Australian shepherd owners

[IfIOnly]

Tell me about your experience, please. What were the puppy years like? What do you purpose each day and week to meet your doggy's needs? We've been looking into this breed for a second addition to our doggy family, and they tick a lot of the boxes for what we're looking for. My sons looove our beagle and spoil her, but they have really longed for a more energetic, demanding dog as well for many years. Honestly, I want another dog probably more than they do, and it's finally the right time in our lives to find him or her. Thank you!

[mmasc]

Mine is a red heeler. She is the sweetest, most loyal dog ever and loves her people fiercely. She’s also quite smart and extremely alert. Now, for the other stuff. 🙂 You can probably find my threads from years ago seeking help with her. We got her when she was probably around 3-4 months old from a rescue. She was extremely destructive, most likely due to severe separation anxiety. It was so bad that we couldn’t leave her in her crate (even though she had been crate trained) because she would injure herself trying to get out. If we left her out, she destroyed stuff. Like, big expensive stuff—our couch had to be trashed, a leather ottoman, and various other things. We worked and worked with her and it took lots of time and energy and wasn’t easy. My dh was thisclose to getting rid of her, but I just couldn’t bear it. So, we slowly worked on the separation anxiety. We’d leave her in the house alone for like 5 minutes for several days in a row. Then 6 minutes. Then 10. And on and on. I think patience and time helped. It took about two years for her to be a delight to have around. 

She’s six now. She’s always been high energy and so, so good at fetch. It’s her favorite game by far and required no teaching whatsoever. We throw a ball, she brings it back every.single.time with zero training. She doesn’t get the opportunity much anymore due to moving, but she was an excellent swimmer and loved the water. She does bark at the doorbell and other dogs outside, but that’s probably lack of training on our part. She definitely herds our children around and did especially when they were much younger. Now she just runs with them. She also likes hide and seek and is very good at it. It’s a fun mental game for indoors. 

It’s hard to say if I’d get another one like her. 😊 I absolutely adore her, but those first couple of years were quite rough!

[Selkie]

I have three Aussies - a six-month-old sibling pair (blue merle female and black tri male) and their 4 y.o. half-brother, a blue merle Aussie/Catahoula.

I love dogs more than just about anything else on earth and the herding breeds are my favorite. Aussies have a special place in my heart.

Aussies are so smart - smarter than a lot of people. They are always watching and thinking and figuring things out. 

Aussies are extremely loyal. They pick one person as their own and will follow that person to the ends of the earth. If an Aussie has chosen you as their person, you will never go to the bathroom alone again.🙂

I find that my Aussies want the constant companionship of dogs and humans. They definitely aren't a breed that would do well being left on their own for long stretches of the day.

They have tons of energy. Mine are on the go all day long. We live in the country and have two large, fenced dog yards, and our Aussies spend hours out there running and playing with our other dogs. They are obsessed with chasing anything that we throw for them.

They can be a real handful as puppies. My 4 y.o. was the world's most awful puppy for the first two years of his life. We bought a lot of new furniture because of that dog.😄 Then he turned two years old and it was like a switch flipped and he became the best behaved dog. Luckily, my younger two haven't been as destructive. I think that's because they use up all their puppy energy wrestling and playing with each other all day long.

Some Aussies make a very cute facial expression that looks like a snarl but is really a smile. They also wiggle their butts like crazy when they're happy, and they curl themselves into a C shape when they're excited to see you. We call it the sidewinder move.

This is totally unscientific, but I have found that merles have personalities that are little goofier and quirkier than other colors. I am totally partial to merles.

About 50% of Aussies have a genetic mutation called MDR1, which causes sensitivity to some commonly used drugs. Anyone who has an Aussie (or many of the other herding breeds) should get genetic testing done to see if their dog has it. It's easy - you just swab their cheek and send it to a lab for testing.

There are a couple great Facebook groups that I would recommend. One is called Aussies Doing Things and the other is iHeartAustralianShepherds. 

 

 

 

[J-rap]

I had an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix growing up.  We lived at the edge of town at the foot of the mountains, and we took him out regularly for hikes in the mountains.  He was able to run to his heart's content, a lot.  I'd also take him on his leash on my bike almost every day.  (I don't know if I'd let my own kids do that now, but it's what we did back then!)  He was very faithful and we never had a problem.  Oh, we also created an obstacle course for him in the backyard (which was a fenced yard).  It contained a ladder that he could climb to get to the roof of the house!  He'd then spend the afternoon on the roof of the house waiting for us to come home from school.  I can't believe now that my dad did that!!  It just all seemed normal to us then.  😄  He was really special and he made a great family dog.

So it inspired me to get an Australian Shepherd pup about 8 years ago when we still had three kids at home.  We had an active and lively household which was good for him, plus we took him on walks regularly and I'd play fetch with him in our fenced-in backyard.  But, it just wasn't the same kind of free roaming exercise that our Aussie had when I was a kid.  Also, our recent Aussie was very fearful.  He was like that already the day we got brought him home, at 12 weeks.  It rather quickly turned into scary aggression toward strangers that we just couldn't curb no matter how much we worked on it.  (We brought in a trainer, too.)   Most Aussies aren't like that, but if they do have a "fear gene," it often turns aggressive in Aussies because of their instinct to act quickly.  (Just something to think about...)

 

[Ottakee]

I had to put our 14 year old Aussie down last fall.  I got her though at age 3 from a rescue so never did the puppy stuff.

She was very nervous when she first came and wouldn't come in the house.....rescue listed her as an outdoor farm dog...which is very rare for a rescue to say.

Over time she moved into the mat by the door, then the kitchen floor....and before long she took over the leather chair.  She never messed in the house (until week before I put her down due to health issues).  She chose me as her person and followed me all the time 

She loved the farm and running free and following along on horseback rides.   She rarely to never barked.

I did not though ever trust her with small children alone.  It was because she had never been around them and small kids are unpredictable with dogs.  With supervision she was great and my grandson called her his brother.   I was just likely over protective in this area.

 

[Bensmom2]

Our Aussie was 2 years old when we adopted him so we missed the puppy days.  He is now 3 1/2 and not super high energy at all. Sure he likes to play, jump hurdles and do obstacle course games but he is also really good at just lying at my feet all day. He is super smart and has been fun to train because he learns so quickly and is so eager to please. He is also very loyal, and by that I mean clingy. He hates to be left alone and really wants to be with his family all the time.  I would totally get another Aussie after this one as long as our lifestyle would still allow me to be with it most of the day. They are an awesome breed if you don’t mind brushing them (they shed!) and aren’t going to leave them home alone all day. 

[....]

I thought we were the only lunatics to have Australian shepherds!!  😂

They are crazy.  They were bred to run like 11 miles a day or something insane like that.  They are very high-energy and very, very smart.  

We have two brothers from the same litter, which in hindsight might've been a bad idea because they are inseparable (they literally cry when they're separated).  They're red Merles.  About 4 1/2 years old.  They're supposed to live a really long time like border collies (our last border collie made it to 16).  Ours are REALLY good with other animals.  In fact, we're emergency fosters for a dog rescue and we take in dogs who have been abused/abandoned and our Australian shepherds just treat each new dog like they've always been there.  They'll play with any dog.  A bunch of rescue dogs have been socialized by our Australian shepherds.  We have 3 cats, 2 bunnies, 2 elderly guinea pigs and a hamster.  They don't care about them.  In fact, the hamster escaped once, wandered the house while we were asleep and the dogs just ignored it.  We were like, "Whew!  I can't believe you survived the night, Mr. Hamster!  Lol."

They bark at freaking everything - just warning you.  I think they were bred to bark when they complete a task and boy, they let you know.  One of ours basically "talks" in a way that sounds like a human talking.  He says "I love you" - no kidding.  It's hilarious.

Ours are still extreme high energy.  We have 5 kids, so they fit right in, but if they're bored, they can be very destructive.  They were very destructive puppies.  They basically sat and ate my TV stand one night while we were sleeping.  They'll eat books, bookcases...  One of ours has separation anxiety, so when our entire family leaves to go somewhere, we have to dog-proof the house.  He'll tear stuff up, because he's upset we're gone.  Like I said, they also cry when they're separated (there's a term for that in the dog world, but I can't remember what it was).  

They are incredible with kids and cats.  Ours sleep in my daughters' bedrooms and the cats sleep next to them.  Every stinking night.  lol.  One of them sleeps with the Siamese cat (who is an evil creature who knows how to turn doorknobs and open the pantry door) and the other sleeps with the calico and Turkish van.  So, they have their spots/routine at night.

But, yeah, dd18 takes them on car rides, they go to the dog park...they actually know what street you turn on to get to the dog park and they'll look out the window and start crying.  They're really smart.

Oh, bad habit - ours tries to correct/be in charge of our younger kids.  You have to be careful and don't let them do that.  They were bred to be in charge of other animals, so they'll try to herd your kids.  One night, we were all watching a movie in the living room.  Two of the kids left the movie and went into the other room.  The two Aussies got hysterical and tried to herd the kids back to the movie.  The dogs were like "Ahh!  The movie's not over!!"  My teenagers thought it was hilarious.  But, yeah, you have to stop those behaviors if you have kids.  I am wary when dd12 tries to walk one of the Aussies by herself, because this particular dog will try to take charge of her and the leash and we don't know how to stop it other than...she just can't walk him alone.  His brother lets dd12 walk him just fine.  It's just this one dog that does that.  

We also have a chihuahua and a Swiss Shepherd (she was one of our foster dogs and she's unadoptable, because she was so horribly abused, so we just kept her) and the Aussies get along just fine with both - even with the Swiss shepherd's weird quirks.  One of the Aussies (the bratty one who won't let dd12 walk him) constantly plays with the chihuahua.  Like the chihuahua would have a nervous breakdown without that particular Aussie. lol

Anyway, good luck!  (You'll need it - bwahahaha)

 

[....]

 

Since we're sharing pictures....there's one of the brothers (the naughty one).  They're crazy, but good-looking.  lol

[Ottakee]

@Evanthe my Aussie was not high strung like that at all.  She also NEVER barked.  Like, seriously, months would go by between barks.   The one time she did bark a lot was when the horses got out and she was herding them and trying to get our attention.

I am sure though, like with other breeds, that certain lines are more high string than others.

[DesertBlossom]

We have an 8 month old Aussie female. The first few weeks were rough until I got situated with baby gates and we started making progress with potty training. But I love her so much!  She is smart and eager to learn. She seems like a fairly mellow dog, but to be fair we also have a 1 year old golden retriever and they spend a lot of time chasing each other in our large backyard, burning off energy. Without that energy outlet, I don't know how crazy she would be. 

ETA: I love my golden too, but next to my aussie, he looks dumb as rocks. You can tell she's smart. So far she doesn't try to herd our children, but she does try to herd the chickens.

Edited April 18, 2020 by DesertBlossom

[Selkie]

My three:

Titan (Aussie/Catahoula)

Tigerlily

Lupo

[....]

Awww!  Selkie, they're so cute!!  The dog in the top pic definitely has Catahoula markings.

[Bensmom2]

My Aussie sounds like Ottakee’s. Super laid back (not as high energy as our lab, German shepherd or border collie were) and not a barker. Ours is a full size Aussie. He weighs about 60 pounds but I have heard males often weigh up to 65 so he isn’t overweight. The mini Aussie I think is more in the 40 pound range. I have heard the minis and full size have different temperaments but have never really investigated this. Perhaps the smaller version of the Aussie is more energetic and vocal???  Aussie owners please chime in. Is yours high or low energy, and the smaller or larger variety? 

[IfIOnly]

1 minute ago, Bensmom2 said:

My Aussie sounds like Ottakee’s. Super laid back (not as high energy as our lab, German shepherd or border collie were) and not a barker. Ours is a full size Aussie. He weighs about 60 pounds but I have heard males often weigh up to 65 so he isn’t overweight. The mini Aussie I think is more in the 40 pound range. I have heard the minis and full size have different temperaments but have never really investigated this. Perhaps the smaller version of the Aussie is more energetic and vocal???  Aussie owners please chime in. Is yours high or low energy, and the smaller or larger variety? 

We're trying to figure out mini vs. full size temperment differences too, if there are any.  We actually want a barker. At least a nice middle ground would be good where we're alerted to people and animals but not incessantly so. We moved to the country late last year and plan to have a full fledge farm again. We have chickens and turkeys and will be adding goats and pigs for certain after we seed and get the pasture areas going, so a protective dog that also gets along with farm animals is preferred. I'd also like the deer kept out of my garden and pasture! You never know a dogs quirks and temperment, but we're leaning towards a breed that at least has the likelihood or propensity to help in these areas. We also have an irrigation pond and canals running through the property, so a doggie that loves water and would want to join them would be fun for the kiddos.

[Selkie]

Mine are full size, high energy, and great watchdogs. They bark, but not incessantly. They bark when there is something to bark about, like a vehicle pulling in our driveway - but they don't bark at every single bird that flies by, like the Great Pyr we used to have. They get along with our horses - pretty much just ignore them - and I don't think they would be fazed a bit by goats or pigs. I have heard of Aussies chasing chickens, so that is something you would want to work on right from the get-go with a puppy. My two younger ones love the water. When they were little babies, they used to climb in the big water bowl in our kitchen and splash around in it.🙂

I don't know about temperament differences between mini and full size. Everyone I know IRL has full size Aussies, but I've seen lots of people in the Aussie Facebook groups who have minis.

[Ottakee]

23 minutes ago, IfIOnly said:

We're trying to figure out mini vs. full size temperment differences too, if there are any.  We actually want a barker. At least a nice middle ground would be good where we're alerted to people and animals but not incessantly so. We moved to the country late last year and plan to have a full fledge farm again. We have chickens and turkeys and will be adding goats and pigs for certain after we seed and get the pasture areas going, so a protective dog that also gets along with farm animals is preferred. I'd also like the deer kept out of my garden and pasture! You never know a dogs quirks and temperment, but we're leaning towards a breed that at least has the likelihood or propensity to help in these areas. We also have an irrigation pond and canals running through the property, so a doggie that loves water and would want to join them would be fun for the kiddos.

I had to laugh as my Aussie LOVED our small pond.  It was a decorative waterfall one but she loved it.  Her favorite thing to do after a hike/trail ride was to take a quick swim in the pond and then run out to the horse pasture and roll in the sand/manure in the dry lot....and then want to come in the house 

Just be prepared for a wet, dirty dog.

[Loowit]

Mine is an Aussie mix, he is also part malamute.  He is 90 pounds and very loving.  He has a strong need to be around his people.  He has picked DH as his person, but loves all of us.

He has a lot of energy, but naps in the afternoon.  We have to take him out and run him hard several times a day.  He also loves to chew on everything.  He has gotten better now that he is a bit older, but we still have to keep an eye on him.  We got him at 8 weeks and he is now a year and a half old.  He is super friendly with everyone he meets, and is very smart.  He potty trained very quickly when we got him home.  He only had two accidents in the house, but we were very vigilant to make sure he was taken out very often.

He really wants to be around people all the time.  He doesn't like being by himself.  He does fine at night, but during the day he wants to be with us.  Even during outdoor time he wants one of us be be at least sitting out side watching him chew on his toys or watching him lay in the grass.

 

[DesertBlossom]

My 8 month old pup.  The bottom of her right eye has some blue in it, making her look teary-eyed. She definitely loves her people. This picture we took in the mountains. We had to keep our golden on a long lead the whole time because he had a tendency to wander and I was worried he would get lost. She stayed right with us all the time, no matter what.

[Ottakee]

4 hours ago, DesertBlossom said:

My 8 month old pup.  The bottom of her right eye has some blue in it, making her look teary-eyed. She definitely loves her people. This picture we took in the mountains. We had to keep our golden on a long lead the whole time because he had a tendency to wander and I was worried he would get lost. She stayed right with us all the time, no matter what.

My Aussie was rarely on a leash and stuck very close by.    She was, obviously, on a leash when we were walking places that required it but most of the time I walked trails behind my house, open spaces, etc that didn't require a leash.  No worries of her runnibg off