Anyone ever have an Australian Shepherd ?

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Zack1978

Zack1978

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A close family member is getting a 2yr old female Australian Shepherd on Monday, and I assume that I will be doing some dog-sitting duties at times. Has anyone ever had a dog like this? Was it a good experience? This specific dog is owned by a family that just had their first child, and they can't take care of the dog. They also said that they paid $1,600 for the dog two years ago. The only problem that I see with the breed is that it needs a major workout on a daily basis, and I am not sure the new owner is ready for that......

Zack
 
All the aus shepherds I have met have been great dogs..... but they all have had active outdoor owners.
 
first off, if the family can't take care of a newborn and a dog, they don't deserve either

anyway, every dog we've had has had Aussie in it. Can't go wrong
 
We've had them for my whole life, 30+ years and they are a wonderful pet and working dog. Have also had Border Collies during that time and the Aussies are probably a much better companion animal. They will work and are very loyal and attached. They really bond and want to be with you at all times.

They aren't as hyper and energetic as a Border, they will handle a period of inactivity without going mental. That is more than I can say for my current Border which is clinically neurotic and autistic when it comes to cows and fetch. He is getting better with age (1yr) so there is hope but I can tell you from experience a new Border Collie along with a 2 year old boy is a struggle. ;) Don't remember the Aussies being as high strung, my Aussie will be 10 this fall and he was always a calm, gentle animal compared to the BC.

Sorry for the verbosity - good dogs as a rule
 
Friend had one, he took it with us when fishing. I accidently hooked the dog with my fly once, real bummer but he was in a bad position when it happened. The dog patiently let us remove the fly and from that point on never stayed in the backcast zone. They are that smart.

he could take that thing anywjere without fear of it wondering off. Never had to train it to do anything. I swear that thing had human intuition, that smart.
 
rsbcruiser said:
Never had to train it to do anything. I swear that thing had human intuition, that smart.
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:lol:

That's what I posted up but deleted. (Sounded to arrogant.)

I raised/trained one a long time ago. When I really wanted to show off how smart she was and how well she obeyed, folks would always say things like, "Holy crap! That dog understands English!"

Curtis
 
bogus one said:
first off, if the family can't take care of a newborn and a dog, they don't deserve either

anyway, every dog we've had has had Aussie in it. Can't go wrong
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Really?
 
We have 2 australian shepherds. They are shown attention like any average pet dog and nothing more. We just have a normal size back yard for them to run around in. They are very smart, loyal, and seem happy.

$1600 for an australian shepherd, jesus. I think the fact that the dog in question is already 2 years old is a huge plus. IIRC our dogs destroyed everything in our yard until the age of 1 1/2.
 
Update: So we go get Molly today, and she is not two yeras old, she is 10 months old........ So we go meet the owners who are the caretakers of a cemetery, very strange location, but nice people. So we get the paper work and are geeting ready to leave, and the dog gets out of her collar and takes off like a bat out of hell. She is now running after the flock of geese, and is out of site. The "old" owner takes off after her in her Explorer and after about 20 minutes she finally gets the dog. Wow that thing is FAST! So all in all it is a nice dog, but it needs a lot of training!!

Some pics...

Zack
molly 3.webp
molly 2.webp
 
We've got a young female with that submissive urination business......we'll see how it turns out.
 
My puppy is 10 months old too. He is Aussie Shepard/Husky mix. At the dog park he tries to herd all of the other dogs. So far he is a great pup.
lunch skin 011.webp
 
Update: She pissed on the carpet three times, and took a dump in the house twice.................When she is walked outside on a leash she will not go, so for it seems like she only will do it in the house...
 
Zack1978 said:
Update: She pissed on the carpet three times, and took a dump in the house twice.................When she is walked outside on a leash she will not go, so for it seems like she only will do it in the house...
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Looks like you have a new owner. ;p
 
Zack1978 said:
Update: She pissed on the carpet three times, and took a dump in the house twice.................When she is walked outside on a leash she will not go, so for it seems like she only will do it in the house...
Click to expand...

You need to get her a crate. If dogs are in a crate they will usually hold it until they can go outside. If they don't hold it, it will be eaisier cleaning up the crate than all of the spots on the carpet.
 
Sno bored said:
You need to get her a crate. If dogs are in a crate they will usually hold it until they can go outside. If they don't hold it, it will be eaisier cleaning up the crate than all of the spots on the carpet.
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Well she does have a crate, but how long can/should she actually be kept in there? I think she picked up some bad traits in the past 10 months.......



Zack
 
My aussie was the same way. It took a lot to get him trained, but he got better with age.

The crate helped a lot.

Mine loved being around people. Kicking him out of the house for a few hours after I yelled at him for peeing in the house got the point across. He knew what he was doing. Darn smart dog.
 
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