wanting to get an OES, would like to know more
Bev |
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We have 2 Sheepie's and 2 kids ages 3 and 6. I am a stay at home mom and I think this helps with constant training. I have heard that they are a stubborn breed, there our times that my male doesn't want to come when I ask, but if you get firm he always listens. I think the OES breed as a whole is a great breed, but there are going to be bad dogs out there. I have also heard to look at the parents personality when choosing a puppy. Usually how the parents act is a good indication of how your puppy will be. Both of our sheepies were potty trained using a crate and we had them potty trained in a few weeks. They are 7 months and 9 months and they are out with us most of the day, but at night and on short errands we still crate them for their saftey and our house's. 
The grooming can be a lot of work if you don't keep it up. We brush daily for 15 minutes each dog, but they are still young I am sure as the hair grows the minutes will too. If it ever gets to much you could always cut it short though. A lot of people do it and their dogs love it. They do shed, but it vaccums up really easy. I would never leave the kids alone with them, not because I fear the dogs would hurt the kids, but as you know young kids no matter how good they are still impulsive rugrats at times. I don't want my 3 year old to take a flying jump at Jack and him decide today is the day I am going to bite. Jack herds a lot more than Annabelle. He won't let them close to the street when we are in the front yard. He wants to chase and bump them if they do. He can't stand it when the 2 kids go in opposite directions. He can't figure who to go after first. I can call him and put him in a stay command and he won't chase anymore, but he proves how great he can bark! 
They don't seem to be as hyper as say a lab, but a sheepies hyperness seems to come in spurts. We walk and play fetch daily as well as practicing our basic commands. I think they are a lot of work, but any dog is. They are a unique breed though, they show love in such a way. I hope this helps. I wish you good luck and please keep us updated. Stormi  |
| Thanks Stormi,
This does help in knowing you are surving 2 of them. We use to have a boxer, and my kids were obviously younger, and learned very quickly that he had to be careful around them. If an adult came in the house he was all over them, very jumpy. So how does your 3 yr old cope with the dog? I also am a stay at home mom. We have a kennel probably not going to be big enough for an adult OES. Also we have a baby gate to separate them, and the pup will be in the kitchen. Is the herding thing going to bother me, I like to go for long walks? Will this breed circle around me, bump me, trip me, or the kids if they walk with me? The grooming probably won't bother me, I take alot of pride in the apperance of this breed. That's what is appealing after all. The kids are my main concern. We have a dog run outside. Are they fence jumpers. We also had a husky cross for awhile but I could not contain the guy, he would climb the wire. Thanks for your input, Bev. Edmonton, AB |
| Hi I have a 9 month old fury angel with me....I don`t have kids of my own but my friend do and every time they come for a visit or we go to their place Pisco is around...he is very carefull around baybies and toddlers...and yes he tends to herd them but not roughly .... he would stand beside them and walk slowly around them....once one of the todlers fell trying to walk the first thing Pisco did was go to him...big lick and sat beside him until his mom came to pick him up....
We take him regularily to the beach and lots of kids are usually around he would keep an eye on everything going on some of the kids already know him and they will play with him....and although he tries to herd them it`s not usually bad...is as though he knows with whom he can play a bit rougher and who needs a rail (he can stay still for hours if a little child is trying to stand up and use him as a cane)...he tends to be a bit more rough with adults but he never bites. hope it helps... |
| Hi,
I've had three Sheepies so far, my newest is four months old (5 months tomorrow and already weighs a whopping 60 pounds) I have two boys whom are now in their teens. One of my boys was 2 when I got my first Sheepie from the pound. I realize now with much more experience, this was not recommended to have such a young child in the house. Shaggy was 1 yr when I first adopted her and needed a lot of work. Somehow I survived the first couple years. She did nip my youngest once after putting up with a lot from him and me chastising him. She nipped him on the foot, he cried, she didn't break skin however and it taught him, but scared the heck outta me. What forever sold me on the breed and I apologize for those of you who hear me repeating this, is the following: When one of my sons was two and had very serious surgery I was told to keep him sedate and quiet for the next three weeks of recovery. Ha! Anyone who has ever had a two year old knows this is next to impossible. Without ever being taught , she picked up one of his rubber balls and brought it over to him on the couch. He threw it...she retrieved it and brought it back to him, and continued to do so for the next three weeks thus keeping him occupied. This continued when he recovered as well( but now dropped the ball at his feet), she even starting climbing the ladder to his playhouse and following him down the slide. When I brought disabled kids home in wheelchairs, Shaggy would nudge the balls into their hands instead of dropping it at their feet like other kids. She always jumped on adults but never on kids. I think she knew she would knock them over. She would play volleyball with the kids even standing on the other side of the net and would leap and hit the ball with her snout over the net! She bounced balloons on her nose much to the delight of neighborhood children. She turned from a horribly behaved formally abused pound dog to a wonderful family pet. (It took a year of hard work however.) Eventually Shaggy and I were under contract with the Humane Society to teach people about dog behavior. We visted schools for several years together. Big Dog - my next Sheepie had a far different personality. Adopted from the pound at age 3-5 years (exact age unknown) My youngest was 5. This Sheepie ignored everyone in the household and was only affectionate with me, but would stand guard over my son if we were out in public. He never left his side and if he got to close to the street he would gently bump him over a bit. Merlin - a terror!!! I'm glad I no longer have young children in the house because he by far is the most challenging of all my dogs. He bumps and herds the cats, myself, and my two other dogs, especially Shaggy whom is now aged 15. Poor Shaggy if I'm not watching closely he will herd her into a corner like a punished child. However, to give him a bit of credit I have noticed a difference in the past three weeks he has also started guiding her back into the house as she is now fairly blind. I had not been allowing him to go out at the same time due to his rumbunctiousness and her age. Yet, I had allowed them on the porch together if I was closely supervising and noticed that yes indeed he was guiding her back to the door way and is becoming more helpful than the previous terror he was. So that's been my experience with Sheepies. They call these dogs Nannies in England for their wonderful ability with children. Each is different however. I would probably suggest to you not only look at the puppies but if it can be arranged spend time with a grown sheepie and your kids. Puppies are so adorable , who can resist them? Being around a grown Sheepie will give you a better perspective on their potential size and strength . Remember when you are around a grown Sheepie this is what your cute little pup will look like in a few months. Puppies also teeth and like to mouth things and little hands may seem an appropriate thing! Kids also like to leave toys on the floor and to a puppy these will be fair game.To be honest with you a puppy and little children is going to be a lot of work! Each has their own personality and although I knew nothing of the history or parentage of my first two, they were good with my kids. The last one is from a well known breeder and has championships dating as far back as his great-grandparents. I think with him - young children in the house would have been difficult due to his zest and energy. A bull in a china shop as someone described him. The other two Sheepies were already adults when adopted while my newest Sheepie is a pup which makes a huge difference. Apologies for being long winded (as usual) and best of luck to you in your decision. |
| i had a sheepdog (also named shaggy) when i was a kid, i grew up with him from about 4 years old to 15. i have absolutely no bad memories with this dog. he was my favorite playmate but he was very sweet and gentle so there were never any problems. since i was a kid with an oes i can say that having one around was absolutely wonderful and your kids will have someone to tire them out, and they will tire your sheepie out (a good thing since they are high energy dogs who need a lot of exersize)
however as an adult with an oes (walter, now 10 months old and an absolute terror) id advise you to be careful. the herding thing can be fixed by learning how to walk him properly, but i would watch out for aggressive/dominant behavior. walter has snapped at me my brother and my sister for anything from petting him while he didnt want to be bothered to being near his foodbowl. hes getting better but its taking a lot of hard work, stress, and money for a good trainer. (i feel so bad for saying anything bad about walter because hes being so cute and playing in my laundry basket right now) in the end i think that sheepies are wonderful, theyre just big playful goofs and as a kid i cant imagine not having a dog or having a different one than shaggy. |
| Hi from Kingston Ontario!,
We too are looking to add an OES to our family. My kids are currently 2 and 4 yrs and we'll be waiting till Isabelle's at least 3 (probably 4). The reason being that the sheepies are so rambuncous and can unwittingly hurt the young kids. I am also a stay-at-home mom and plan to be the primary care giver/trainer for this dog too. We have been to many dog shows trying to pick the right breed and now have purchased books on the OES to learn more. I believe we'll be getting a female - to minimize the run-ins we might have with dog aggression or battles for Alpha dog position. Although my husband and I both have been raised around dogs in the home, this will be our first dog as adult 'owners'. I agree with the previous poster that checking out the parents will give you a good idea about the potential personality of your pup. I also think it's a good idea to be very clear about what you expect in a pup - and hopefully the breeder will do some temperament testing to make a good match. I'm probably as intrigued as the original poster for this message - as we hope to have a sheepie some day. Please write more! (I'd love to know more about the shedding/non-shedding - as compared to say a Golden or a Bernese or a lab?, ie/ does it come off on your pants by just brushing past a sheepie?) Thanks! Victoria in Kingston Ontario Canada |
| Hello again,
I saw you mention if an adult came over that your boxer is very jumpy. Mine don't jump (though I have heard a lot of others have a sheepie that jumps), but when ANYONE, young or old comes over they run over to them and bump and are so excited for 5 to 10 minutes after someone comes over. Jack and Annabelle are still young so the novelty of visitors might wear off with age though. They do calm down after a few minutes, and I have learned to put a leash on them and it helps a lot. I let them off after they have had a chance to check everyone out. My 3 year old does well with the dogs to a point, he goes on from one toy to another to the dogs and back to another toy. We have a great room with a huge open place to play and he loves throwing toys for them. They drop the ball so we don't have any accidents with teeth. Joey has scared me and has gotten in trouble in the past for trying to climb on them. I have made sure he knows that even though they look big that there is not any dog big enough to ride or sit on, but still I find my little rugrat doing what he isn't suppose to. I have never seen either dog act like they were going to bite or nip, but I would think that if a little one is allowed to annoy that it could be a reason for them to start. The herding in my dogs is only if let off a leash or when we are in the front yard playing we put them on a tie out so that they can play with us too. I love taking them for a walk, Annabelle was very easy to teach how to heel, Jack just learned really well a month or two ago. The worst thing on walking was the pulling until we got them trained. I never had trouble with them herding on a walk. There was a time last week when my dad was over and he was chasing the kids and so they were yelling and Jack really bumped and barked and acted to me like he wanted to bite, but he never did. He did keep my dad completly away from the kids for a long time by bumping .He is really close to my dad though. I do wonder if it would have been someone else if Jack would of tried to bite. I don't know about fence jumpers, because mine only go out to the bathroom for 5 minutes and our back in and then on a leash for walks and to the park. I have also been reading a lot of other posts and it looks like a puppy gets challeging again at around 9 months old when they get into adolesence. I think that is when a lot of the dominance issues start coming into them. I am starting to see that in Jack, he is getting more stubborn, and at times if he is wanting to do something else he is ignoring me. I think I have a lot more to figure out as they grow. I think so far shedding has been minimal, but mine are still puppies. When they are wrestling I find large clumps of hair and a lot of hair is in the brush and comb after grooming. I have been around labs and goldens and it is not like that type of shedding, but I figure as mine gets older the shedding will be more. They both love chewing. They have a HUGE box of toys that is theirs, but if our kids leave a toy on the ground, it usually becomes their new toy. Mine seem to want to chew all the time. They even somehow chewed through the wall in our laundry room. I also want to say the worst time that we have had so far being dog owners and it will happen again I'm sure is this December my entire family including me got the flu and felt awful. The dogs still needed attention, they still needed walks and to top it all off they both got diarrhea and got it bad they did. They needed full baths and that is when owning a dog much less two was very difficult. My dogs for some reason always get diarrhea at the same time and very often. It always requires a long bath. Does anyone else have this problem with your sheepies? Another suggestion is either fostering an OES for awhile to get the feel or if the breeder would feel comfortable leaving the male for a couple of days. I don't know if either is possible, but just a thought. As far as male and female go, Annabelle is a little more shy around strangers, I do say a LITTLE . She is very gentle around the kids and adults. Jack doesn't seem to understand AT ALL how big he really is. He is also just like his daddy, he has to be in your lap. It doesn't matter where you are sitting if he has any means at all to get there, HE IS! We love it, but when you are less than 4 feet tall it tends to be a strain. It isn't a rare moment to see Ashlan playing a board game and for Jack to wobble on over and flop right down on her. He is that way with everyone whether he knows you or not. It is a good way to get rid of door to door salesman. It isn't everyday you see a 90 lb hairy puppy run up and jump on the couch to sit on you. Annabelle was harder to potty train than Jack, but not much. She is more content to chew and lay beside you. She is a huge licker, Jack isn't. They don't drool at all, but the beard after drinking more that makes up for it. We keep a rag around at all times to wipe them up after they drink. Annabelle gets hyper spurts at times where she goes completely nuts. Jack is a big, goofy, clumsy, lovebug. These are my rambling of my own experiences so far, and when I say ramblings I mean it. I loved hearing about eveyrone's sheepies, I feel like I learn more from listening to all of you and posts from this last year have gave me so much good advice I have used so much of it daily. Stormi |
| Hi,
I also enjoy reading about other people's Sheepies! I just wanted to make a slight correction on my post I mentioned my son was five when I got my second Sheepie but thinking back he was about 2 1/2 years old. So there I was with two adopted Sheepies from the pound (both had behavior problems as both had been abused by their former owners) and a 2 1/2 year old in the house. Definately we wouldn't be recommended as a good potential home by most experts today but I didn't know that back then. There was the nipping incident once with Shaggy and my then 2 year old son - but truthfully in this case he was at fault not she as she had been tolerant of him for a long time before she finally had enough. Acted like a mom would towards a pup..a nip to dicipline. She never did it again for the rest of her life. Big Dog would snatch food out of my childrens hands - that's another thing that may be of concern with having a Sheepie and small children. On another post however I mentioned how this unmananagble dog once saved my son and I from potential harm one day. Merlin - This is the first puppy I've owned since I was 10 years old and forgot how much work they are. All my dogs including the Sheepies I've mentioned were all adopted from the pound except for Merlin whom I purchased from a breeder. The first month - taking him out to the bathroom every two hours, Making sure he got meals three times daily, the vaccinations and vet visits, the house- breaking , doggie obedience classes (highly recommended as all dogs brought into my home regardless of age have been signed up for classes) The EXCERCISE!!!! This is continuous!!!! If you don't give them opportunity to let off some energy is when they become problems and a terror in your home. This is difficult with small children as these dogs are a whirlwind of high energy - especially their first three years of life. So in a nutshell and of course I'm only writing the bad stuff about them (if you can call it that) in this post to give you a better understanding of Sheepies and small kids. Their attributes by far outnumber any of the "bad stuff." I should also mention one incident that happened one day with Merlin and caused me a bit of a fright at the offleash dog park. Merlin saw one of his best buddies a huge German Shepard and both dogs were racing around like mad. Merlin ran into the legs of the Shepard's owners and both of us were chatting and not paying attention as we should have. Her knee and his hard head made a connection. OUCH! She was in so much pain I had to assist her to one of the benches and then call her husband to come down and drive her home. She didn't blame Merlin or her dog , faulting herself instead for not paying attention at an offleash dog park where the dogs race like mad after each other. The previous spring an elderly lady had her leg broken from the same thing. Racing dogs. Just spoke with her the other day and she too blamed herself for being at an offleash dog park and not paying attention. ( I think in this day and age however she's a rare breed not to want to sue but dog people are different - :O) ) At this time Merlin was still a puppy of 3 months but already weighed close to 45 pounds (he is on the large side) so that would probably be my greatest concern with a dog and small children. Although not soley OES but any dog. Again good luck to you and to those of you whom shared your stories - thanks. Oops forgot to mention this : If you are a neat freak - this is not the dog for you! Egads these dogs are messy eaters with their long hair and everything seems to stick to their fur which is then brought into the home. While they don't shed like other dogs...they need daily grooming. |
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