How do i get my new sheltie to like my home?

Question

I've just adopted a 1 year old sheltie, its lived with an old couple for mostly its whole life. Every sinces it's come it has been distan with myfamily! How do i get it to adjust? oh and it knows how to sit, what do i teach it next?

Answer 1

Give your new sheltie time. They don't instantly trust everyone. Legend has it this is because English sailors would steal the little herding dogs off their native Shetland Isles to sell on the mainland, where they were valuable. Soon, only the dogs that didn't trust very easily were left on the Island to breed, as all the more outgoing dogs had been stolen. :-)

Trust me, soon your sheltie will be stuck to your butt like wet toilet paper. Just don't force the issue. One of the first things I teach my dogs is to come when called. After that, it is down. Both can save your dog's life. If by some freak event, your dog should get out, and be standing in the path of a truck, you can call it out of the truck's way, or if your dog is coming to you and about to run into the path of danger, you can down the dog, and it will not run into the problem spot.

Congrats on your sheltie. Did you adopt her from a shelter or rescue, or privately?

Answer 2

You can teach her to speak, lay down or stay.

You get the sheltie to like your family by spending time and playing with her and feeding her and taking her for walks.

Shelties are very energetic pets. She'll need to be walked every day. I don't know if she knows how to fetch, but that's a good game for her to help get some of her energy out.

She'll come to love your family, but right now she's grieving the old couple. Just keep loving her and playing and she'll be part of the family soon.

Answer 3

I agree with Jennifer T.

I have an 8 year old sheltie, which came to me from my elderly parents when she was 2 years 5 months old. Lass and I never had much interaction, she lived 1,000 miles away & I had to fly her to my home. She was shy, and wanted to stay hidden most of the time. I already had a black lab, so she was not to be an only dog in my household. It probably took, all in all, a year for her to become fully comfortable in her new setting and around my lab. But she is like glue, now and wants to be with me all the time, everywhere I go. She learned agility, and obedience, and to catch a frissbee, and to play and be teased, and is the queen of the house.

Teach your sheltie down and stay. Shelties are very smart dogs, and have capacity to learn much more. So try obedience and agility lessons. You'll have fun, and your sheltie will bond more with you, it will learn to trust you.

Answer 4

COME SIT STAY are the big three. Most important for dog and human safety these commands being obeyed is. Anything else is secondary, and should not be taught before these three are firmly in place in the dog's mind. As for the dog warming up, don't push when they're pulling away, it is counter-productive, scaring them enough to make their discomfiture last longer. Wherever you are presented a chance, profusely show love to the new dog. Use high pitched, very much so, voice in calling, encouraging it to come, inviting to play, etc. as well as when praising them. They respond to them for some reason. And have a little patience, allowing the dog to come around when it feels comfy might help solidify in the dog's mind what a great bunch you are.

Answer 5

Give him or her a tour of your house, and be really gentle and kind with it. Show it where its bathroom is, where its bed is, where its food and water bowl is, you know, that kind of stuff. It takes time for an animal to adjust to it's new home. To answer your other question, I'd teach it to lay down, after it adjusts to your new home. You could also go on google for more help.

Answer 6

give it time. It will take a bit to settle in but it is young enough to become a part of the family easily and will be great.. t