Broken hearted OES pup by putting a collar on him?
I couldn't find any posts about sheepie pups getting used to their collars, so I thought I'd ask for advice. We picked up our 10 wk old, make OES pup on Friday. He was your typical, happy go lucky puppy...until Saturday night when we put his collar/tag on him....after that he is completely lethargic. When I say lathargic I mean that he just sits like a bump on a log...unless of course, that when the collar jingles, then his snapps and thrashes arround to try to get it off. We left it on him for the night (thinking that he would just need to get used to it,) and until Sunday afternoon when he decided to get covered in mud so we had to give him a bath. After the bath, we dried him and combed him out. We left the collar off for a few hours and he was back to his happy-go-luccky puppy self. We put it back on him this morning and he is back to lethargic puppy. I called the vet...and the vet said whatever we do......DON'T take it off of or he will think he one. She said it should only take a day or so to get used to it. I'm going out of my mind here...he's moping arround and pouting like a honked of toddler pouting. 
Now this isn't some junky colar...this is one of the nice rolled leather ones. Also, it's can't be too tight...there is nearly 1 inch of slack. He could probably slip out of it if was on a leash, but I figured we could begin to tighten it down to it's correct "tightness level" after he gets used to it. Is this normal or have we broken his heart? Any sheepie gurus have any advice? Thanks so Much! Murphy's Parents |
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| I am certainly no sheepie guru as I've only had 11 week old Harry (my first) for 3 weeks and have had to ask loads of questions!
He was a bit weird when we put the collar on him, very manic, then scratchy then sulky...it's quite a big thing for them to get used to, I think. Harry had his collar on at 8 weeks so it quickly formed part of his normal life. I think that, as your puppy is a teeny bit older, he's obviously had longer without one and he might be a bit more 'woah' about it! What we did was make a positive connection with the collar. When we put the collar on, he got a treat and a 'good boy' and lots of stroking and playing. Whenever he was stratching it, we distracted him with toys. I wanted to get him used to a bit of pressure on it, so whenever I gently pulled it, or held him in place with it, he got a treat and lots of 'good boys' - now it is second nature to him and he's quite happy with it. I think he's just trying everything he can to get you to remove the thing but he will get used to it over a wee bit of time. Not great wisdom, just my 2 cents!!! Good luck, Gillx ps. I am 100% sure you have not broken his heart, he's just confused as to what the giants are doing to him!! |
| I don't think it's related to the collar rather he misses his mommy and mates. He'll get used to it. Please make sure you remove the collar before he goes in the crate, however. It's not a pretty site when the collar gets caught and your little one cries to try to get free!
Don't worry, it only gets better from here!!! |
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