Pup-Date May 28, 2008
Now that Nicki has been with her foster family a while longer, we've learned more about her disposition, likes & dislikes.
Nicki is a mouthy sheltie ~ meaning that she grabs at your hands or arms when playing or "trying to get her point across". It's a form of bad manners that we try modify through training. But some shelties will always be mouthy. Nicki likes everyone [including smaller humans] who approach her for petting & giving treats. However, due to her mouthiness, we do not think she should be in a family with 'resident children' under the age of 13 or so. If the home has 'visiting grandchildren', their interaction should always be adult-supervised. We also feel that Nicki would do best in a home with adults who have more experience / knowledge [i.e, not a 1st time dog owner] & are willing to continue the training Nicki is receiving in her foster home.
She has gotten used to Posey and Bizkit [the resident shelties] because they are both well-behaved and have polite doggy manners. She would not like a curious or pushy dog, i.e., a young and/or energetic breed that has a bouncy, "in your face" play style. She is really "a people" dog, loving human attention and playing ball with "her humans".
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Initial Notes.....
Nicki is a 6 year old, sable and white sheltie, on the tall side. Her foster mom describes her as a "buxom blonde" ~ with the personality to match :)
When she first came to stay with her foster family, she was very nervous, quiet and seemed shy. However, after a week [the honeymoon period], she started acting like "herself" and was "all sheltie". She is a very kind and good hearted dog, but we feel she needs someone patient and gentle to train her in proper doggy etiquette ~ training that she evidently did not receive in her 1st home.
She definitely has her little Sheltie foibles, and whomever adopts her will need to be aware that these are typical sheltie traits. She loves to bark at the water hose and wrestle with it, for example. She is struggling still a little with house training, but making good progress and we are confident that she will catch on very quickly [this can happen in adult dogs when their they lose their home ~ their lives are disrupted and they need to learn new routines/rules/etc].
She can be a little defiant, wanting to get her way [hmmmm .... sound like a Princess??] and her foster parents are teaching her that patience and good behavior will get her what she wants.
Nicki loves to play ball, more then anything in the world. If you let her, she would play forever! ** "Playing ball" can be a used as a training reward.
She likes to be with you and also loves going for walks. On her walks she doesn’t sniff, but snorts like a little piglet. She is very funny! She is not afraid of children, and loves to be pet by them. She has the softest mouth, when it comes to accepting treats. She was a little afraid of the two resident shelties at first, but has adjusted just fine. They don’t play, so we don’t feel she needs another dog, but I think she would happily co-exist if there was another friendly dog in the family.
She seems to have developed some fondness for the family cat ~ a love that, unfortunately, has gone unrequited. So we feel that she would probably be happy in a home with a friendly cat.
She absolutely loves being in the yard, and will lie there happily basking in the sun or shade with a cool drink of water. So ideally she should have a fenced in yard to hang out. ** or be on a "long-line" while someone is outside to keep an eye on her **
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