Friday, November 26, 2010

It has to be me right?

Okay, so in all my Sheltie research a few things became very apparent.  I mean besides the fact that is obviously an awesome breed (still need to decide whether they are as awesome as my BC's though, it has only been a few days). I am referring to things like: 'Sheltie growth can be unpredictable', 'Shelties are cautious of strangers', 'Shelties are noisy'... you know those kinds of things.  Well first of all, I have to say that Volt is different in a lot of ways.  He loves strangers, in the last few days he has met many of them and he bolts toward strangers and proceeds to kiss them to death.  Even one of the African ladies at the office who is terrified of dogs, got licked into a coma (much to her horror AND delight).  He is not noisy at all, he plays like a demon, in fact he never stops, but he barely ever barks.  He will growl playfully when I tug with him and whine when he needs to go outside for a toilet.  I have heard him yap once, when my BC's were barking insanely at the postman (which I hate, but it is his fault, as he smacks the newspaper against the gate and yells at them).  On the growth thing I will still have to get back to you (please, please, please let him be under 34cm)... but the thing that is bothering me most is that Shelties are supposed to LOVE their food...

Now let me explain this to you first, I am not fond of using food in Agility, BUT I love food-driven dogs, as it makes training EVERYTHING so much more convenient.  Well Echo has always loved his food (and his toys... easy peasy).  Then things went south.  Delta never had a remote interest in food until I neutered him (which I only did when he was 7 and retired from competition).  Chaos has never had any interest in food.  He is four and he STILL might eat one meal a day.  I have been to so many vets on so many occasions with that dog, that I have completely lost count, the verdict... he is COMPLETELY healthy.  But give that boy a toy or work and he is go go go, 24/7.  Quake is not interested in food either, unless you leave him in a crate with his food for an hour so...  With my non-food driven BC's I have gazillions of different methods and even more types of treats, they are just not that keen.  They prefer their toys...

And guess what?  Volt is the same (for now), maybe a little bit better.  I do get to click and feed for eye contact and some other behaviours, but this boy is just not that into his food.  His drive for food is 40km/h on the highway in a 120km/h zone...  and his drive for toys would get him arrested for driving an F1 car full speed through a school yard.  If he even spots a toy while I am trying to feed him, it's a lost cause.  Please understand, I won't exchange that toy drive for anything, but why can't I just also have a dog that has both... haha it has to be my right? 

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