Would you be a home for an "only dog"?
I have noticed on the OES Rescue boards, and on Petfinder, that there are a number of wonderful sheepies of all ages who have been evaluated as needing to be an "Only Dog". If you don't already have a dog, please consider these wonderful sheepies. I have recently fostered two dogs who are "dog aggressive" which is often the reason that a dog needs to be an "only dog". In my experience, a dog who is dog-aggressive can be re-trained and the situation managed, but is usually always needs to be an only dog. This year, I fostered the most wonderful female OES, who was just wonderful with people, children, other pets and everything EXCEPT other dogs. She was just awful with dogs she didn't know, and pretty bad with dogs she did know (I have 2 OES of my own and she hurt one of them). While I was fostering her, I made sure she learned and follwed the "sit/stay" command (without exception, no matter what else was going on) by using lots of positive reinforcement, praise and food treats. Whenever I anticipated a situation where she was going to meet another dog, I made her sit/stay. I would never be able to change her attitude, but I could make sure she didn't exhibit the aggressive behavior. She will never be a good candidate for a multi-dog home. I currently have a visiting OES who is dog aggressive, usually with dogs he doesn't know, and he is really bad with them. He is mostly fine with my two dogs because he knows his place in the pack, although he does like to get into arguments with my female, because he wants to "out-rank" her -- he never challenges my alpha male. He is just wonderful with people, children and other pets. So... This is a long winded way of saying that there seem to be a number of dogs available who will be absolutely wonderful pets, and who will do very well with your family -- as long as you don't have another dog. The "issues" that trigger a dog-aggressive sheepie, do not have any bearing on how they relate to people -- they are not aggressive toward people. If you happen to read this, there is a wonderful dog named Monty on the NEOESR web site http://www.neoesr.org Monty needs to be an only dog, and you wouldn't be disappointed if you adopted him. Thanks for listening |
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