tempurafriedhappiness: Kayla
I definitely can see the Sheltie in Sofie’s eyes and ears when I look at this beauty. – DogDaz
Tag Archives: Shetland Sheepdog
Black and White Sunday: I Spy
Sofie seems to always be playing the game ‘I Spy.’ Here she is spying a duck or fish or bouy. Actually, I never know what she spies.
Bark Out Loud. That dog cracks me up!
Happy Sunday!
This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
8.14.12 Would You Like Cheese With That WHINE!
Sign repinned from lol
I am sooooooooo tired of Sofie’s whining. I have been making a study of this, and she even whines in her sleep. This must be a Sheltie trait. Never having a dog with this breed mix before, I am not sure, but I have never had such a big baby like Sofie Bear. So I decided to do some research. I went to “Sheltie Planet: Your Guide to Everything Shetland Sheepdog,” to find out if this is a breed problem. And, it sort of is. They say you should ask yourself these questions to try to figure out why she is whining:
– Is she in pain? NOPE
– Is she simply bored or lonely? Could be, but we could be in the middle of a major play session and she will whine (or maybe dog talk), so I will say, MAYBE.
– Is she afraid or anxious? I don’t think she is afraid, but anxious, well of that I am not sure? I don’t really see her as an anxious dog, but I have Lulu who is pretty high strung, so in comparison maybe I am missing something. I will have to think on this.
– Does she need to go outside? Well if she asks, I take her, but that is super rare.
Sofie is a very vigilant dog, she can hear a fox outside 200 feet away. She will bark at noises that we human’s just don’t hear, but I figure that is vigilance, not anxiety. Shelties are bred to guard the flock and warn when intruders are around, so it is in her DNA. I guess I am more tolerant than other people when it comes to innate traits. A dog is a dog and you have to allow them a bark or two or an occasional whine. Poor Sofie definitely has reasons to whine: (1) When she wants Nine to come out of the cat room and play with her; (2) When she wants Muffin to stop helping me make dinner, especially when it is the dog food kind; (3) When she wakes up and wants me to let her out of her kennel (but I can tell her to go back to sleep and most of the time she will), and, for sure; (4) When she wants a toy that Lulu has. The family says she whines all the time, but maybe I just don’t hear it. I have been told that she whines terribly when I leave, which is something I really need to figure out how to help her stop. The Sheltie website said basically to ignore the whining, but that sure doesn’t work around here. When she was a puppy I tried to give her positive reinforcement for not whining, but that was really hard, since it is not a predictable thing. A lot of times I think that Sofie is just dog talking to me though. She likes to sit there and have this whole conversation. I am not exactly sure what the story is about, but I know that she likes when I make eye contact and tilt my head as if listening. “Well, Sofie my love, would you like a little cheese with that whine?”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 