One is never enough (kinda long)
We have four. Well, three papered, and one rescue who seems to be only part sheepdog. At the moment we have our little nuclear family, mom, dad and the pup. Hannah, Wembly and little 6 month-old Elle. Watching them intereact is fascinating. Wembly is energetic, strong-willed, loves to run, wrassle, and play. He sometimes gets too rough with me, but I have no fear with the children. He seems to know his limits and theirs. We play a game we call, "Who's tougher?" which is with a pull toy, a rope with a knot at each end. He yanks and pulls hard with me, but with my 9 year-old daughter, he is much more gentle, and even lets her win sometimes. I could go on and on with stories, but one dog's behavior which fascinates me is Hanna. She was a semi-rescue; a juvenile dog that someone got rid of and she passed through three homes by the time she was 18 months and landed with us. She can be skittish, prefers to "hide" under the kitchen table, does not play (with ball, tug or squeaky) but she loves to be petted and is quite affectionate. The first time I ever heard her growl was when she had puppies and a stranger entered the room. I didn't know she had it in her. As you might expect, Wembly is the more dominant of the two, but there are some points on which Hanna draws the line. If its just the two of them, he can eat from which ever bowl he wants, but he is not allowed to eat the puppy's food. (But SHE eats the puppy food sometimes!) She will snap at him if he does, no sound, just SNAP, SNAP. She doesn't bite, just snaps. It's hilarious! She also does not tolerate running or rowdy playing in the house. She will block the running path (nobody can run a herd like a sheepdog) and snap at the dog responsible. She will allow fetch the squeaky and lay-down wrestling. Its funny how they interact with each other and their adopted families. Any thoughts or other stories? I got a million of them. You probably do, too. |
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| As a two dog household (sadly not two sheepies) I can say that dogs DEFINATELY have their own personalities which consistently shine through. In our house the smallest is the boss and the biggest the most laid back. When Ty (the little one) is pestering Tasker (the big one) I SWEAR I cn read the look in Tasker's eyes that says "MOM, how long do I have to put up with this????????????????? |
| I've got 3 dogs/3 breeds. The differences in them are astonishing. Each one has their own very different personality and for any given situation, I can usually predict what each one will do or how they react.
I think one of the most fascinating, yet confusing behavior, at our house is the relationship between Lucy and Bear. She's clearly the boss of the three of them. Bear tries to challenge and she backs him down. If he gets near her, she growls warningly. But, sometimes, she chooses, out of all possible spots to lay, right next to him and when he looks at her wrong, she growls. Why in the heck doesn't she just avoid him in the first place? It's like she wants to test him or something. Quote: When Ty (the little one) is pestering Tasker (the big one) I SWEAR I cn read the look in Tasker's eyes that says "MOM, how long do I have to put up with this?????????????????
I see this look from Lucy A LOT! |
| Hee hee! We have two sheepdogs (Annie at 9.5 yrs, Foz at 10.5 months). Fozzie personality is still developing and it will be interesting to see what transpires.
Annie is the boss of Fozzie and I also don't think she would be heartbroken if he left and never came back. On the other hand, Fozzie wouldn't know what to do without Annie. On the brighter side, Annie has become even more spirited and active in the last 4 or so months since Fozzie became "fun". She is always looking peripherally to see what Foz is doing and whether or not he intends to be active. Based on her moods, she'll participate or lash out at him. I'm often surprised at things that don't bother her, and things that do. Everything is on Annie's terms. If she's in the mood to play, they will play. They have several rounds of tug-o-war a day. Annie will turn on Foz in an instant if there is a remote possibity that what fell on the floor might be food. Here is just a very recent example: Both sitting peacefully on the floor (Annie looking out of the corner of her eye at Foz). Fozzie farts, stands up and smells it. Annie growls and snaps at Foz in the attempt to "smell" the fart. Now that is just WRONG! |
| Well I have two sheepies and Old Blue while not a sheepie but BlueHeeler/Lab and is nearing his 18th birthday. He has lived with sheepies all his life, first with Shaggy, then Merlin and now Panda too.
Merlin is the alpha, Blue is second in command and then Panda. Merlin is the most active but also the youngest, Blue is like a grumpy old man but loves Merlin so much they rough house 2 times daily and spent time grooming each other. Panda is just loving and loves all creatures and has such a gentle disposition. Kinda hard sometimes with three of them but I wouldn't trade any of them in the world. Good post and I loved hearing about everyone else's multi-dog homes. Marianne and the boys |
| We currently have two sheepies. Hannah really came alive when we got Copper after she was the lone dog for two years. They play and wrestle several times a day. Hannah doesn't have any interest in toys unless Copper's around and then they love to play tug of war with the stuffies. They also love to make circles in the livingroom running full blast around the sofas and coffee table. Copper loves to round the circle by pushing his back legs on the good sofa and his nails are scratching & snagging it.
Copper has been carrying around his two favorite really soft stuffed teddy bears he got from Grandma for Christmas. He always comes to the door with a stuffie in his mouth. I used to tell him drop before he would go out. Now before I let him out he drops the toys by the door automatically and makes a toy collection. Hannah is clearly the boss and sometimes decides to control Copper and he settles right down. He loves to run in the backyard and she will run alongside him and herd & bark at him. Today I took Hannah to the vet and Copper gets absolutely frantic and cries and cries when we leave him home by himself. It's very difficult to get out the door because he can open the doors that have lever handles. So we had to trick him to leave the house. Totally pitiful. Hannah used to act the same way when it was her and Katrina. But when Katrina passed away it was like she knew and she settled right into her new responsibility of the only sheepie and stopped freaking out when we left. They are just a lot of fun to have around. |
| I've had two sheepies for about 3 months. I was afraid Buster, my oldest at 2 yrs old, was bored by himself during the day so I started looking around for another dog. Within a week, we were blessed to find, Cappy, a 1.5 year old sheepdog, from a rescue organization.
I now refer to both of them as "The Boys". Buster is usually the dominant one but it amazes me what he will let Cappy get away with! If I give them both a treat, Cappy always takes Busters's from him. Buster is definitely more laidback than Cappy and just allws Cappy to take both. He's such a toddler!! When they play in the yard together, Buster stands in the middle and lets Cappy run past him. Then, he will try to catch him as he runs by. Buster certainly doesn't try to exert himself too much. Cappy will sleep all night in bed with me....Buster gets up and roams around so I usually don't try to get him to sleep with me. The dogs love to wrestle with one another. I'm always amused when they use their paws when playing. Sometimes, it looks like they are trying to get each other in chokeholds. They lick each other's ears and they bite each other's necks. But, it seems to be all in fun. Cappy is always ready to play - Buster has his moments. When he does decide to play with Cappy, he will get up and growl at him. They both make the funniest noises. Not barking....it seems like they talk to one another! They are both very gentle with my 9yr old daughter and her friends. But, they do like to play with the kids and eat my daughter's toys. Buster, in particular, likes to chew on Barbie dolls. Cappy prefers to counter surf in the kitchen. Every evening, I come in from work wondering what they will have gotten into. Cappy also likes to each socks....Buster likes pantyhose. I keep warning the kids to keep everything up so the dogs won't get ahold of it. Well, as you can tell, I am crazy about my boys and could talk about them all night! But, it is getting late - time for bed, Cappy! |
| Bosley we've had since a pup, and Dixie for almost a year. They are both around the same age, turning 2 this spring.
Bosley is very much rough and tumble with Dixie, bosses her around and acts like he is "da man. He won't let her near anything that is like a rawhide or a Nylabone, but toys are fine for playing tug a war with together. He is very clingy to her, and always wanting to know where she is and what she is doing. He gets quite frantic and cries when he cannot find her. He is a big wuss and if something is scary (like the wabbits out back) he will let her go first. Dixie will share anything with Bosley and even let him steal stuff from her. She is much more independant, and doesn't miss him in the least, when he is not around. She has her moments, though, when she wants to play and she will annoy him to no end....And every morning, without fail, she physically attacks him at the bottom of the stairs. I think she lets him "think" he is in charge, but like most gals, she really is. 
These two spend their days either wrestling, playing tug, or chasing each other around.....or sleeping .......There is no in-between. |
| Here' the pecking order at my house, dog wise: 7 year old Archie is in charge of the puppies. He seems to welcome his elevation in status because when Merlin was alive, Archie was always #2 dog. Now, he enjoys being No. 1. Sophie, who is 9 months old, would very much like to be in charge, but she absolutely respects Archie and won't challenge him directly. Sherman, Sophie's littermate is low man on the totem pole. He automatically takes a rear position when treats are being handed out. He won't challenge Archie and will go to great lengths to avoid a confrontation with either Archie, who recognizes that the puppies are old enough to know manners now and will growl if they get out of hand, or Sophie, who has ambitions to rule the world. However, he and Sophie do wrestle and tussle quite a bit. Since Sherman is now almost as big as Archie, it will be interesting to see how they interact. So far, it's been a lot of chase and run and guiding by Archie.
Archie likes to hoard toys and adores any toy that squeaks. He gives them up to humans without a hint of complaint, but woe to the puppy who tries to get one of his hoard! Sophie also likes to hoard toys. She loves all toys, but especially tennis balls. Sherman likes toys well enough, but with the other two around, who knows if he would also hoard if he had a chance? Sophie and Sherman love for me to throw a tennis ball. They will bring it back for me to throw again. Archie loves for me to throw a tennis ball so he can catch it and add it to his pile of stuff. Also, it turns out he can comfortably carry 2 tennis balls in his mouth. He cannot manage 3. So, if Sophie gets the tennis ball first, she'll bring it to me, carefully concealing that she has it and drop it quietly into my hand furthest away from ARchie, so he won't come and try to steal it. Both boys are much bigger than Sophie so she's less physically confrontational now than she was when she was younger. Sophie and Sherman do vie for toys and will tussle a bit for a prize. One night, Archie was watching as Sherman, in a bold move stole a toy from the momentarily distracted Sophie. Sophie wanted the toy back and she and Sherman were about to have a showdown when Archie, watching with a big grin on his face, gets up, walks across the room as if to say, "I'll settle this one" and simply picks up the disputed toy and walks off with it, full of self-satisfaction. I've watched Sophie manipulate Sherman into squeaking a toy (both know a squeak will bring Archie to steal the toy so they usually keep the toys quiet unless they want to interact with ARchie). Then, when ARchie goes off to get the squeaky, Sophie runs to grab Archie's toy, very pleased with herself. Notice a theme? Sherman is often out in the cold, toy wise, but he gets even by finding some human to give him lots of love. The dogs all know that if there is barking outside, they have to come in. They also are let in if anyone is at the back door, as soon as they are noticed or if they scratch. I've seen Sophie get the boys to bark at some passerby and then run to the back door where she's waiting to be let in, like a perfect angel. Hah! |
| We have 5, 2 of whom are sheepies. The pack leader is a female, either MO sheepdog or Glacier the Great Pyr. I suspect MO is mostly pack leader and Glacier lets her believe it. Of course MO is the smallest but also the most active so she gets around to boss everyone.
Fox, the old man Pyr has never been buddies with anyone. He is the bottom of the pack and always has been. Such a shame because he is such a love. However, he does take his turn at patrol. Pyrs patrol by barking.....seems like constantly and watching the yard. Jack sheepdog and Harry mix have become buds. Jack would like to be the pack leader but he has MO and Glacier in front of him. When Paige Pyr was here, I suspect she was pack leader overall, but never showed it except with Sam Pyr. They'd have "words" from time to time. I never saw her boss other dogs, but all dogs respected her. Must have been her body language. I feel very lucky to have had a continually changing pack and not had a problem for 15 years or so. Everyone pretty much gets along.....because I'm the one who is LARGE AND IN CHARGE and they know it! |
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