dogs.

The only suggestion is to be patient, and maybe if he likes other dogs it may help if you can borrow one who likes to go for walks and he will see that walking is fun. My girl learn't that walking was OK when she was with the other dogs. Two years later she is now walking well without the others.
Maybe if you have an obedience school that you could take her too this will also help tremendously with socialization outside her own home.
Good luck.
Sylvia & our 4 shelties.
 
Smokie is also a timid dog especially around people. He is some what around other dogs except other shelties. We got him at about 10 months and may not have socialized to well.

Tim
 
There is a book called Help for a shy dog that is worth reading. it actually contains examples of shy shelties. Most are human shy but the ideas are transferrable

His refusing to walk might also be an age thing. My male went through a stage of digging his heels in if it didnt want to go somewhere and 'groaning' if I drove somewhere he didnt want to go. Its a typical adolescent thing.

Is there a smaller dog near you that he can visit occassionally - even just walk past on walks? Or a local oval or park where other dog owners go? I would start with only very short introductions (starting with a few seconds) and then work up. Also, do you see any other dog walkers when out? Its always good to say hello yourself so your dog will think 'that dog must be okay because my owner spoke to their owner' (at least that was what I was told for my very shy sheltie girl).
 
This is a little off the subject, but you said your sheltie had been "neutered and debarked"......Do you mean the vocal cord operation??? Is this really done on a regular basis??? I know shelties, including ours, can be nuisance barkers, but is this a routine procedure ???
 
He'd probably do better if you walked him with a doggie friend who is layed back and confident. It might help him gain confindence and learn that walks are fun and not something to fear.
 
Timid sheltie & debarking

Hi, thanks for your advice,one of my neighbours has a small female b/w sheltie I've noticed when I meet them going out for a walk my guy will fall right in step with her.They make an interesting pair he's too big & she's too small,we have oftened commented that between the two of them they would make a perfect sheltie:lol:On the subject of debarking I didnt realize my guy was debarked until the breeder said she debarked all her dogs,at that point I was going to purchase my guy debarked or not.Actually he can still bark only at a much lower pitch than my previous shelties.I live in condo with a small courtyard.not all my neighbours are dog lovers & I know would complain ad infinitum about a dog's bark being an intrusion on their peace & quite.While Im not in favour of debarking in my case its probably the best for all concerned:smile2:Cody
 
Thanks for the direction to the debarking thread, I've never heard of it until now, made for interesting reading.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top