I'm planning to leave my OES out doors 24/7
 Hi every one,
Problem: My OES, Yogi, nipped by wife's lower lip about 9 months ago after she tried to wake him. As a result she has wanted him out since. Yogi and my older dog Miranda often rumble for my wife's attention (it sounds 10 times uglier than the rumble really is), and today Yogi, in an attempt to greet my 5 month pregnant wife jumped up on his hind legs and pushed her down to the floor. As a result she threatened to leave me if I do not give him away. She argues that he is just a dog and that he may end up hurting the baby. Yogi is full of energy and we run/bike about 6.5 miles every 2 days just trying to ware him out. In an attempt to save my marriage, I agreed to give him away. The problem is that I just can't at least yet. I may be able to buy him one or two more months with the boss. I am going to try more obedience classes and keeping him in the back yard during the day. Eventually, I may keep him outside 24/7 depending on weather or not he barks at night. I bought him an insulated $400 cedar doghouse that he never uses and I am afraid that the elements may hurt him. Any Ideas on how I could get him to like his dog house. Would, you give up and say good bye or give it a try. |
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That's very sad - I do really feel for you. Our Woofer is only six months old and already big enough to push some people around if he jumps up at them. We've also had the odd nip now and again, so I understand a little of what you mean. I certainly couldn't give my dog away under normal circumstances, but your choice is a stark one.  Sheepies are a very sociable breed and so keeping the dog outside 24/7 would only mean he was even more excited to see you (jumping up etc) when you were around.
And that's all these incidents are - the dog's jumping up etc. because he's trying to say "hello, I want to play". He's not deliberately trying to hurt your wife! As such I would say your best possible course of action would be to train him (as I'm trying to) to "sit to greet" you - he needs to know that both jumping up and nipping are not acceptable forms of saying hello - perhaps there is a dog trainer in your area willing to make a home visit? I really wish you all the best. Mikey & the Woof |
I agree with the previous posters advice. It sounds like your sheepie is really happy to see you. I have only had one biting of the lip and it was my child and it happend because someone had picked up my toddler and was playing rough with him turned him upside down and my Rufio thought he was playing and he bit my son and we went off to the E.R. I could never give my sheepie to anyone it takes time and lots of patience and you will appreciate this... your sheepie will be much easier to take care of then your child as that requires constant attention ...The terrible two's come to mind. I think you should call your breeder and see if they want him back... I think your wifes personal safety is important and more so when she is pregnant but it doesn't sound like she loved him in the first place. maybe just a person that doesn't like sheepies. You have to be dedicated to your sheepie and I don't advise leaving him out 24 /7 he will bark more and more.. He wants your attention and he will get it anyway he can even if it is negative... which children do a lot! If you must give him away.... give him to a sheepie rescue.  |
| I feel so awful about your situation. It really sounds like your OES is in need of some manners training. I have talked about a new approach to training manners with my OES on another subject discussion. But quickly, I have been working with a trainer that focuses on manners for a while now. She uses a collar called a Q collar which is a small plactic bone shaped object which is placed on a flat collar. We use 2 training lines (2 collars). One tied to a stationary object and another to a leash. The dog recieves a correction by pulling the 2 collars apart. Anyway there are a wide range of approaches to teaching dogs. I would suggest checking out
http://quansaqcollar.com/. Pat has laid out her training approach and even has a discussion forum on there about the collar and training concerns. I have found this to be successful and seen it work on a wide range of out of control dogs in a wide variety of situations. |
| My OE Dexter is now 15 months. He is big and too jumpie. Right now he has his 'own room' a large closed converted into a dog room. He has made holes on the walls. We try to leave him out a lot but when we do he does not listen and wants to be on top of us all the time. He is very large and that plays a big roll on not wanting him to follow me or the kids/hubby all over the house.
We built a dog house for him in the back yard (last summer), but felt so bad keeping him there that by winter, we ended up providing the 'dog room' for him. However I am really tempted to put him back in the yard or get ride of him! My hubby is not happy (actually he is  at the idea of getting ride of him) and I love Dexter too I don't want to see him go but I am getting tired of it. He makes it really hard to want him there. When I am not around him I love the thought of him, however when he is around me he drives me crazy!! The way I see it he is my kid and I should not let him go because even if he is a bad kid he is my kid.
Last night after a long day of work, picking up my two kids and hubby worked night shift (all was on me) I get home to puddles of urine and little bit of poopoo that then he steped on and walked all over the house. I feel he did this just to upset us. He was taken out before leaving and still does this from time to time. I took a bad approach and left him in the yard. He cried and cried and finally gave up. Through the night it began to rain and so I felt bad and went to go get him. To my he scratch his face trying to get out of the fenced area.
I really love my Dexter, but his constant jumping, running and exitment in the house is driving me nuts  . He is really big and a simple sit will lead to the swinging of the butt and finally DROPING hard on the floor.
PLEASE HELP ME WITH SOME ADVICE. Is there a godd way I can eave him in the yard even during winter? Is there something in his behavior I am not seeing? I am very frustrated!!! |
| Nancy,
I can't imagine that there are any sheepie parents out there who haven't felt your frustrations at some point or another. An OES is definitely a BIG companion physically and thus a BIG responsibility, but as we all know, that's also part of their charm. No amount of misbehaving can erase the joys of having such a compassionate, loyal and loving friend. Another charm of an OES is also how clever they are, so I have no doubt that Dexter may very well have been upset with you for leaving him when he made his little mess. On the other hand, he's also helping you out by communicating to you that he's very frustrated with the situation as well. I know that I'm not close to the situation, but from what you said, it sounds like Dexter has been in a lot of different routines in just his 15 months with you. Along with being confused by what his daily schedule will be like, it sounds like he might also be a little lonely as well. My Curtis is on his own all day when I'm at work, and he gets very frustrated with me throughout the night, especially if I haven't taken some time out of my day to wrestle with him or play ball or a little tug-o-war. Often times, he'll find anything around the house that isn't nailed down to chew on (he particularly loves to rip up paper, so my bills have fell victim to his slobber a few times). The only times that he's ever left his "presents" in the house is when he's been inside during the day and not outside very much. By nature, puppies like to do their business outside, so you can imagine how much stress he must be under if he's been brought to the point of going inside! 
As for always having his big sheepie butt in your way or jumping up on you when he shouldn't, this is my advice: Your sheepie is just another kid. He has to know that you're the boss, and that he has to listen to you. To assert yourself as the "Alpha Dog" or the leader of the pack, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. If Dexter doesn't stop jumping when you give the "No Jumping!" command, you need to put him in an uncomfortable situation for a moment afterwards until he learns this. In this situation, I would suggest that you get a firm hold on him and push him down into a submissive postion - either sitting or laying down. Don't hurt him, obviously, but hold him there for a moment, basically defining yourself as the boss. The punishment should fit the crime, so if he isn't sitting, hold him down in a sitting position while you give the sit command; if he's barking when he shouldn't, hold his jaws together for a moment while you give the "no bark" command; etc. etc. This is something that only takes a few seconds to impliment and it has worked wonders with Curtis. Just keep in mind that you have to stick to it. 
More importantly than anything, my advise is to HANG IN THERE! By their wonderful nature, our sheepies live to please their human companions, so don't give up on the furriest member of your family! Best of luck!  |
| I can sympathize with a naughty Sheppie. I have found however, just like children my OES Maddie(18 months) responds well to a structured and predictable routine. I have made my expectations clear and do not deviate from them. Maddie was smatter than I ever gave her credit for, and seemed in hind sight to be controlling my behavior. If she did something wrong and was punished, she learned by whinning or whatever that she would get out of the punishment....so what did she learn...she could be naughty and discovered an easy way to avoid punishment. It sounds like Dexter has been doing this as well.
May I ask what would be wrong with keeping him in a crate? Usually dogs enjoy a safe quite spot where they can go. Maddie spends at leat 4 hours in her crate every day? Just wondering. I hope that wasn't offensive. I know Maddie loves to be close to me. I think it would drive her crazy to bekept outside alone. Maybe if Dexter is in a room larger than a crate he has some anexity issues he is trying to deal wth. I sure understand a dog following you everywhere. Maddie seems to be glued to my side at times. I have found that a little manners training has gone a long way. I got her a "settle rug" This is just a simple rug that I taught her to go to and chill out at when I didn't want her following me around. It took a couple weeks for her to get the hang of it and if you want to know what I did let me know and I can go more in depth on the training at another time....but now it has been wonderful. I say get to your rug and suddenly no more Sheppie 
To this day Maddie drags a leash around the house...jsut a short one. But if she goes to jump up on me or I predict she will be jumping, I simply step on the leash and give her a command off. Stepping on the leash prevents her from getting up and now most of the time any way she responds to just the word off. I would think there is a pattern in his behavior that most likely is a result of something happening in his environment. With some structure, and a commitment on the part of the entire family, I would think Dexter could eaily learns some manners to be a very pleasant companion. |
| hi nancy, i just read your post. did you take your sheepie to obedience class at all? i took matie at 4 1/2 months. it has done wonders for her. she is no angel, don't get me wrong and she can work on my last nerve sometimes but she's still a baby...10 months next week. the woman that we had lessons with said that most dogs are pretty spastic until @ 2yrs. old. even though she doesn't always listen, she does know her basic commands and it helps a great deal. it also helps to form a close bond and demonstrate that you are the "alpha dog". as for the jumping, that is not acceptable and could be dangerous. if worst comes to worst, a knee in the chest as they are comming up works if the standing on the leash doesn't. (sorry if it sounds harsh, but if they take you there, you have to go!) as for the following around, that's what sheepdogs do. if i am standing somewhere, matie will not only come and stand beside me, it seems she likes it better if she is as close as she can physically get, ie: stands on my foot. she weighs 70 lbs. and it's sandal season! the point is that i don't think a sheepie would be very mentally healthy if left alone in the yard all the time. better to give him to someone who doesn't mind the constant attention that you get from a nosey and needy breed like the oes. sometimes the best and most loving way is not the most comfortable way for us. after all, they were breed to be with people, have a tight bond with them, and protect the flock...us included! sorry to ramble on but one more tip: i was painting my hallway last week and did not want matie licking paint or getting paint all over her so i baby gated her in the dining room (where she stays when i'm at work) and i told her i had to work and for her to watch the house. she was great! a friend told me to do this when i leave the house and it's great! she has a "job" now while i'm away and it has greatly reduced "chewing adventures". i think it's making her more protective too, ie: serious firm bark when someone approaches the house uninvited. i like it! good luck to both of you who are having difficulty with your sheepies. |
| Im wondering what happened in this situation? I hope I dont sound mean w/ what Im about too say,but here it goes. When i got Mickey i knew he was going to get BIG,I knew that we had to make it through the puppy years before we got a dog that listens.Mickey is just about 5months old and he is HUGE Id say around 45lbs,he plays hard,and thinks he is a small baby so he jumps in my lap when Im on the couch,does it hurt YES!However I knew what I was up for when i adpoted him.Do I get a nip here and there ooooooooooooh yes,but he is a part of my family and just like my 2legged daughter he will have to grow up and learn good and bad. Being your wife is pregnate i do understand her worries,BUT this dog is apart of your family,i wouldnt give him away,you just need to teach him right from wrong,and he will get it,and once he will just think of the awesome buddy you will have and your child will have in him. Altho if your still planning on keeping your OES outdoors 24/7 Id get rid of him,it wouldnt be fair to him.OES are very friendly and they need and want ALOT of lovein,and of course they deserve it. I hope I wasnt to harsh on you,but this is just my opinion.I do wish you and your family the best!! |
| Dear Al's Yogi, Your post is sad and heart breaking. I don't know if you have had sheepies in the past so I will assume you did not. The OES wants to be with its family and living in a home where one upright your wife does not like him does not go unnoticed by your dog. These dogs are sensitive and pick up on our feelings. I think the best thing and loving thing you can do is contact rescue for OES and get some advice or give him to rescue who will place him with a family that he will be happy with. You certainly have a dilemma here and I feel for you but your sheepie needs help now!!!!!!
I read all the posts about this situation and some things I found disturbing. Any time you touch your sheepie dog in their minds it is a positive thing and not a punishment or a knee in his chest or holding his mouth shut. The OES has deep setted chests and are prone to bloat a blow to it is probably not a good idea when your dog tries to jump on you instead of a knee in his chest walk away. Sheepie dogs want and crave to be with their family and following us around is natural and normal if this annoying don't get a sheepie dog get a cat they don't care!!!! |
| this one's gonna get me blasted here for sure.
baby > dog. i would make whatever arrangements are necessary to keep your lovely wife comfortable in her time of need. if that means getting rid of the dog, maybe it would be best to find him a surrogate family until the baby is grown a bit. |
| Did anyone look at this post to see that it is over a year old?! |
| of course i did Guest,thats why I asked right away "what happened in this situation?"  |
| I did not check the date of the original post and apologize for not checking. |
ed wrote: this one's gonna get me blasted here for sure.
baby > dog. i would make whatever arrangements are necessary to keep your lovely wife comfortable in her time of need. if that means getting rid of the dog, maybe it would be best to find him a surrogate family until the baby is grown a bit. I don't think anyone would blast you for putting a baby before a dog - but in this situation - give the dog what he deserves - a loving home where he can be a dog - not a lawn ornament! This dog sounded like a typical unruly, untrained OES puppy who with some positive reinforcement training and love could be a wonderful part of the family! I hope he found a new home and has received the training and care he needed. Hopefully, this family hasn't gotten anymore dogs and won't for a very long time!
JMHO. Kristen |
| Im w/ you Brit,on I hope they didnt get another dog for a long time.Im still wondering whatever happened?I guess we will never know. Altho you said we should never put our OES before our kids,well how about just on the days our kids are the ones being unrulely??? LMAO!!  |
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