Miniature Aussie Info Please

[ihartgonzo]

Originally Posted by Tahla9999

This is off topic but how does someone spend $750 on a dog and then just give it away?

Umm... every single day!!!

Many people see animals as disposable, just like a couch that has gone out of style or lost it's newness. Price is often irrelevant. Purebreds, presumably purchased for $100's, make up a huge percentage of abandoned dogs. Pet store dogs cost $1000's and I'm sure many (if not MOST) of them end up re-homed, abandoned, or euthanized. Anyone who purchases a living creature out of impulse or fad is much, much, much more likely to abandon them, while puppies produced for impulsive buyers and fads are often higher priced than well-bred show/working quality puppies who have been planned for and reserved long before being bought.

[MafiaPrincess]

Originally Posted by Tahla9999

This is off topic but how does someone spend $750 on a dog and then just give it away?

Happens. Cider was close to a grand.. plus shots, spay, dog classes, toys.. She was going to be dropped in our local pound till I said I'd take her as I was attached. Lot of money to drop to then not care.. but it happened.

[Dekka]

that dog in the second pic looks like a mix. But the 'well bred' ones that show conformation and that I see at agility (they are popular agility dogs) are simply from aussie stock. You just breed smallest to smallest whilst trying to keep type, health and temperament.

[Bodi's Mom]

The New pup has some features of an Aussie, but has huge, fly-away ears and as I said...very petite bones. She also possesses a very un-Aussie like temperment - she is skittish and snappy (especially towards children).

[Zoom]

Poorly bred Aussies can be very skittish and if you take a poor-bred Aussie and cross it with a poorly-bred Sheltie...yeah. It's ot pretty.

I've met ONE mini Aussie that still retained the Aussie-ness. She was adorable but still nothing I would go out looking for.

[Laurelin]

Unfortuantely it doesn't seem very hard to make a skittish or snappy herding breed dog. A LOT of aussies, bcs, collies and shelties I see in the shelter have those kinds of temperament issues. A lot more than other dogs it seems. And considering a lot of the breeders of toy aussies are using toy breeds to cross into, you can find some nasty nasty toy dogs. They are without a doubt one of the most overbred groups of dogs.

Most toy aussies I see look like someone's crossed in a papillon, pom, or sheltie. I've seen many that just look like tricolor shelties or paps with docked tails. I'm not totally opposed to the idea, imo there may be a niche for a small, fast, responsive sports type dog. I really like the idea of a small breed of that nature, but the dogs being produced are not aussies. Shelties of course are an option but there is a big difference between a sheltie and an aussie temperament wise.