Tips for Efficient Shetland Sheepdog Training

The Shetland Sheepdog is one of the most popular dog breeds right now, and the breed enjoys a global following. And who would not fall for a sheltie? The diminutive stature and charming personality is hard to turn away, and is very much welcome in many homes. Even honest to goodness dog sport competitors will find the breed among the most trainable, versatile and agile. Currently not many of these natives of Scotland may be engaged in their original working history, which was herding, but they nevertheless are still very keen attention seekers. Unfortunately, this is sometimes among the main reasons for negative behaviors among shelties; it is worse when the dogs belong to people who either don't know or don't care how to properly train. The result is a rather unpredictable, and indeed a nuisance pet.

Check out these tips on shetland sheepdog training:

Tip 1: Shetland Sheepdogs are without a doubt, brainy dogs. Training is easy since these dogs are quick to get motivated; for example, they love treats and toys. Training needs to start as early as possible since older Shetland Sheepdogs tend to be more reserved and less open. More socializing with shelties as puppies will lead to better stability and confidence once your dogs are older.

Tip 2: Shelties are very much part of the herding group, despite the irony of shelties nowadays doing much less herding. This explains the dogs love for chasing. One of them may be seen trying to herd children, or anything moving. The solution to this dilemma is to channel the dog's desire to go after moving objects, e.g. balls and other toys.

Tip 3: The dog needs to be given exercise. Their bodies and brains will need to be stimulated. Lack of exercise may result to the difficulty in training them. There are plenty of activities that can be done with these dogs, whether agility, or for obedience and tricks.

Tip 4: Leadership needs to be firmly and consistently exercised by the owner over the Shetland Sheepdog. Shelties, being dogs, are pack animals through and through. Dogs also need to be taught that that humans are the leaders. Leadership is basically about the dog owner/trainer asserting authority and putting in place some boundaries. A trainer who makes it clear to the dog(s) that he or she is the pack leader, has more chances of being able to successfully train the dog.

Tip 5: Shelties are sensitive to their humans' voice, facial expressions, and body language; they can sense the mood of a person, and will adjust their own behavior accordingly. These dogs will clam up when taught or trained harshly. Positive training is better. With this, it will be seen that these dogs are indeed quick at absorbing new learning, and are fun to work with because they are so eager to please.

Lastly, it should be clear that shetland sheepdog training doesn't really eat up plenty of time; even ten minutes a day is already enough. Once the sheltie aces (and they will really master these!) dog lessons on the basics like leash walking, and commands like come, sit, down and stay, a sheltie is on his way to bigger things.