Australian Shepherds

[android]

does anyone else own an aussie?

SWMBO and i just picked one up last weekend, we've been waiting for 2 months to go get her! she's a dear and we're having a blast with her so far...

just wondering if there are any other aussie owners that have some fun experiences to share about them.

ours is 8 weeks old, a tricolor, and loves to follow us around.

cheers to aussies and all dogs!

 

[Donner]

our neighbors have the middle sized aussie. Indy is a great dog, very sweet and is becoming more protective. She is great off leash and seems easy to live with.

 

[android]

yeah, from what i understand, they are very loyal to the owners and not all that interested in other people, but it all depends on how you socialize them early on... thanks for the reply! i didn't know there was a 'middle sized' option.

 

[Donner]

i think there is a middle option. The neighbor was saying there is like a full sized, a mid sized and a small. Indy is maybe 25-30 lbs. She is pretty socialized and occasionally does the excited peeing thing. THe neighbors have taken to getting her to heard one of the cats when the cat wont come back in the house. They tell indy to go get her and she goes out and chases the cat back into the house.

 

[android]

hilarious, they love to herd. when we went to get her, all the puppies were herding chickens and the farm cats.

 

[SnickASaurusRex]

Full emphasis on socializing. Have have known a few and that makes all the difference.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

You can't trust an Australian shepherd to not molest your sheep. Get a dog instead.

 

[HairyDogBrewing]

Our 'kids', Lacey and Lager, from Legacy kennel in Hazelton, PA:


Lager is 60 pounds, which is really big for an Aussie.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Awesome breed. If I had one I would train it for agility. Good fun for you, GREAT fun for the dog. Herding breeds <3 to work.

 

[Aleforge]

I have heard they are good dogs, my parents have an Australian Cattle Dog and it sucks. But shepards are suppose to be great, and super smart.

I have an Akita, second one I have owned. Not bad dogs but they have a bad reputation which makes insurance expensive. I wouldn't get a third because of it. My wife and I want a Newfoundland when our Akita ceases to exist.

Drooling and all,

 

[Arkador]

I have a 9month old Blue Merle female from Slash V Australian Sheperds. I picked her up at the end of October. I grew up on a dairy farm with several Aussies, so it was the only real choice for me!
Only pic I have access to until I get home, where I will post some more.
She is 13 days old in this picture

Herding breeds <3 to work.

Mine works the frisbee. She gets all crazy over that thing! We play with it about an hour a day on average.

 

[Arkador]

6 weeks old, the day we knew she was ours (We had 2nd pick, she was our first choice)

Belle loves her butterfly, and the cat is jealous!

Belle graduates obedience school.

Belle's brother being a brat!

Can't see the frisbee, but she cought it!

Belle and Alyssa

Belle and SWMBO

 

[android]

thanks for all the pics, i love seeing different aussies...

arkador, belle reminds me a lot of kona in her looks... here's a few pics of her:

BTW, what age did you do obedience training?

also, to all you aussie owners, how did your house breaking go? i think we introduced her to too much of the house all at once and she's been confused about the upstairs and the garage. we've since limited her to two rooms on the main floor and its getting better... i thought on the second day we had her she was house broken because she scratched the door to go outside, but it didn't last... =)

on the drive home:

chillin':

bein a freak:

 

[android]

Our 'kids', Lacey and Lager, from Legacy kennel in Hazelton, PA:


Lager is 60 pounds, which is really big for an Aussie.

i had a feeling that was an aussie in the silhouette of your brewery logo... cute kids.

i guess ours is more of a blue merle, but she doesn't really fit the bill for any of the official color schemes. the dad is pure black and the momma is a red merle, they had some really pretty babies.

love the name 'lager' by the way.

 

[Arkador]

LOL! belle and Kona have the same colar on! Kona has the red one, and Belle has the purple one! It ajusted out to her current size, almost full grown. Bell is 26lb and stands 19inches at the shoulder.

BTW, what age did you do obedience training?

also, to all you aussie owners, how did your house breaking go? i think we introduced her to too much of the house all at once and she's been confused about the upstairs and the garage. we've since limited her to two rooms on the main floor and its getting better... i thought on the second day we had her she was house broken because she scratched the door to go outside, but it didn't last... =)

We started obedience training at 4 months. We did our classes at Petsmart. It was 8x1hr classes over 8 weeks. There was one other dog in the class with us, so there was alot of attention.

For house breaking, we have always, and will continue to crate Belle next to our bed for now (She is too much of a spaz to be out of her crate without supervision)

I kept her on a leash most of the time she was in the house with us, weither it was tethered to the chair i was sitting in, or hooked over my foot while we watched TV. I was somewhat fortunate that I was laid off when we got her, so I had 4 months with her as a baby. We had scheduled outdoor breaks, and she recieved very high praise for going potty outside, and only scolded for going inside if it could be done while in the act.

I recomend a spray for your carpet for when she will go on the floor. It will break the urine down. If you just clean it, the smell is still there, and she will think that is an OK place to go.

Belle spends most of her time outside. She loves jumping on mommy's lap, which is occupied by ababy that is about to be born. We hope that she will chill a little bit as she matures. I knew she was a high energy breed when we got her though.

What breeder did you get Kona from? We LOVE Terry Martin at Slash V. She is one of the most respected breeders in the country, and my family has gotten dogs from her for almost 30 years.

 

[MMW]

I'm glad to hear you got one from a working line...they've been bred to be the dog you want: smart, loyal, obedient, etc. My mother has been raising Aussies for 20 years now and I wouldn't have any other dog. Mine goes nuts for frisbees and racket balls...he'll play fetch with either one till he falls over dead or I wear out. I've taken to going out front (we live on a very quiet street) and hitting the ball down the road with a racket; he loves to run. You're going to have a great dog who'll be a cherished member of the family for a long time.

Please tell me you're going to crate train her-- these dogs, especially when they're puppies, do really well with a properly sized crate.

Here's Shiner:

 

[Arkador]

Mine goes nuts for frisbees and racket balls...he'll play fetch with either one till he falls over dead or I wear out.
Please tell me you're going to crate train her-- these dogs, especially when they're puppies, do really well with a properly sized crate.

her full name is Shash V Sweet Blue Belle
Belle is the same way over her frisbee! We play with it for almost an hour a day. I found Hartz.com : Hartz® Tuff Stuff® Flyer to be far better than a traditional frisbee. Flies better, lasts longer, and easier on her mouth to catch at high speed. I take Belle to the park, and hurl her frisbee 50 yards out for her to chase.

Crate training is a MUST!
Get a 36inch metal crate with a divider (You will only give her 1/3 of the space at Kona's age) belle was 24lbs and had no accidents in the hosue in over a month before i gave her all of the space in her crate.

 

[HairyDogBrewing]

love the name 'lager' by the way.

Thx. Though some people think it's 'Logger' so we've started to introduce him as 'Lager - as in beer'. Lacey was a rescue, or she'd be named 'Stella'.

 

[MMW]

I found Hartz.com : Hartz® Tuff Stuff® Flyer to be far better than a traditional frisbee.

I like the Jawz myself. I loose them before Shiner wears them out. The dollar discs from petco last about, oh, about 30 seconds or so.

P.S. to the OP: The crate training will help with the potty training too. She won't go in her 'bed' (or shouldn't). Listen to Arkador- that's the way to do it.

 

[Arkador]

The Jawz looks cool, and comparibly priced. I will have to look into getting one of those. The disk Belle has is almost 7 months old now, and in good shape. She did tear out the squeaker in it in about 2 days, but she doesn't care! Floating is a nice feature to have, as Belle loves to chace her frisbee into the pond at the park.

Here is a good article on crate training
Crate Training | The Humane Society of the United States

Here is teh stuff to use on any accidents in the house so your puppy will not think that is an ok spot to go
Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover - New Puppy Center - Dog - PetSmart

and here is the crate we use for Belle
Midwest iCrate Folding Double Door Dog Crate - New Puppy Center - Dog - PetSmart
When she was a puppy, I put an old towel or two down for her to lay on, but now that she has the whole crate, I put http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752847 in the crate for her. Since it is made by the same company, it is a perfect fit. I had this before she had the full crate, and she loved pulling it into the side she was on, and it was a bit of a pain to tuck back in under the divider.

an important feature in any crate for a growing dog is
Includes Free Divider Panel
Allows you to adjust the length of the living area as your puppy grows into its adult size home.

as the article states, they should have enough room to stand up, and turn arround, or else they will do their buisness in one end, and retreat to the other.

As a rule of thumb, your dog can hold it for 1 hour for every month old they are. Do not expect a 3month old pup to holdit for 4 hours.

A tecnique I use to help my puppy sleep in longer (allowing me to sleep in longer) is cut off water 4 hours before bed time, and give them a potty break just before bed. Less drink before bed means less they will have to pee in the middle of the night.

 

[android]

yeah, we're doing the crate training, have been since day 1 with her... we have essentially the same crate as the one mentioned... we didn't divide it and surprisingly, she hasn't gone to the bathroom in it, even overnight. i'll have to consider dividing it just to be sure. i like the 4 hours before bedtime no water rule. i regulate her water/food consumption so she can't have it all day every day.

she loves tennis balls and frisbee so far, but of course her eyesight and instincts aren't developed enough to try and catch the frisbee yet... can't wait to do that with her.

the breeder we got her from is a farmer in denison, ia. ryan sonnichsen is his name and he doesn't have the full on title or anything, but has had aussies since he was a kid and bred them for mostly personal use and i think gives a few out from each litter that they can't use on the farm. they're go-to aussies are getting on in age so they wanted to get some more in 'the pipeline' (hey, it is a brewing site), that's the reason for the current litter and they had another litter with their other female (same dad) a day or two before we got there... LOTS of dogs runnin' around that place.

 

[android]

interesting article about crate training...

one nice thing is she doesn't fear the crate too much as they have been kenneled at the farm they were born on since day 1... may be part of the reason that she is able to not go in there.

 

[celestialparsnip]

You can't trust an Australian shepherd to not molest your sheep. Get a dog instead.

Hey! That's Kiwis!

 

[Arkador]

i think there is a middle option. The neighbor was saying there is like a full sized, a mid sized and a small. Indy is maybe 25-30 lbs. She is pretty socialized and occasionally does the excited peeing thing. THe neighbors have taken to getting her to heard one of the cats when the cat wont come back in the house. They tell indy to go get her and she goes out and chases the cat back into the house.

The weights listed seem off to me. My Belle is 19 inches at the shoulder, but only 26#. Bell is slim and tone. We had a 24" male when i was growing up who was arround 60#

NSDR (National Stock Dog Registry)
Toy Size
Height under 13"
Weight: Under 20 lbs.

Miniature Size
Height: 13"-18"
Weight: 17 - 35 lbs.

Standard Size
Height 18"-23"
Weight: 40lbs & up

TEMPERAMENT
Australian Shepherds are a fun loving, people dog but tend to be reserved toward strangers. So the need to socialize them with other animals and people is important. They are a great all around pet

the smaller sizes are from generations of selective breeding to produce smaller and smaller dogs.

 

[android]

NSDR (National Stock Dog Registry)
Toy Size
Height under 13"
Weight: Under 20 lbs.

the breeder we got her from had one of these, it was hilarious... just a little fireball and totally ran the place... the puppies were having fun trying to herd her also.

 

[android]

the other thing about having a puppy is less brewing time! although, she will become a faithful brewing assistant later on, so it'll all be worth it.

 

[AMERICUS]

I currently have a tri color aussie, Bella, who is a weee 35lbs. VERRRRY loyal, and jealous, dog. She is obsessed with SWMBO and loves people and animals. Cheers!

 

[Beerrific]

We have a friend that has a miniature Australian Shepard. We tend to keep him quite often when she is out of town. He is quite a spaz. He needs a lot of exercise, much more than I can give when I am keeping him along with my two. But, when he is not launching himself around the room, he is a very nice dog. Gets along with the cats even.

 

[android]

just thought i'd update this thread with a recent pic of Kona, she's almost 9 months old now, hard to believe. she has been a handful for sure, non-stop energy, but the wife and i have really developed a wonderful bond with her. i don't know how anyone else's aussies are, but kona is VERY friendly, i had heard that aussies normally weren't too outgoing... anyway, let's see some updated pics of your pups!

these pics in no way indicate her usual demeanor! it's just the only time i can get pictures of her.

 

[wolfstar]

Aussies are awesome...All around an excellent companion and family dog:rockin:

 

[kjung]

You can't trust an Australian shepherd to not molest your sheep. Get a dog instead.

Spoken like a true expert...on sheep molesting.

 

[Homercidal]

I've been telling people that our dog is mostly like a Aussie, but apparently he doesn't look as much like one as I thought. He has gray eyes like a Husky, is built like a lean golden retriever, and is black and white somewhat like a border collie, more with more white.

He doesn't seem to want to herd as much as just bite our other dog's back. very little fetching. When we get the ball out to fetch, the yellow lab fetches, and Buddy runs her down and grabs a big mouthful of skin and hangs on while she tries to bring the ball back. If he's on his own he might bring the ball back a couple of time and then loses interest.

 

[springer]

I've been telling people that our dog is mostly like a Aussie, but apparently he doesn't look as much like one as I thought. He has gray eyes like a Husky, is built like a lean golden retriever, and is black and white somewhat like a border collie, more with more white.

He doesn't seem to want to herd as much as just bite our other dog's back. very little fetching. When we get the ball out to fetch, the yellow lab fetches, and Buddy runs her down and grabs a big mouthful of skin and hangs on while she tries to bring the ball back. If he's on his own he might bring the ball back a couple of time and then loses interest.

Thats cause he's smart he's thinking if they want that damn ball why do they keep throwing it away.....

mine is as smart as a rock he is a Newfie black lab mix took him to the vet and he weighed in @122 lbs Dr wants him to gain 15 more