[inadaze]

Hey everyone!
My girlfriend and I adopted a 2 yrs old (about) Sheltie about 5 months ago. We already had a Great Dane since birth who is now about the same age and we trained him ourselves without any problems.

But our Sheltie is causing us a lot of stress. And we find more and more that the methods we used on our Great Dane do not work for our Sheltie.

He barks and whimper/whine A LOT (and has taught our Great Dane these unfortunate qualities). He sometimes nips and bites (not hard - it is more of the motion) when we touch him - for instance when we dry his feet after being outside. Although that is slowly getting better. He bites the bottom of his paws. He licks things a lot (the floor, carpet, and often we see tiny wet patches on the couch when we have been out - because he is not allowed on the couch). He always shows his teeth at our other dog and doesn't get along well with him in general. He often takes toys away from our Great Dane only to drop them and loose interest a few seconds later. Our Great Dane wants to play with him but has sort of lost interest and now rarely bothers with him.

I have recently admitted to myself that in the last 4 months I have had him, I have not trainned him as well as our first dog. So now I have taken the task on more seriously. But I do need some help (even some breed specific tips). Anyone have a Sheltie that could help me out?

Also, I assume that he is showing signs of seperation anxiety and insecurity. Any pointers on that?

Also, we did get a second dog so that our first would have someone else to play with. I know such a large dog is intimidating but our Sheltie seems to lack some of the "niceness" and playfulness that I read about the breed. Any comments on this?

thanks
Jason

[Dogstar]

Your sheltie may be stressed by the larger dog (some that I know are really sensitive dogs and easily intimidated by larger or physically overbearing dogs). Danes and shelties have very different play styles too- when the sheltie takes the toy, your dane is supposed to chase him. :P What does your dane do?

Have you taught him how to play tug properly yet? If you can get him to tug with a person, you may be able to transfer that game to your dane.

Foot licking and chewing can be a sign of allergies (typically food allergies but also environmental) and stress. Also, have you had his thyroid checked? Thyroid problems are really common in shelties and can contribute to low energy, a dull coat, and generally 'sad' dog.

Cait (more in a few minutes, I gotta run to a client's real quick.)

[inadaze]

I think mys Sheltie is scared of my Dane. Is there anything I can do about that? My Dane is really nice and means him no harm. He has tried to play but is only met with growling, showing teeth and eventually the Sheltie just walks away.
He does play tug (and really likes it). I even got him to play with my Dane for a few seconds but then he gave up. Maybe I will keep trying.
He does sneeze a lot. Would allergies have an effect on his personality (I guess a stupid question)?

From the description, I wouldn't think he has a thyroid problem. He has LOTS of energy (just doesn't really like to play - more walking and running with me), healthy coat and doesn't look sad. Are there any other signs?

thanks
Jay

[TooneyDogs]

Allergies will affect the personality. Their skin, tongue and paws itch all the time...the eyes frequently get gunky. A constant state of itching will make any dog behave very differently and being touched is often met with resistance/dislike.
The Shelties I've had (4 of them) never played much with each other. Once in awhile (a couple weeks apart) some chasing but, that's about it. And none of them have ever really played with another dog...not through a lack of socialization....just no interest in dog play. But, give them a tennis ball to chase or some jumps and their eyes light up!

[inadaze]

Ok. Good to know. I will get him checked out for allergies. Any idea's on how to control the vocalization? I have trained him "quiet" when he is vocal and it works some of the time, but has anyone had any experience with this.
I suppose my question is more "How to discipline a Sheltie?". Because they are so sensitive, I find myself making situations worse by being to sturn. I have read a lot about only using positive reinforsement with Shelties but sometimes I find they need to know that they have crossed the line (instead of turning a blind eye). Any advice?

cheers,
jay

[TooneyDogs]

Make your corrections silent ones or single word corrections...don't add to the volume. This is a very difficult habit to break. Use the stamping of your foot on the floor (this is how Mom tells her pups to Stop! or show dissapproval) or tap the lower jaw and introduce the Quiet/That's Enough/Shhh command at the same time as you tap the jaw.
You'll be much more effective at this if you understand why he's barking and try to control those situations. For example; barking out of frustration, for attention, Alert or watchdog barking.
I recently got a comment from the club president (who has known one of my Shelties for 8 years) that my Sheltie is the quietest one she had ever seen. She doesn't know how hard I worked on his biggest barking problem...watchdog barking. That's one where you need to take the extra step of walking in between the distraction and your dog and thanking them for the Alert....basically showing/teaching your dog that you will handle the situation...their job is done now.

[inadaze]

Do you mean tap MY lower jaw in a sort of sign language?

i do find that my biggest problem is barking for attention. When we seperate ourselves from him be barks. For instance, I just fenced in an area in my backyard for the dogs, or in the car when I get out first, or if i go inside and he is outside the house... The watchdog barking isn't so bad and he does quiet rapidly when I say so. It is the seperation barking that I cannot control. I don't know if I should ignore it so that he doesn't get attention when he barks or correct it...

but good tips. I will try and calm him like that when he barks as a watchdog, and I will try the foot stomp (although my floors are ceramic and I may end up hurting my foot rather than stopping him. lol)

thanks
jay

[TooneyDogs]

Originally Posted by inadaze

Do you mean tap MY lower jaw in a sort of sign language?

I haven't tried that! I meant the dog...just a light tap and you don't want to do this too often. You don't want to make him hand shy. Give it just a few tries and see if the message is starting to get through. Again, don't foget to pair that with the command and always, always praise for when he's quieted down.

I will try the foot stomp (although my floors are ceramic and I may end up hurting my foot rather than stopping him. lol)

It doesn't have to be a hard, loud stomp. Just the motion is usually enough to get the message across.

[inadaze]

haha. I am glad I asked!

On the topic of praising good behaviour, I have noticed sometimes when he whines and I say "quiet", he does stop. But after, when I say "good boy", he starts whinning again. i feel like I am giving mixed signals.

cheers,
jay

[TooneyDogs]

Whinning is hard to figure out sometimes. Mostly it's frustration and exactly what they want sometimes enters the realm of guessing....potty, some play time, a bone to chew, some petting, go for a walk? The one common denominator though is always....you.....they can't accomplish any of those things without you. Often, doing almost anything with them will fix it.

[giasopapilla]

I don't currently own a sheltie, but I completely agree with the positive discipline. Our sheltie was extremely sensitive and was apt to being afraid and even acting out when she was scared, even during training. Petting and praise worked the best for her, even to stop her barking. She responded to quiet corrections in a firm voice then immediate praise. She would usually stop barking if she could stick close to us. Shelties are barkers, though, so prepare your eardrums!