AboutDave Expertise My wife and I are active Sheltie owners. Helpful hints on discipline, training, disposition, selection, and of course acquisition. We think like dogs, so we can help you understand yours!
Experience 2 Shelties currently owned. Rescued and placed 9 dogs (3 non Sheltie).
Question My boyfreind just bought me a female sheltie she is 1 1/2 yrs old she has had one owner she is very shy and doesnt like to play. What can i do
Answer Hi Bonny,
I'm going to cut and paste a previous answer and make some slight tips just for you:
The best answer is to let her see what is going on in the room, and then try to include her. She is in a completely alien environment and has no idea why she can not go back home where she has been for the last year. We have no idea what socialization she has had and you need to treat this as a special needs case.
Give her some space and don't force affection on her. We don't want her to run from you.
tips:
-start building confidence with leash training
-give her a safe crate in the social room. Make sure the crate door is open and she can come and go as she wants. The crate is her safe spot. Watch how she will retreat there and come back out when ready.
If no voluntary social activity:
-keep everyone else away and get in a quiet room with her and some treats. Play bow to her from far away and sneeze at her. roll over on your back and show your belly: all of these are extremely non threatening activities in dog language. If she makes any inkling toward you, use the small bite sized treats (like a cheezit or something actually healthy such as pieces of cooked chicken). Heap praises on her. Maybe try a ball or something with a yummy flavor to encourage her with her nose and tummy to interact like a kong.
Don't be surprised if this takes a while. Do get on the leash and get her out into public quickly if you already have been doing training. If not, start training daily then take her out to town after she starts responding well to you.
Read through my other posts. I think you'll find lots of tips there.
