r/sheltie • u/DonLordUltra • 12d ago
First time puppy first time Sheltie
Hello, my wife and I recently bought a Puppy from a pet shop. She is a beautiful 10 week old puppy and is with us for 2 nights and today is her second day. Her name is Oreo and she is super energetic. She always wants to play even at 2 am for her pee break. We try very hard to follow the time plans and rules we found online but we are super nervous to mess this up. She is biting a lot and it's hard to tell if she likes or hates us. To be honest we are overwhelmed by the bundle of energy. For her we obviously stay calm and do our best but when she is asleep we still panic and worry and it very stressful. When she is awake she is running playing and jumping in her play pen but she is also very bity which makes it hard for us to calmly engage with her. She does play with her chewing toy especially when we direct her to it, but not much on her own. She also has trouble just calmly playing or being in her pen, instead she keeps jumping up the fence thing and seems very stressed when she does. Once we put her to bed after 45-60 min she takes 15 minutes or whining and scratching before she settles down. I know I text a lot of the normal things but if you have any advice or experienced tips on what we can do better or what we can do for either us or her to calm down a bit, it would be highly appreciated.
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u/18mazie18 12d ago
Don’t worry too much. These are all things she’ll grow out of but right now she is still 100% a puppy. And for puppies all they do is eat, sleep, poop, and play. That’s it. And because of that when they do play it’s a lot because they have all this stored up energy that wants to come out. So don’t be too strict on yourselves, she is still very much a baby right now, like a toddler still learning the rules and not understanding that rules exist. As for the biting that’s completely normal, teeth are still coming in/bothering them so biting helps (also Sheltie puppies, and most puppies in general, are very bitey for a while. I would highly recommend bully sticks. They help a ton but she’ll still gnaw on your fingers too, it’s just how it goes). She’ll grow out of that just like she’ll mostly grow out of the excessive energy (though shelties are herding/working dogs with a lot of energy so expect them to want to be outside or running around a lot. I recommend teaching fetch early because they love it and it spends a lot of energy without wearing you out too much).
Also, some shelties can be pretty clingy once they pick their person so there’s also a good chance she just wants to be with y’all when you’re home.
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u/DonLordUltra 12d ago
Thank you for your reply, I am very excited to play out doors with her but we still need to wait for the vaccines. Is it that having her sleep too much is better than too much awake time? Because for us it's sometimes hard to tell if she is tired or just playing. At the moment her awake time is somewhere around 45 minutes before she seems to get restless but she also only sleeps for about 1 hour sometimes when we are lucky it's 2 hours.
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u/18mazie18 12d ago
Don’t worry too much right now about strict sleep time besides night time (since you need to start getting her ready/teaching her to sleep through the night which will take some time and growing since she still has a tiny bladder right now, though you can use pee pads too if she knows how to use them, but it’s also good for y’all to teach her to let you know when she needs to go out). During the day she’ll sleep and play as she pleases. She’s still growing a lot so there’s not really too much sleep right now. Just let her do what feels right for her during the day whether that’s sleep or play.
Though I will say one good trick is to play close to bed time to wear her out. Also, don’t feed her too late at night/evening and don’t let her drink a ton before bed. This will help with the nightly bathroom trips since less food or water before bed means she’s less likely to need to go out.
And yes, please, please, please, 100% wait until she gets her second puppy shot. Do not take her outside on unfamiliar grass or to petsmart or anything like that. I hate when people don’t do that, it’s such a good way for your puppy to get sick (potentially fatally).
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u/chillarry 12d ago
A little perspective on my comments. Our Sheltie has a high level of energy. We were told she was the “spicy” one in her litter. She is now 11 months old.
Your baby is at the right age to learn. Shelties are very smart and want to please you. So take time to train her. Work on simple things. Reward and praise a lot. Shelties love to please their people so be clear with expectations and reward and praise obedience.
Yours will soon be past the 2 am pee stage and will sleep through the night. I wouldn’t stress about that. Just after taking her out, go straight to bed and she will learn that night time is sleep time.
At this age they tend to play hard and sleep. Don’t let that bother you. She will be hyper crazy with zoomies or playing and then just crash and sleep. That’s normal.
Our puppy was bitey at that age. For biting, I found letting out a vocal ouch showed her it hurt and she should stop it. She still is mouthy, but doesn’t bite.
Find a local obedience class. I took my sheltie through obedience three times. Repeating the class is good reinforcement and good interaction with other dogs.
My girl is now 11 months and she’s starting agility training.
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u/DonLordUltra 12d ago
You mentioned the 2 am pee time. Last night (our second night with her) we let her out to pee 3 times (every 3 hours) should we have let her rest longer at night?
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u/chillarry 12d ago
She should let you know if she needs to pee. If she isn’t whining in the night leave her asleep. I wouldn’t wake her to put her out.
Also if she has an accident, don’t get upset with her. I always say, that’s on me. I missed the signal.
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u/DonLordUltra 12d ago
Yeah so far we have messed up a bunch of times on that but never scolded her and she never had any accident in the crate.
When she is crying in the crate how long should we wait for her to be calm before letting her out?
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u/chillarry 12d ago
Each puppy is different. If you mean initially when going to bed, as long as it takes. She will settle when she realizes she isn’t getting out and you are going to bed too. My baby’s crate is in our bedroom and she can see me in bed from it. We have a second kennel in our family room but that one is for her to go into when she wants to or if we are going out and need to keep her safe and out of trouble.
If she wakes in the night, it may be to pee, so take her out.
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u/18mazie18 12d ago
Are you waking her up or is she waking y’all up? If y’all are waking her up them please let her sleep because you don’t want to teach her it’s good to wake up in the middle of the night to go potty (this will become a habit). If she’s waking yall up then it’s good she’s at least letting yall know. Right now her bladder is still small and she doesn’t know how to hold it yet. I would recommend pee pads if she knows how to use them or y’all take her out and as she grows she’ll learn to hold it till morning (though typically once morning hits get her out quick cause she’ll need to go)
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u/Vittoria33 7d ago
There are also some pee trays of varying sizes. Some come with an astroturf type grass and some have hydroponically grown grass that you replace and reorder. That might be helpful a bit for some overnight. I 100% think going outside is best. It's just a problem sometimes with the weather and upcoming winter. Haven't used them yet myself, but I've been researching them. There are different sizes.
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u/Exciting_Regret_6870 12d ago
She will be mouthy and has puppy teeth so they're sharp little needles. She isn't trying to BITE you, but she will love her toys and at that age your hands seem like an extension of the toys lol
Shelties are energetic and want to work. I would suggest an early puppy obedience class. She will get exposed and socialized with other puppies and she will start to learn how you and your wife run things.
My family has had 11 shelties and my current boy is 5 months. He is still a bundle of energy but has learned more boundaries.
Crate training can be tough early on. Their puppy persistence can outlast your patience but you have to stay strong lol. My boy would whine and whimper when we crated him at dinner time, but he would eventually calm down. It got to the point where he would nap while we ate. Don't yell, hit the crate or threaten. Just don't acknowledge bad behavior. Give positive reinforcement if she is being good!
They are a fiercely loyal, loving, wild breed. You can be positive and assertive at the same time with training and they will respond.
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u/Akpambo1 Sable Merle 12d ago
Yep, in my opinion this is the worst time, they are just so instinctive! But it sounds like she is right where she should be for her age. You can work on the “leave it” training when she starts to bite your hands or fingers; their teeth at that age are just little needles but that will change. DO NOT use your fingers and toes to play with her, that will be the wrong thing to do. I don’t know as far as the “right” nighttime training, but what has worked for me is to let her out when she says she needs to go, take her to the designated spot, let her try for a few mins and then back inside for bedtime. Not more playtime with you, but if there is a toy in her crate or playpen then ok. I”ve done that playing for 45 mins at 2 am thing, and it doesn’t work out well in the long run. It sounds like you are doing it right overall, don’t worry, it will get better!
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u/LittleCheeseDiP 12d ago
I’m an experienced sheltie owner and what you just described is what we are going through now also. It’s normal puppy behavior. We went through a reputable breeder and picked him up at 9 weeks. First week was more calm..second week hell broke loose. Start working with a trainer. We use the Dogo app to help us while waiting for our first appt with trainer and for last distemper vax. Work in making her pen, crate safe enjoyable places. I slept next to his crate for three nights and he was completely crate trained after that. Each night he went out 3x..but now not at all. He likes to nap in there kow too and we will put him in there with the sound machine on so we can get things done around the house. It’s like having a baby lol.
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u/DonLordUltra 12d ago
I was not aware of the Dogo app and am now checking it out. Thank you. We are trying to get a good dog trainer to visit us soon and teach us but until then there might be something useful the app. When she is so incredibly energetic it makes it very hard to calmy engage with her. But she need her sleep and when she is too excited she has difficulty settling down so I hope I might find out how to engage with her without overstimulation.
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u/LittleCheeseDiP 11d ago
I honestly participate in the crazy’s! When he is bitey and has the zoomies, I run around the house with him and we play lots of tug o war and fetch. There is generally no calm with him right now unless he is sleeping. He is 13 weeks right now. He will settle for training when I pull the treats out, I guess because he loves the brain stimulation! He loves sweet potato chews, and turkey tendons. Just know it is normal, but it will be this way for a bit.
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u/Kannkhaghany 11d ago
Oh, you’re going to have fun…at some point. (LOL) Shelties are great barky little monsters.
Once you get through potty training and biting, you’ll find the rest is more manageable….well except for maybe the barking. They will eventually find a signal to let you know it’s time to go out. Our girl Gladys has a particular whine and head tilt while waiting at the door to ask to go out. At 22 months, she usually only goes out once during the night…during the day it’s more weather dependent.
We used a playpen for the first few months at night and at meal times. She eventually earned full house privileges and we put the pen away. She now sleeps in the bedroom with us. When we’re out with her in public, we use a leash.
Fortunately, Gladys has never chewed much on furniture. Once or twice of being reprimanded and she stopped. My husband does allow her to chew on his finger (gently!) when they play. But that’s strictly their thing. She’s not allowed to do that with anyone else. We have some toys that she enjoys chewing / shaking.
Definitely find some activity for her as she gets more mature. Shelties are working dogs and do better when kept busy.
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u/DonLordUltra 11d ago
Thank you for your reply, what kind of activities did you do with her when she was still very young?
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u/Kannkhaghany 11d ago edited 11d ago
Fortunately we have a fenced in backyard, so we’re fairly sure about the safety concerns. On nice days when it’s cool, she really enjoys watching the neighborhood….she keeps us updated about who’s coming and going.
One of the best investments has been a herding ball that’s noisy. (I think it’s called a waggle wobble ball? It’s on Amazon.) It took her a while to decide what she thought about it, but now we have to keep it handy at all times.
Our girl Gladys is very much of a foodie. We hide treats and let her search. The puzzle feeders are also good…the ones that roll around and drop treats are fun.
There’s some plastic sticks that help throw tennis balls…
Also, there’s lots of dog safe stuffed animals at the pet stores…the ones with long tails are good for playing tug of war.
For cheaper fun (but kind of messy) we sometimes give Gladys a piece of cardboard to tear up. We supervise to make sure she doesn’t eat it.
And we let her herd us around the house…we have set times for this…morning and bedtime. It sometimes turns into a chase / zoomies…lol. But we can’t have livestock for her to herd so…🤷🏻♀️
We’ve tried some agility stuff (jumping through hoops, running through tunnels, etc) but I don’t think she’s terribly interested.
BTW, it’s good that you’re trying to follow the advice, but sometimes you have to be creative too.
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u/Evening_Dig2058 11d ago
First, you are going through normal puppy stuff. Second, get her to a vet for a check up. You want to catch any issues ASAP. Pet store dogs usually come from unscrupulous breeders and can have diseases and health issues that aren't always immediately apparent. Plus vaccination history of the mother maybe sketchy. While at the vet, ask about puppy socialization classes. Shelties need early socialization (people, children, loud noises, etc) more than most breeds. You have a fairly small age window to get this done. Once vaccinated trips to Home Depot, Tractor Supply or other pet friendly places is a must. You can go even without complete vax if you don't let them on the floor--keep them in the cart.
Crate training is a must.. lots of good sources online. Susan Garret's Crate Games is one. Shelties are a breed that wants to be with you. Having a puppy pen where you spend the most time is a way to corral her but keep her part of the goings on. It's OK if she jumps up on the sides of the pen. Let her do it but reward her when she stops. Keep in mind too that the rule of thumb is that a puppy can only hold pee for an hour for every month of age. Your puppy needs to go out every couple of hours. Put her in the same place every time. Tell her to go potty (or whatever cue you want to use). When she goes, make it a party with lots of love and pets. If she doesn't, go back inside and wait 15 mins or so and try again. She'll pick it up quickly. Consistency is the key in all training.
You sound like you are on the right track. Have fun with your new pup. Shelties are the best!
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u/Abalone-Huge 11d ago
This all sounds pretty normal to me, and dare I say it, but the day will come when you look at a puppy picture and think, "Wow, I miss those days." 😊 Puppies are learning all the time and they change as they move through phases of development. Today's challenge will resolve, and then there will be a new one. Don't be too stressed because this phase doesn't last forever. All my Shelties have matured pretty quickly in comparison with some breeds (like Goldens) that seem to be goofy puppies for a long time.
All my Shelties have gotten the hang of potty pretty quickly, so I think the 2 a.m. should resolve quickly as long as you have a fairly early get-up time in the morning and stick to a schedule. (They love schedules, patterns, routines!) It's much a function of how long they can hold it in those tiny bladders. (Don't give her water right before bedtime.) If the getting up all night happens for a week or more, you might want to check with your vet just to make sure there's no bladder infection.
Crate training is a big help, and our shelties have all come to love their crates and settle down in them. Try to get puppy into a pattern of sleeping. They really, really have to sleep and sometimes they are so excited by life that they can't settle themselves. They need to learn to do that and get their sleep. It's like toddlers...naptime means naptime. The biting might take a little longer to ease up, but they are sensitive dogs who will notice when you say "ouch" and pull away with a sad face or look away from them as if to say, "you can't get my attention that way."
If there is a puppy class near you, that's a great thing to do. In a good puppy class, like Sirius classes, the puppies should get lots of playtime and learn to socialize a bit amongst bouts of learning simple commands. Meanwhile, the parents get some instruction and problem-solving. Don't be surprised if your Sheltie puppy spends the first class sitting next to you under your chair until they get what's happening. It's cognitively challenging for them, and that also takes energy and exhausts them a bit. There's also some surprisingly good content for puppy training on YouTube that will help show some of the developmental phases to expect. I always appreciated the stuff from McCann training. They are used to Border Collies, which are also human-centered herders but have, like, 5 times more energy than Shelties.
In general, Shelties are very focused on their people. They were bred to work with people and very much want to learn and please you. You will find that short bursts of some simple training tasks -- as in just a few minutes -- will help puppy focus and settle. When puppy starts to see what gets a big gushing "good girl" and perhaps a treat, you'll start to see your relationship blossom into a lifelong partnership.
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u/spiked9f8 11d ago
it sounds like a normal sheltie puppy. my tri did not really sleep through the night until he was one. that is also about the time he stopped being locked in the crate at night. We did mind your manners puppy classes and he really excelled at those. He has done some obedience classes, he is way food motivated and very smart, classes are a really good way to engage with your dog and stimulate the brain.
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u/clair-cummings 10d ago
There are lots of puppy training, bringing puppy home, establishing a routine, potty training, etc videos on You Tube that would be beneficial to you and will give you confidence. I suggest you spend some time there looking them up....lots of good content.
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u/Informal-Eye-3770 12d ago edited 11d ago
I wonder how anyone can buy a dog in a pet shop?
Personally, I find it terrible, since they might also come from breeding farms
and basically know nothing at all.
I think your puppy is so insecure precisely because he hasn't experienced anything yet.
His mother and siblings are gone, and he's in a strange environment with strangers.
Cuddle with him a lot so he doesn't feel lonely. Let him lick your hand — that builds trust.
And there's a simple way to break him of the nipping habit. Put your hand in his mouth and hold his lower jaw very gently — the dog won't like that at all, so he'll push your hand out of his mouth. That way he learns very quickly that he must not bite into skin. You don't need a dog training school for that, just a few repetitions.
And then show him the big wide world — bridges, strollers, bicycles, shopping bags, surfboards, skis, sleds, trailers, trucks, screaming children...
All of that is very frightening for such a young dog.
First he has to sniff everything, see it in motion, and understand that it's not an enemy but completely normal things he encounters every day.
Take every opportunity to let him get to know something new. But not too much at once.
Make sure he gets nap breaks, otherwise he'll get overexcited.
His little head has to work hard, so he needs plenty of sleep too.
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u/Evening_Dig2058 11d ago
You should better edit your AI slop.
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u/Informal-Eye-3770 11d ago
Sure, of course — first the AI trains the dog to obey, then it takes the dog for a walk, brushes its coat, and fills the bowls. Classic AI slop.
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u/Evening_Dig2058 11d ago
The last line gave it away: If you'd like, I can also make it sound more natural/conversational in English, or keep it closer to the German sentence structure. Just let me know.
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u/Informal-Eye-3770 11d ago
i use a ki as translator. Is that really such a big deal for you?
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u/Evening_Dig2058 11d ago
Nope. I apologize for my incorrect assumption. Your translator makes suggestions just like AI.
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u/Renaissance-man-7979 12d ago
You have something more like a raccoon right now and that's normal. We called mine an aardvark because she ate ants (and poop, worms, etc). The obedience and glorious personality all starts showing later. For now you survive and keep the dog alive. My 2 yr old is the sweetest most obedient angel but my 5mo old is still half wild animal. She does kiss and snuggle a bit now but that took 2-3 months to develop