Shelties require lots of mental stimulation be it agility classes, games or herding. They need to be challenged often. Shelties have quick reflexes. This can be good and bad. Bad in the sense that they are quite sensitive to loud noises, quick movements and environments that are stressful. Being left for long periods of time without any type of companionship will result in a very unhappy sheltie, which could lead to a number of issues such as neurotic behaviors, destructive chewing or even chronic barking. One major issue is excessive barking since shelties are a chatty breed. Often people mistake shelties for collie puppies when in fact they are full grown. A sheltie’s personality is typically sweet, gentle and sensitive however, often they have big personalities in that they can be quite humorous or silly. Typically when socialized from an early age shelties are very good with other animals and…

Not much has changed with Kiara, but she has improved a little with the loud noises. I noticed that she notices them the most when she is in my bedroom, which could be because, I am in the backroom with the most windows. But for Christmas I got her one of those treat balls where they have to keep playing with it for the treat to disburse. It has been a great distraction for Kiara when there are loud noises. Other than that Kiara has been pretty mellow lazing around, especially today with our snow day in Philly. (She was not very happy when she was out in it.) The wind is blowing crazy with snow and for once Kiara isn’t interested in what is going on outside but rather, interested in cuddling up with her little Yoda plushie toy. What do you like to do during poor weather?