The Magic Shirt

Now that my busy season is drawing to a close maybe I can get back to Sadie updates. And, what better way to start but with a little behavior that to spite all my years of observation I have never seen before.

If you have met Sadie in person you may think that she is this sweet little girl, because for the most part when we are out in public she is, but the way Sadie presents herself in public is nothing compared to the way she is at home. At Sadie's ISSR (International Shiloh Shepherd Registry) LER (Litter Evaluation Report) at 8 weeks Tina Barber our breed founder nicknamed her the "Ever Ready Bunny" and believe me she lives up to her name. Every waking minute she is ready to go. Even though she is now 14 months old she acts like a puppy. It is very difficult for me to keep weight on her because she is so active. Even if she settles down enough to eat the least little thing will distract her and she is off to investigate. Even if I take her out for a run with the bike or long walk it does not faze her. When we get back the other dogs are totally exhausted but she is still ready to go. Nothing phases her. Then the magic happened.

My Border Collie, Pepper, developed hot spots on her front leg so I wrapped it, put an old shirt on her so she could not bother the bandages and told her to leave it alone, which she did. I went outside for something and left her and Sadie in the house for a couple of minutes. When I came back into the house I found Pepper laying on the floor and Sadie had pulled up the sleeve on the shirt and was laying next to her working on the tape, which she had half way off of Peppers leg when I got back. I guess she thought she was doing her a favor. I took the shirt off of Pepper so that I could change the bandage and just for the fun of it I put it on Sadie.

Now, I have been studying dog behavior for many years and have never seen anything like this. The second I put the shirt on Sadie her attitude changed. Her ears went back and her tail went down. She came over to me and laid down next to me. I got up and went over to the couch to sit down and observe her. When I did she quietly got up came over to the couch got up next to me and put her head in my lap. When the other dogs walked past her she just ignored them, she would never let one pass her without grabbing them by the neck trying to get them to play with her, but now she just ignored them. This was not the same dog.



I left the shirt on her for the rest of the afternoon and it was like I had a new dog. Her temperament went from hard to soft in seconds. Just to test it I took the shirt off and she immediately returned to her normal over active self. Now ever time I put the Magic Shirt on her she turns into this soft loving dog. I wonder how much I can get for this shirt on eBay? I know a few of my clients that could use it. If you look closely at the pictures you can see the submissive look in her eye. If anyone out there try's this, and I know some of you will, please let me know your results.