I got lucky last week! Not with a gun but a dog!
About two years ago we were given an Australian Shepherd pup by a member of this forum. He was a cutie but we didn't have him long. He had a tendency to try to herd cars and he got ran over in the road in front of our house! Last week we were able to get another one from a daughter of a friend! He's only eight weeks old and another cutie! Hope we can train him not to try to herd moving cars!
The first pic is of the dog we lost. Their markings are very similar. I'll post some better pics later. We had rain today.
Dick

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I like Aussies. Got three. Two are red, the red tri toy in the foreground, and the merle in the middle of the pic:



These are extremely intelligent, high-energy dogs who need room to run and a job to occupy their busy minds.

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Not in jail.

I'm on my second Aussie. The first was advertised as "your energetic companion". Boy were they right! Second is not as much so but is a real people person dog. They are all different.

I want an Aussie, but the wife is scared of dogs.

Best dog breed ever! Once I've got a house of my own again, I'll be getting one. CongratS!

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Still just a kid at heart

Thanks, Guys!
I'm sure glad we found another one! I really enjoyed the first one. He had learned to fetch a toy and really seemed to like doing it! We live in the country so he'll run free. Now, If I can just teach him not to try to herd cars. I'm afraid he will, because even as young as he is he's nipping at our heels and trying to herd us! The other one did that, too.
Dick

This is "Jack"a Red Merle.

What a great dog,year and a half old and full of energy and love. Last week he won two Blues and two Red ribbons at a four day show. First time in the ring and I believe he is starting to like it. My daughter is the breeder and handler and has three Aussies herself. Every so often we take the dogs to Louisianan to let them herd sheep and they just love it. We are working on the commands.

Next month he is entered in a novice class for a trial call "Barn Hunt". This is a trial where rats are put in 4" PVC pipe ten inches long drilled with holes and placed in around bales of hay or straw and the dogs try to find them. These dogs need lots exercise.

Congratulations on your new family member! Aussies are awesome dogs. Many that I have met are smarter than their owners! They do need to have a job though......ever thought of getting some ducks for your pup to herd? Maybe train him to do dog trials......

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Even older, even crankier....

A10,
That sounds like a lot of fun but also a challenge, what with having to take care of the ducks as well as the dog!
We plan on walking him a lot.
Got some more pics.

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All together now: AWWWWWWW!

Good-looking pup.

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Oh well, what the hell.

We have a part A.S. HIGHLY intelligent. Big, sweet dog. I think he might be too much for us but he got a thyroid condition and it slowed him down.

I told my wife that you can SEE the gears and wheels turning in his head when he's trying to figure something out.

I saw a four month old Merle today outside Costco. A real beauty with blue eyes! Do all the Merle have blue eyes? I can't tell from Damn Yankee's photo.

Here is the confirmation on eyes.


(B) EYES: Very expressive, showing attentiveness and intelligence. Clear, almond-shaped, and of moderate size, set a little obliquely, neither prominent nor sunken, with pupils dark, well-defined and perfectly positioned. Color is brown, blue, amber, or any variation or combination including flecks and marbling.

Another picture of Jack.

I had an Aussie once. Great dog but not as smart as people say, I'd be working on the car and ask for the 1/2" wrench and she'd bring the 9/16". She just could not do fractions!

Buy her the dog and tell her it is hers. After about 2 hours that problem will be gone. It is not possible to be afraid of an Australian Shepherd.

Serious question here for Aussie owners. Any of you have horses and is so, have you had any problems? We have 10 acres and 3 Arabians, plus a husky and a chihuahua mix. Both dogs have a healthy respect for the horses, but at the cost of a few kicks and a nip or two. There's a breeder a couple of miles from us and I'd love to get one, but wondering if the Aussie and the horses will mix.

Ah, one of the "sweet-but-dumb" specimens.

I've heard that if all else fails a border collie will attempt to herd furniture. Or trees. Is that also true of the Aussies?

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Oh well, what the hell.

May I suggest you try a shock collar in case that little cutie tries to herd cars? After a few zaps, all you have to do is put the collar on and the dog will mind. Please don't lose this little sweetheart!

If all else fails.

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Dum vivo cano

The Nobel Dog......Truly Mans Best Friend.......They will lick the hand that has no food.....(A.G. Vest)

My first Aussie was great at herding the grandkids. The current one not so much.

Funny you would mention this because mine, a female toy version, stole and hid some of the lug nuts from my truck while I was trying to rotate the tires. I got a phone call in the middle of the task and she decided it would be fun to stall me up further. I never saw this dog enter the garage but she took 4 lug nuts and hid them out in the breezeway. I thought I was losing my mind, I knew I put them right on the floor next to the axle. Neat little dogs...this one smiles a lot but is very jealous if I give any attention to one of the other dogs.

Aaaaawwwww! What a cutie!

Maybe consider a fenced area for him? Maybe with doggie door access to the house? Then he could come & go & still be safe.

Yep, this is a good way to keep them...mine loves it, but I still run them everyday in the woods behind my house. The only issue I have with this set up is that they will track up inside the house when it rains and the one I have loves to take items from the house and hide them outside. For some strange reason she has a thing about forks and spoons. If you leave one in a empty bowl on an end table she will take it and hide it outside in her yard area.
It's strange what they will do...the Aussie takes silverware and the other dog, a Jack Daniels, takes the wife's clothes. Neither dog will ever let you see them do this.

She will not be scared of an Aussie & it will protect her. Get a female & have it spayed.

This dog is very loving and enjoys to play "fetch" anytime! He's very careless with his teeth and claws and I have scars to show for it! He also brings anything and everything onto the back porch! Dead animals, wood scraps, cans, paper, cardboard and etc. etc. etc. ! He's seven months old now. I wonder how long it will take him to mature?
Dick

Reddog...beautiful pup. Keep him close. Buy him a couple of sheep for his 6 month birthday. He will really love you and you will be the owner of 2 very skinny sheep!!

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Be glad you got a standard size, Aussies are metric.

We don't have an Aussie, but have had many stock dogs over the years, i.e. Border Collies, Kelpies. I got my first Border Collie when I was eleven and I'm 66 now. I'm a big fan of stock dogs. We also have always had horses and mules.

Yes, the dogs have a natural tendency to herd. It is your responsibility to help them channel that instinct. If they are aggressive and start to chase livestock indiscriminately, that's not herding and you'll have problems.

Horses tend to kick out blindly. A mule, on the other hand, will literally chase down a dog if the mule feels threatened, corner it in the corral and strike it repeatedly with its front feet until it's dead.

We've never had any problems with our stock dogs and the horses or the mules. If the dog is trained properly, I don't think you'll have any difficulties.

Border Collie Patsy in the mule corral ready to go to work.

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Pack light and cinch tight.