Shiloh Shepherds are incredibly intelligent, large dogs with consistent grooming needs. They are an elegant, regal breed and overall have softer temperaments and less drive than their German Shepherd counterparts. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking they are “easy” or “simple” dogs that come pre trained.
We adore our dogs and our breed, and do absolutely everything we can to set them up for success in their new homes. To ensure they have a lifetime of continued success after they leave us, we want to assure we place them with families who are positive a Shiloh is right for them and their needs! Below are some considerations to see if a Shiloh Shepherd is the right breed for you, your family and your lifestyle.
Training and Common Issues
Shilohs are highly trainable, incredibly intelligent and require mental stimulation and proper socialization to be well rounded solid citizens. Obedience training, boundary setting and social skills are something that should be started and instilled from the moment your puppy comes home.
While Shiloh’s are highly trainable, in a home with a lack of training or boundary setting, they can “train themselves” to do quite naughty things! Even the best, most confident puppy at 8 weeks old can gain some very negative behaviors via lack of training (think jumping on gates, barking, nibbling and chewing etc). This breed gets very large, very fast, so proper training from the get go is paramount.
If a family struggles with training in general or is new to canine behavior, it is crucial they find a proper trainer to help guide them through puppyhood and into adulthood. Just one puppy class is not always enough to help your puppy become the best version of themselves! Training should not be an afterthought or skimped on in any way shape or form!
Grooming Requirements and Training Issues With It
Shiloh’s have very heavy, thick coats. While they are absolutely stunning, they do have some major continuous grooming requirements. They are double coated, shed consistently, blow coat periodically and should NEVER be shaved down! It takes a few years for a Shiloh’s coat to mature and get long and thick. But grooming and proper desensitization to it should start from birth up! Even though your puppy comes home with a short fluffy adorable puppy coat that is low maintenance, nothing is worse than waiting until they are 100 lbs and have long knotted hair to expose them to brushing for the first time.
Shilohs are very sensitive in nature, and when they aren’t preemptively exposed to something, they can react to things in a sharp way if it is new and scary to them. Families welcoming a Shiloh into their homes should be immediately working on exposing them to nail trimming, brushing, clippers (to clean up their feet and prep for holter monitor testing), baths, blow dryers and being physically touched and handled all over their bodies. Even if you plan to have your Shiloh professionally groomed, your Groomer will thank you and your dog will have a much more enjoyable time at the grooming shop if you start working on these elements immediately.
Home Needs and Daily Energy Requirements
Unlike their GSD counterparts, Shiloh’s in general don’t have as much drive and physical energy requirement’s. However, that does not mean they are strictly couch potatoes or have no needs at all. It is important new owners are prepared to provide both physical and mental stimulation outlets for their puppy based on age, need, and individual temperament. It is also important to be honest with yourself if you are willing and able to set boundaries with your new puppy easily in your home life. Boundary pushing issues or a dog not being mentally fulfilled can once again lead to problem behaviors. Going back to Shilohs being incredibly smart, they will create their own negatively rewarding habits (chewing, barking at strangers coming in the home, etc) if their needs are not properly addressed.
If you are ready to provide a well balanced home with fair and simple boundaries, you should have a wonderful balanced Shiloh who adds to your life instead of stressing it.
Socialization And Issues If There Is A Lack Of
Socialization is absolutely critical to commit to when welcoming a Shiloh puppy into your home. Your breeder should have already begun protocols from the start of your puppies life to expose them to as much as possible in a safe way. What they get in that first 8 weeks with the breeder should be continued well into adulthood.
New Shiloh owners need to be committed to the time it takes to properly socialize a new puppy. Socializing elements include people, places, things, situations and other animals. Socialization does not always involve direct interaction, but also carefully executed positive exposure where your puppy can soak in the environment and all its happenings neutrally. A careful balance is needed to create a well adjusted adult dog.
Shiloh’s with a lack in exposure and socialization to the elements above can become very problematic in nature. This can lead to issues such as reactivity, fear of strangers or being handled, insecurity etc. Do not let your puppy get to this point before addressing these elements. While there is always hope in helping work these situations out once they happen, it is much more difficult to navigate than properly addressing socialization from the start.
Families With Young Children and Ensuring Boundaries Are Set
Shilohs make wonderful family dogs, and many NewMoon Shilohs have been placed in homes with young children. However, please be mindful you are welcoming a young puppy into your home who still has a lot to learn! Puppies have very sharp teeth and are still learning how and when to use them. They need proper training and guidance to help them through the “puppy shark” phase. This is something families need to be mentally and physically prepared to work through immediately with their new puppy. It is also important to be mindful of your puppies boundaries and make sure to educate young family members on appropriate interactions with a baby puppy.
Shiloh puppies are very mouthy in general, but again… they grow very fast and wont “grow out of” biting habits without remediation. We advise people start addressing puppy biting ASAP when their puppy comes home. Bite inhibition is a critical skill to teach and one of the first that should be taught!
Service and Therapy Dog Capabilities and Considerations
Shilohs are very sensitive and intuitive in nature. One of their best attributes can also be one of their worst when considering therapy and service dog work. Here at NewMoon Shilohs, we are highly selective when considering Service/Therapy Dog placements and do not guarantee that a dog will grow to perform these tasks, as no breeder should. At 8 weeks, a breeder can only evaluate what they have seen in front of them with the knowledge of the parents and lineage behind as well. However, we can not account for things like environment, training, temperament inconsistencies etc as the dog grows up with their new owner.
We have had a few wonderful success stories with our puppies entering Service and Therapy dog careers, but we want to assure first and foremost that owners are realistic in their expectations and have a plan if the puppy doesn’t work out for the intended purpose.
Shilohs can heavily feed off of their owners emotions, and some are great at offering support, while for others it may make them more nervous if they feel their owners are distraught. We are very realistic when people approach us with these specific needs, and will always do what’s best for our puppies first and foremost.
It takes a very confident, driven puppy with a seriously high level of training to be a successful service or therapy dog. Please consider this before applying for a NewMoon puppy if this is a priority to you.
Genetics Versus Environmental
Welcoming a new puppy into your family is a very exciting thing! But without the right tools can become a nightmare regardless of the breed selection. Make sure you are mentally and physically prepared to set your puppy up for a lifetime of success and can fully commit to all that is needed to help a young puppy thrive! Most ethical breeders attempt in every way to start their puppies with all the life tools they will need, but it is up to the owner to continue to provide the proper tools for the puppy to thrive well into adulthood! Please ask yourself if you are ready to provide all of the above and if not, reconsider if a young puppy or a Shiloh Shepherd is right for you.
Is A NewMoon Shiloh Right For You?
We take our program and every dog we produce with the highest level of seriousness, and we want our owners to feel the same. Taking on a puppy is a wonderful joy, but large responsibility. If you think the above sounds reasonable and are still up for the adventure, the final thing you’ll want to ask yourself is if you are looking for just a puppy, or a community. We want to assure owners become part of our family, and feel they can contact us at any time for any reason. We want to not only support our owners but keep tabs on the health of the puppies we produce throughout their lives and into their final days.
We do also require every owner to partake in holter monitoring their puppy (a 24 hour test) around 6-12 months of age regardless of pet or breed quality. More about holter monitoring here. We do circulate our own holter monitors with very in depth details on how to put on, take off and transmit the results. Our breed club and registry also have monitors to rent for reasonable prices. If a family is local enough to us or we can arrange meeting, we can also put on the monitor for you and assist in the entire process. We are proud to say we have NEVER missed holtering a puppy we have produced and because of that hold very valuable data for our breed overall. We intend to continue this and strive to never miss holtering a puppy. So assure you will communicate with us efficiently to complete this requirement!
While we do enjoy families being active in the breed community itself, it is not required in anyway. However if someone wants to dabble in showing, attend events or enjoy any extracurriculars with their Shiloh, we are more than happy to make that an easy, fun experience for you and your new puppy!
NewMoon Shiloh Shepherds 