How do you sway someone from getting a sheepie?
She has only ever had one small, fairly inactive dog (that doesnt like other dogs). She has a small poodle mix and thinks that grooming an adult sheepdog in full coat is comparable to an 8 pound poodle mix.  I have convinced her to at least meet an adult OES in full coat or wait til Lily is a year old to see how big she is and what her coat is like. (Im not going to shave Lily again, I hated her shaved) Lily is the only sheepdog that my SIL has ever met. Im hoping that will shock her into reality seeing an adult in full coat. Im not against her getting an OES but I also don't want her to think that they are easy peasy, small and calm dogs either. She only sees Lily every 1 1/2 to 2 months. She lives 1/2 across the state and Lily is always on her best behavior cuz I leash her over at my MIL's house so she doesn't jump all crazy all over her house, paw people in the face and jump all over people. (SIL only sees lily over at my MIL's) She is very stubborn and only likes to take little bits of what I tell her seriously. So how do I educate her properly on the breed? Should I also educate her husband even though he wouldnt have anything to do with the decision? |
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| The grooming might be an issue, but I don't think the size should be. Mady doesn't seem like a big dog to me. Mady is also pretty laid back even though she is young. But she *does* get tons of exercise. However, I agree that keeping a sheepie in full coat is no joke. I hugely underestimated the amount of work and the difficulty of grooming a sheepie in full coat. |
| We get this a lot. Once someone sees a big shaggy well-kept OES they immediately say they want one. People that don't know the breed should be encouraged to research it thoroughly. Here are a few good resources: Midwest Old English Sheepdog Rescue: http://www.midwestoesrescue.com/Adoptin ... eepdog.htm The Old English Sheepdog Club of America's site: http://www.oldenglishsheepdogclubofamer ... owning.htm The New England Old English Sheepdog Rescue site: http://www.neoesr.org/rinc_doc.htm NEOESR's "So You're Thinking About Getting An OES" article is especially good. |
| Have her dog-sit for you. Have Lily's routine written down, including the grooming. Give her the experience and see how she likes it. |
Too bad I don't live closer. I could lend her Sybil for a week. That should change her mind  Kristine |
jcc9797 wrote: Have her dog-sit for you. Have Lily's routine written down, including the grooming. Give her the experience and see how she likes it. Thats a good idea in theory but if she can't handle the grooming, I may end up with a shaved sheepie when I go get her. She shaves her poodle mix when her fur gets too long. I can't even imagine how easy it would be to keep a 8lb poodle's hair long after having Lily. I also don't think I could be that far away from Lily. You gave me an idea though. I could invite her over next time she is in town (a month or two from now) for a "lets see how a sheepie is groomed" day and have her help. Brushing out before, the bath, the blow drying, the brushing out after, trimming of private parts and in between paw pads and the plucking of ears. The whole ordeal. She would probably go for that but should I tell her she will need a change of clothes for after the bath? lol |
| Oh my yes she could be in for a shock. I groom my Mom's mini poodle every 6 or 7 weeks. Mom keeps her kind of brushed in between and I go and clip her to about 1/2 an inch, clip her face and feet short, sanitary clip and then I bath and blow dry her. I am always amazed at how EASY it is. Takes what seems like no time to clip her and then I just lift her in the laundry trough and she's bathed in a jiffy. And blow drying?  so quick.I get alll finished and look around for someone to brush it just doesn't feel like I've done anything much yet.  |
| People like that are hard to talk to. I'd start casually mentioning (even if it isn't quite the truth)......." the grooming bill came to $XXX due to the size and time required.....", " due to energy we must take obedience lessons and they cost $xx per hour," "Wow, larger dogs cost more at the vets. Meds for this dog cost $XX." "Last night I spent 3 hours going over Lily's coat." "Oh, you should have seen the mess Lily became when she ran out in the rain and mud......took me 3 hours to bathe and groom her back to normal." Make sure your brother is also there, but if he's like DH, it doesn't matter. Grooming tools will never cross his palm. |
| You know your SIL better than anyone on here. I own a 1/2 sheepie, who has sheepie fur and texture, he get his brushes and baths on a regular basis. He is keep in a puppy cut 90% of the time because that is my choice, it matches our/my lifestyle. My point is, just because you have a sheepie, it usually the owner choice to keep him/them in coat.. A sheep dog is no less a sheepdog if it has long or short fur. I hope when the time comes for me to get another sheepie, that my choice to keep them in a puppy cut is never questioned. |
Dudster wrote: You know your SIL better than anyone on here. I own a 1/2 sheepie, who has sheepie fur and texture, he get his brushes and baths on a regular basis. He is keep in a puppy cut 90% of the time because that is my choice, it matches our/my lifestyle. My point is, just because you have a sheepie, it usually the owner choice to keep him/them in coat.. A sheep dog is no less a sheepdog if it has long or short fur. I hope when the time comes for me to get another sheepie, that my choice to keep them in a puppy cut is never questioned. Im not saying a puppy cut is wrong for a sheepie. I just want my SIL to know what she is really getting into before she runs out and gets one. I don't really want anouther dog if she decides she can't handle the coat or sheepie behavior as the dog gets bigger. |
I find myself talking people out of sheepdogs quite often  They are always strangers though, who seem to be fixated on the whole "non-shedding" thing, or have the idea that all sheepies are as calm and well mannered as mine are (at that moment ).I always point out that even in a short trim, sheepdogs need constant brushing, trimming and....ah....intimate hygiene assistance  . A little discussion of butt-trimming goes a long way . I also ask questions about their experience with herding breeds, and working breeds in general. Anyone who has known a Border Collie or an Australian Shepard will get what you mean about nipping and herding behaviors.I also like the comment that a member on here made recently, in a conversation about big dogs vs small, that "Grooming a Bichon is like grooming my sheepie's head." (thanks Cindy )All that being said...are you sure that your sil getting a sheepie would be a disaster? I would have NEVER thought of myself as the type of person who would do well with a high-maintenance breed like this, until I fell into it more-or-less by accident. You could also encourage her to get a pup from a good breeder who would take the pup back themselves if it didn't work out...or a rescue from an org. that would have the same kind of contract for adoption. I think having more that one sheepdog in an extended family is wonderful...sheepies play together so much more happily than they do with other breeds!  |
| Good point Laurel! Foster parent!!! |
AnInnocentEvil wrote: She only sees Lily every 1 1/2 to 2 months. She lives 1/2 across the state and Lily is always on her best behavior cuz I leash her over at my MIL's house so she doesn't jump all crazy all over her house, paw people in the face and jump all over people. (SIL only sees lily over at my MIL's) Can you get your MIL's permission to have Lily off leash the next time your SIL is over? That could change things fast. . .  |
ravenmoonart wrote: I find myself talking people out of sheepdogs quite often They are always strangers though, who seem to be fixated on the whole "non-shedding" thing, or have the idea that all sheepies are as calm and well mannered as mine are (at that moment ).I always point out that even in a short trim, sheepdogs need constant brushing, trimming and....ah....intimate hygiene assistance . A little discussion of butt-trimming goes a long way . I also ask questions about their experience with herding breeds, and working breeds in general. Anyone who has known a Border Collie or an Australian Shepard will get what you mean about nipping and herding behaviors.I also like the comment that a member on here made recently, in a conversation about big dogs vs small, that "Grooming a Bichon is like grooming my sheepie's head." (thanks Cindy )All that being said...are you sure that your sil getting a sheepie would be a disaster? I would have NEVER thought of myself as the type of person who would do well with a high-maintenance breed like this, until I fell into it more-or-less by accident. You could also encourage her to get a pup from a good breeder who would take the pup back themselves if it didn't work out...or a rescue from an org. that would have the same kind of contract for adoption. I think having more that one sheepdog in an extended family is wonderful...sheepies play together so much more happily than they do with other breeds! She has only had experiance with smaller dogs growing up and has only had one small, very calm dog as an adult. She has no experiance handling larger dogs, especially not herding dogs. I am definitly going to invite her over for a grooming session so she can see what its like. I think the best way to learn is to experiance it for yourself and maybe i'll encourage the bouncy sheepie behavior a little bit so she can see what its like when she doesnt get exercise. It would be nice to have anouther sheepie in the family, my mom has two. |
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