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New Sheltie Owners Manual

 

Congratulations on adopting your new Sheltie. By following these simple instructions, your experience with your new dog will be MUCH better.

  • Even the best-trained dogs may have accidents in a new home for the first few days. Make sure your new Sheltie knows where  the door to go outside is. Always use the same door to go outside. Watch your new Sheltie for signs of needing to "go". He may not know how to tell you. Many dogs just stand at the door, while others do nothing. Continue to work on housetraining him for the first 10 days. Only gradually allow him more and more freedom as you become convinced he will behave in the house.
  • Make sure you put fresh water out for your new Sheltie right away. It will relax him to know where the water is.
  • The fastest way to get your new Sheltie to bond with you is
    Hand feeding (bits of cheese are perfect)
    Couch cuddling (petting and talking to)
  • Please have patience with the men in your home and your new Sheltie.   Many Shelties take longer to warm up to men than woman.  
  • Always use the same word when going potty. This way the dog will learn what you are saying.

Use phrases like, "Do you have to go potty?" By learning this phrase you will teach your dog to potty on demand. Never play with the dog when it is time to potty. They need to learn first and foremost, that outside is for business.

  • If your new dog is used to a fenced yard, and your yard is not fenced…..you may need to buy a long lightweight clothesline. Some dogs just will not go potty with you watching at the end of a lead. Tie them out on a long clothesline, so they can have some privacy. A clothesline works best because it is lightweight and they won’t feel tied up. ALWAYS watch your dog, as many dogs that are not used to being tied up will CHEW the rope in half and get loose. Chewing through a rope takes less than 30 seconds. This happens frequently so please watch them through a window.
  • Anytime a dog changes homes, he will be stressed. Understand the signs of a nervous dog, and please be understanding. Signs of stress are:

Diarrhea - Excessive thirst - Panting - Hyperactivity - Shaking - Drooling - Pacing - Not eating – Not eliminating

  • NEVER allow your new Sheltie to be loose outside in an unfenced yard. It will take at least a month before he will begin to consider your house "home", and not run away. Please always keep your dog on a leash or confined when outside. Shelties can be very shy, and impossible to catch if they get loose.
  • NEVER walk your new Sheltie using a regular collar. Regular collars are for ID tags only. A dog can easily back out of a regular collar if frightened. Please use a slip collar or mountain collar when your dog is on a leash. This type of collar gets tighter as it is pulled on, so it cannot be slipped off. See more info about this below.
  • NEVER leave young children alone with a new dog. Although Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue does it’s best to screen all dogs, children can hurt dogs, and dogs are less tolerant of children than adults. Please NEVER leave them unsupervised until you have seen how they interact, and are comfortable with it. IF your child hurts the dog, even the nicest dogs will bite if they feel threatened. Please supervise all interactions.

 

Feeding:

We recommend several brands;

    • Innova
    • California Natural
    • Nutro natural Choice

Feed according to the directions, and modify as needed.

All of these foods are all natural and don’t have unnecessary preservatives and chemicals. Shelties seem to do better on these foods than others. Shelties have very sensitive digestive systems, and these chemicals can cause many problems. Many food allergies can be avoided by using the natural foods.

Never give your Sheltie animal FAT. Fat from meats and bones can cause a Sheltie to become very sick and even die very quickly. Even the smallest amount of fat can kill a Sheltie. Different Shelties can tolerate different amounts. If you want to give your sheltie table food, please choose from the following: Green beans, carrots, or fruits.

 

Flea and Tick and Heartworm control.

Our contract requires the use of these products for your Sheltie.  You may use either of these combinations. Shelties should not use Heartgard. The Ivermectin is known to cause seizures in Shelties and Collies. You may use; Sentinel, or the Intercepter / Frontline combination or Advantage/Intercepter.   Flea and Tick Collars and preparations that you can buy in the grocery or pet store seldom work.  Please stick with the products your vets offers.  You will need to use these products either year round, or 9 months a year.  Please follow the recommendation of your vet.    Here are the differences in the three combination of products:    When used together, all produce about the same results.

Intercepter /Frontline Combination

  • Kills fleas
  • Kills ticks
  • Controls worms
  • Prevents heartworm

Sentinel

  • Sterilizes fleas and prevents infestation
  • Controls worms
  • Prevents heartworm

Intercepter /Advantage Combination

  • Kills fleas
  • Controls worms
  • Prevents heartworm

 

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A word about Heartworm.....

Dogs get Heartworm from an infected mosquito. If a mosquito ever bites your dog, it is at risk for heartworm. Heartworms are worms that live in the heart. Left untreated, they will kill your dog. Treating the dog is both dangerous and very expensive (hundreds $$$). That is why we require you to keep your dog on heartworm prevention pills every month. One heartworm prevention pill (Intercepter or Sentinel) will prevent heartworm. Heartworm prevention pills only kill baby heartworms, they do NOT kill the adults. So, if you miss a few months of the prevention pills, you must retest the dog before continuing. You should NEVER give an infected dog the prevention pills.

 

Grooming

Your Sheltie will need a thorough brushing once a week. You will need the following supplies. Blunt nose scissors, nail clippers, a pin brush and an undercoat rake. The pin brush may be used weekly. The undercoat rake may be used once a month to get the dead undercoat out. The scissors are used to trim the hair short on the bottom of your Shelties feet. The hair will grow long between his toes, and will need trimmed. It will look better, and give your sheltie better stability. Trim all around the foot. You will also need to trim the long hair behind his ears. It will get long and stringy, and stick out over his ears. Cut it short to match the length of the rest of his hair. This will also cut down on the matting. Shelties tend to get mats behind their ears, so please keep this area brushed out well. Applying baby powder behind his ears and working it into the hair will help keep the hair from getting matted. Be sure and wash this area well when bathing. Speaking of baths……a bath is only necessary about once a month. Lather up well, rinse and repeat. Take extra care when rinsing. Soap that gets left behind can irritate the skin. Extra baths may be needed if your sheltie gets extra dirty, but normally once a month should be enough. Your shelties coat should never smell bad. If it has an unpleasant odor, take him/her to the vet as it could be a sign of a skin disease or parasite condition. An "indoor" Sheltie should never smell bad. If he does, something is wrong.

 

Dental Care:

Most sheltie people brush their dogs’ teeth. Daily is preferable, however anything is better than not at all. Dogs do collect tarter on their teeth and it does need to come off. You can scrape it off with a toothbrush weekly, monthly or daily or your vet can knock your dog out. (anesthesia) and clean your dogs teeth. Brushing your dogs teeth regularly is much easier. If your dog has bad breath, it could the sign of an infected tooth and you must get him to the vet right away. An infection in the teeth is usually caused by tarter build up. Keep your dogs teeth clean, and watch for bad breath. Report any foul smell to your vet immediately.

 

The Sheltie Temperament

Shelties are a shy breed. Most shelties are slow to make new friends, but will warm up if given some time. Please understand this and respect this, and never force a confrontation. This is also why letting a sheltie off-lead is so dangerous. Once a sheltie is loose, they will not come to a stranger and they are hard to catch.

 

Collars and Shelties

Shelties are one breed of dog who’s’ neck is bigger round than their head. Therefore, a sheltie can slip right out of an ordinary collar. Shelties are lost every day because of this. It is very important that you use a Combo collar (like we provide) or you use a choke collar when walking your sheltie. Never trust an ordinary collar. An ordinary collar is for ID only. A Combo Collar comes with your sheltie at adoption. If you need more, we do sell them.

Keeping ID on your Sheltie

As required in our contract, always keep a collar with ID tags on your dog. Thousands of dogs get lost every year and if your dog does not have a collar on, people (for some strange reason) assume the dog is a stray.

 Chocolate is deadly to dogs!!

Keep chocolate away from your dog. 1 oz. of chocolate can kill your dog.  Even small amounts of theobromine, a naturally occurring alkaloid found in the cocoa bean, can cause vomiting and restlessness in pets. Larger doses can be fatal. The lethal dose of theobromine depends on the size of the dog and the type of chocolate. Ounce for ounce, baking chocolate has six to nine times as much theobromine as milk chocolate. Estimates of the smallest amounts that can be fatal. One estimate of the smallest amount that could be fatal is 4 to 10 ounces of milk chocolate or ½ to 1 ounce of baking chocolate.

  

Plants Toxic To ANIMALS    The following plants are toxic to dogs:

A. Alfalfa, Almond (Pits of), Alocasia, Amaryllis, Apple Seeds, Apricot (Pits of), Arrowgrass, Avacodo, Azalea.

B. Baneberry, Bayonet, Beargrass, Beech, Belladonna, Bird of Paradise, Bittersweet, Black-Eyed Susan, Black Locust, Bleeding Heart, Bloodroot, Bluebonnet, Box, Boxwood, Buckeyes, Burning bush, Buttercup.

C. Cactus Candelabra, Caladium, Castor Bean, Cherry (Pits of), Cherry (Most wild varieties), Cherry (ground), Cherry (Laurel), Chinaberry, Christmas Rose, Chrysanthemum, Clematis, Coriaria, Cornflower, Corydalis, Crocus Autumn, Crown of Thorns, Cyclamen. D. Daffodil Daphne, Daphne, Datura, Deadly Nightshade, Death Camas, Delphinium, Dicentrea, Diffenbachia, Dumb Cane.

E. Eggplant, Elderberry, Elephant Ear, English Ivy, Euonymus, Evergreen.

F. Ferns, Flax, Four O’ Clock, Foxglove.

G. Golden Chain, Golden Glow, Gopher Purge.

H. Hellebore, Poison Hemlock, Water Hemlock, Henbane, Holly, Honeysuckle (only the berries are toxic), Horsebeans, Horsebrush, Horse Chestnuts, Hyacinth, Hydrangea. I. Indian Tobacco, Iris, Iris Ivy.

J. Jack in the Pulpit, Java Beans, Jessamine, Jerusalem Cherry, Jimson Weed, Jonquil, Jungle Trumpets.

L. Lantana, Larkspur, Laurel, Lily, Lily Spider, Lily of the Valley, Locoweed, Lupine. M. Marigold, Marijuana, Mescal Bean, Mistletoe, Mock Orange, Monkshood, Moonseed, Morning Glory, Mountain Laurel, Mushrooms.

N. Narcissus, Nightshade.

O. Oleander.

P. Peach (Pits of), Peony, Periwinkle, Philodendron, Pimpernel, Poinciana, Poison Hemlock, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Pokeweed, Poppy, Potato, Precatory Bean, Common Privet.

R. Rhododendron, Rhubarb, Rosary Pea, Rubber Plant.

S. Scotch Broom, Skunk Cabbage, Snowdrops, Snow on the Mountain, Staggerweed, Star of Bethlehem, Sweetpea.

T. Tansy Mustard, Tobacco, Tomato, Tulip, Tung Tree.

V. Virginia Creeper.

W. Water Hemlock, Weeping Fig, Wild Call, Wisteria.

Y. Yews (Japanese Yew, English Yew, Western Yew, American Yew)

Pet Tips - Seven Ways To Prevent Chewing (common in ages-puppy through age 3)

Move valued furniture, loose pillows, house plants and books out of any area the puppy has access to. Check carefully for any dangerous objects, such as lamp cords, pins and needles, pens and pencils.

Put him in his crate when you can’t watch him. He’ll go to sleep, most likely; the house will stay safe, and you won’t have to punish him.

Give your puppy his own special chew toys. We recommend rawhide bones. If you see the puppy even start to move toward something he shouldn’t chew, say "No!" and give him a toy. Be consistent. He’ll catch on.

A puppy likes to chew. It’s part of exploring. And he may chew when he’s bored. Exercise and plenty of attention can help control chewing.

Commercial sprays from your pet store can make items such a furniture legs unattractive to your pet. Or try spraying with Listerine.

Your puppy loves chewing your old sneaker or sock, because the odor reminds him so strongly of you. But he’ll love the new sneakers you’ve worn only once or twice just as devotedly. So keep him away from all sneakers (and socks), old or net.

Check with your veterinarian if your puppy shows symptoms of really bad teething pain. He may paw the side of his face, rub his face on the floor, or have difficulty eating. It could be his baby teeth require extraction.

Meantime, ease his pain by letting him chew ice cubes or a damp cold washcloth. What’s more, chewing can endanger him as much as it endangers your possessions. So protect him from being bad!

 Pet Tips - Danger! Hot Cars

A summer day can be deadly to a pet left in a parked car.

When the temperature is in the low 80’s outside, a parked car quickly becomes unbearably hot inside within minutes, even with the windows left slightly open.

In just 10 minutes, the temperature inside your car can reach 102 degrees or more.

In just 30 minutes, the temperature inside your car can reach 120 degrees or more.

At 110 degrees, your pet may have just minutes to live! It will suffer heatstroke, leading to collapse, brain damage and an agonizing death!

If you pet is overheated now, take emergency action!

Get it into cold water or give it a cold-water rubdown immediately to lowers body temperature. Then take is to your veterinarian for a through examination.

You probably meant well by taking your pet with you, but do your pet a favor. Next time, leave it at home.

Please Note: Dogs WILL jump out of car windows that are rolled down. Never leave a dog in the car period!

  

Housewarming Tips -

All dogs are naturally clean concerning waste elimination. In early life, they seek a spot to eliminate that is remote from where they eat and sleep. We (pet owners) are the culprits who force them to violate this hygiene by placing doors and other barriers between them and the proper toilet area. Use this instinct to housetrain your puppy.

Try leaving food out constantly. This is certainly easiest. However, some dogs will take advantage of this, and become overweight. If that happens, begin the following schedule:

6 to 12 weeks of age - 4 times each day   12 weeks to 6 months of age - 3 times each day    6 to 12 months of age - 2 times each day     1 year and over - 1- 2  times daily

Use the above schedule to determine how often to feed your dog, allowing the dog 15 minutes to eat. Take the petoutside after each meal - rain, snow or sunshine to the same spot in the yard. Puppies always go "potty" after eating!! Determine how soon after eating the bowel action occurs. Usually this will be about the same time every time. Some pups may take up to one hour for this to occur. Now you have learned how long to wait after feeding, before going outside.

BE consistant.

Quality and type of food is the biggest problem we face. Cheap, bargain food will cause all sorts of digestive problems and make housetraining much harder. Please feed a good high quality food.

For cleaning accidents, use an odor neutralizer recommended by your veterinarian. Most household cleaners contain ammonia, which is also found in urine - and therefore only confuses the puppy. Vinager diluted 1 Tbl per cup, can remove the scent of urine.

In my opinion, it is wrong to discipline the dog for an accident in the house. A puppy/dog is just not smart enough to understand that it is where he is peeing that upsets you. He may just think that you don’t like him to go potty at all. Then, you might get a puppy that will NOT go potty in front of you (while on leash)!!!   Be patient. The crate WILL work…just give it time.

Odds ‘N Ends for your dog

A dogs normal temp is around 101-102. Always use only a rectal thermometer to check for a fever.

Benadryl may be given for allergies. Ask your vet for dosage.

An injured dog is always a risk for a bite. Wrap an injured dog in a blanket and transport to vet.

Keep dogs from playing with panty hose and plastic toys.  These are the biggest problem toys.

Never give a dog Tylenol. Only plain aspirin for pain.

Keep your Vets phone number next to the phone.

 

Special Section

HELP..My Sheltie is LOST

In the in the awful and unlikely event your sheltie gets away from you.   Here are some suggestions.

Shelties are such a "shy" breed, they are VERY hard to catch if they get loose. Even a normal friendly sheltie can become "wild" in a matter of minutes if they are scared and loose. They will NOT come to you easily. You must act quickly and persistantly.

First......call US ,then the police, animal control, and all the humane societies in a 10 mile radius. Then call all the vets offices in the area. If the dog is hit by a car, a good Samaritan may take the dog to a vet.

NEXT, The most important thing you can do is make as many people aware of the dog as possible. Immediately, have at least 200-500 16x20posters (depending on the size of the city) printed by a local print shop....in very bold print, that could be seen by a passing vehicle, with a telephone number of someone immediately available to check out a sighting. Don't even waste your money on smaller signs because they cannot be see by passing cars! You want someone driving by to be able to see the phone number easily, so that if they spot the dog they could call from a cell phone. The posters should start from the point the dog was last seen, and radiate out 5 miles. They need to be EVERYWHERE. You must check the posters frequently, as people tear them down. Make sure they are at an angle that a moving car could read them. The more people that see the posters, the faster she will come home. Make SURE the posters offer a generous reward.   IF someone has the dog, it may take money to get her back.  Kids and greedy people will spring into action looking for the dog with a reward.

Go on foot to every household in a 5 square mile area. Not everyone gets a newspaper, nor do they read the LOST ads. If you talk to them in person, they are much more likely to help you. Make sure they know to call with a sighting, rather than to chase her. IF you chase her she will run more. If there are signs out, attention is drawn to the fact that there is a lost sheltie. Then if somebody happens to see a dog they "will" pay attention, and almost always will try to help a lost "sheltie". Use the word "sheltie" on your advertising mode, but also in smaller print put "miniature collie"...because some people are NOT smart enough to know what a sheltie is. We care not about semantics at this point in time, call it a miniature collie!

If this dog was a timid dog to begin with...he will be hiding, petrified. When hunger finally overtakes fear, he will venture out of his hiding place. That is when the mass notification of the whole area will pay off. Then somebody will see him and call a phone number from a sign or one of those business cards. At that point somebody needs to GO, right then... because the dog is going have fear overtake hunger and go back to hiding somewhere.

IF the dog is hiding in a wooded area........gather up 10 people and comb the woods. Take a long pole and stick the brush, as she could be hiding in it. The danger here is the collar could be hung up on a branch and she may not be able to move!!!!!

This day in the age of computers it is easy to do your own business cards... make up cards with the dogs picture, the date lost, where lost phone numbers...and hand those out to children, people out walking their dogs, running, riding bikes etc. Sometimes they throw away flyers, where they'll keep a business card. Always put a phone number where someone is there all the time. When someone calls with a sighting, you must go NOW, not hours later...Dogs especially shelties do not meander around the same place usually, they seem to be "going" somewhere. Either back to their hideout or a new hideout. Lost shelties are in "flight" mode. If you think they will come to you when you call them, that has not been my experience. They see a human or a dog and they are gone....They don't wait to see who it is.

Once you have a sighting......get a live trap to the area. Most humane society’s will loan you one. Tuna works well as bait because the scent travels farthest!! Go frequently to release any captured critters that you didn't want to capture....like cats, possums, raccoons etc.

Be diligent in your search... Make sure everyone knows this dog is being searched for and continually be seen "searching" so if anyone does have the dog, they know you are not going to give up and go away ! Many people love the idea of a free sheltie, and may think about keep the dog.

Words of advice from a dog officer - make sure you keep calling and bugging dog officers, humane societies, animal controls. Call, and go in every DAY. You MUST physically check the Animal Control facility and Humane Society yourself. Do not leave the decision as to whether a dog in the 'jail' is a border collie, aussie or a sheltie up to an inexperienced $4.95 an hour shelter worker. Some of them have no clue what a Sheltie looks like. It is the squeaky wheel that gets oiled!!! You need to be in contact with Shelters within 30 miles in all directions of you every day!!! Do not forget these. The dog easily may have traveled.

Talk to the local delivery people, mail men, oil companies, electric companies and make sure every one of them gets one of those business cards with the dogs picture on it.

Seek out every child in the neighborhood (kids always know where the dogs are on the street) and give them a flyer or business card with your number. Post one at the school and play grounds. Have the kids spread the word about the REWARD. Kids will do allot for money.

Most importantly - lost dogs do not usually range. They usually stick to one particular area. Now, she might have traveled a couple miles before she got to that area, or she might be around the corner, but odds are if she's loose (and not stolen) that she's either with someone, or she's staked out an area. Make sure to look for her at her regular meal times. This seems to bring frightened/lost dogs out of hiding, being the creatures of habit that they are.

Rule of thumb, though - expand by one mile in each direction for every day she's been missing.

Mail flyers to all local vets (within 30 minutes driving distance)

Any animal control officer can tell you, scared dogs are really easy to miss. They can be five feet away and you'll miss them, because they freeze up like a rabbit. When searching woods......take a long pole and stir up all the brush. She could be hiding in brush. Try and think like the dog does. What does she like? Where would she be most likely to head? Is there another house/yard in the neighborhood similar to yours? She might be there. If she's crossed a street, she might have a visual barrier preventing her (in her mind) from returning. Follow the lay of the land - which way would you be most likely to go if you were she? Put one of your other dogs on a leash and see which way it's inclined to head for a general idea. One last thing - try a whistle (like a gym whistle) which carries a lot further than a voice and instantly catches a dogs attention.

Also, if you suspect the dog may have been stolen, state that the dog is chipped (as previously mentioned..also, if its a bitch, that she is spayed. I put NEEDS MEDICATION in large print on my flyers and posters. And remember the reward. Make sure the reward is printed boldly. $500 to $1000 A small reward will not motivate people.

 

If you are thinking someone "has" the dog, because there have been no sightings...Two things. As you are driving around looking...Tape one of those large posters to the back of your vehicle, so everywhere you go, "people" know "somebody" is still looking for this dog, and is not going "to just go away !" Second: Try writing big red letters on poster "BELOVED Child's PET " Maybe you'll tug at someone's heartstrings if they think the dog belongs to a child.

Last.  Keep searching. Sometimes Shelties take months to find. Don’t give up.

 

Please notify the webmaster if you have any problems with this page.  This page was last updated July 31, 2007.                                       

 

 

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