I was just wondering for those of you who may own an Aussie what I may expect with our new 3 week old puppy. I have never owned an Aussie before, I know that they require lots of playtime and energy releasing activities but what else may I expect from our little Angus. He was thrown out of a car window and I am bottle feeding him right now. He is adorable and so far a pretty good pup. Thanks and I appreciate any advice offered.
Aussie advice
- Thread starter Little Angus
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They are very clingy!
Most will herd or nip at running children. This behaviour will need to be nipped in the bud right away!
Aussies tend to express their opinion. ALOT. Barking of course, can be limited and controlled with proper training.
Aussies are very active, intelligent dogs, and need both mental and physical stimulation.
Get ready to deal with the long coat and shedding as well
.
On the bright side, these dogs are very intelligent and make great dogs in the right hands.
~Tucker
Most will herd or nip at running children. This behaviour will need to be nipped in the bud right away!
Aussies tend to express their opinion. ALOT. Barking of course, can be limited and controlled with proper training.
Aussies are very active, intelligent dogs, and need both mental and physical stimulation.
Get ready to deal with the long coat and shedding as well
.On the bright side, these dogs are very intelligent and make great dogs in the right hands
.~Tucker
Ok get ready because here comes your greatest friend in the world but only after a battle of wills.
Being that you have gotten this little ACD at such an early age you have a bond already made...... good thing
I have found that most training methods do work on them with the exception of ignoring bad behavior and rewarding good.
For example.. Your ACD just chewed up your shoes, don't ignore him but give him a replacement thing like a rawhide and do show him the shoe and scold him. No hitting! If you just give him a new thing to chew he will get more shoes. They are hard headed and will put you threw the paces.
Taking him to a puppy training class where the trainer knows ACD's will be a very good idea as you have never owned one before.
Once your ACD is trained he will amaze you as to just how intellengent he really is, but getting there can be very frustrating if you are not prepared to learn the proper way to train them and a poorly trained ACD can become your worst nightmare. I am not tring to scare you but prepare you. I love ACD's and will always own one. They learn faster then most other breeds and are very eager to please there owners with their new found wisdom. They are thinkers and will come up with new things to annoy you until trained.
ACD's tend to be dog and people agressive and must be socialized early. They are bred to be that way.A good place to start is to look up the breed standards on the AKC website and gain a knowledge of what they are bred for . Nancy Richards in Austrailia has a very good training program for them and has a website to get her methods .
Austrailiancattledog.cattledogtraininginstitute.org or NancyRichards<info
Being that you have gotten this little ACD at such an early age you have a bond already made...... good thing
I have found that most training methods do work on them with the exception of ignoring bad behavior and rewarding good.
For example.. Your ACD just chewed up your shoes, don't ignore him but give him a replacement thing like a rawhide and do show him the shoe and scold him. No hitting! If you just give him a new thing to chew he will get more shoes. They are hard headed and will put you threw the paces.
Taking him to a puppy training class where the trainer knows ACD's will be a very good idea as you have never owned one before.
Once your ACD is trained he will amaze you as to just how intellengent he really is, but getting there can be very frustrating if you are not prepared to learn the proper way to train them and a poorly trained ACD can become your worst nightmare. I am not tring to scare you but prepare you. I love ACD's and will always own one. They learn faster then most other breeds and are very eager to please there owners with their new found wisdom. They are thinkers and will come up with new things to annoy you until trained.
ACD's tend to be dog and people agressive and must be socialized early. They are bred to be that way.A good place to start is to look up the breed standards on the AKC website and gain a knowledge of what they are bred for . Nancy Richards in Austrailia has a very good training program for them and has a website to get her methods .
Austrailiancattledog.cattledogtraininginstitute.org or NancyRichards<info
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Except for the ignoring part. Ignoring works quite well with my Aussie. They are not quite as hardheaded as the ACD, but some are....so it'll be interesting to see which way Angus goes. Being as you got him so young, you're going to have a crazy strong bond with him, use this power wisely!
Otherwise, yeah, almost scarily intelligent, fairly protective when need be, very very velcro (you will never pee alone again). If you brush them daily (pin brush and a Zoom Groom are my tools of choice, with the occasional going over with an undercoat rake) and feed a good food like Innova or related quality, the shedding is quite manageable. But you should still probably invest in a good vaccum cleaner and lint roller.
Socialize him often and well, because there is nothing worse than a timid or aggressive Aussie. They are allowed to be reserved in new situations, in fact that what the standard calls for (so don't expect him to greet everyone with a yip and a bounce, although he might) but they should at least just ignore and not bare teeth or anything.
They will chase cats, squirrels, rabbits...really anything that runs. This can be managed with training for a good recall/heel, but it's something to watch for.
Do you have pictures? Keep us updated!
They are not quite as hardheaded as the ACD, but some are....so it'll be interesting to see which way Angus goes. Being as you got him so young, you're going to have a crazy strong bond with him, use this power wisely!Otherwise, yeah, almost scarily intelligent, fairly protective when need be, very very velcro (you will never pee alone again). If you brush them daily (pin brush and a Zoom Groom are my tools of choice, with the occasional going over with an undercoat rake) and feed a good food like Innova or related quality, the shedding is quite manageable. But you should still probably invest in a good vaccum cleaner and lint roller.
Socialize him often and well, because there is nothing worse than a timid or aggressive Aussie. They are allowed to be reserved in new situations, in fact that what the standard calls for (so don't expect him to greet everyone with a yip and a bounce, although he might) but they should at least just ignore and not bare teeth or anything.
They will chase cats, squirrels, rabbits...really anything that runs. This can be managed with training for a good recall/heel, but it's something to watch for.
Do you have pictures?
Keep us updated!My father owns an Aussie. Unfortionatly my father was the type of person who went to the pet store (*Shakes head* yes I said pet store), found a dog he thought looked cool and bought it. My dad loves this dog. THey are best friends, more like conjoined twins. This dog follows him everywhere and I can't even hug my father goodbye without hearing the dog tell me in his own way he doesn't want me doing that. He was not socialized very well ethiar when he was younger. Causing him to be VERY aggresive to new comers in the house. They need a ton of exercise, and they have a tendency to sometimes act like they are the leader of the pack. Like others said they are shockingly smart and mine has a tendency to watch you like he's trying to figure out exactly what your going to do next.
I have aussies, and yep they can be buttheads *vbg* and have their own agenda's, my female is high energy /demanding and if she isnt' excercized physically as well as mentally on a daily basis, she is a BEAR to live with.
My working line male is more serious, has no problem lounging around all day but plays / works hard when it's present.
They are fun dogs, smart, but socialize socialize socialize,,
diane
My working line male is more serious, has no problem lounging around all day but plays / works hard when it's present.
They are fun dogs, smart, but socialize socialize socialize,,
diane