Posted: 7/26/2009 8:09:57 PM EDT
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We've had our Australian Shepherd pup, Oscar, for over a month now and he's been the greatest puppy someone could wish for, completely housebroken at twelve weeks, no barking, sleeps through the night, doesn't destroy the house while we're gone, and is extremely intelligent. I just thought I'd share some pics I snapped of him at the dog park which we frequent every other day. I also welcome any tips and tricks to raising a puppy especially Aussies, he's been great so far but I'm open for comments.          This last one is just a good shot of the dog Oscar spent the most time playing with.  Forgot one, herding our Pug:  |
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Hey congrats on the new red bi Aussie! He looks like he came from working lines and if so, what breeder? Your pup is now officially heading into the teething stage, so be prepared with lots of chew toys, bones, and supervision or you will lose something to puppy teeth in the next four months! Attention span will drop off while teething and you will notice he is more easily distracted, so start to make his obedience lessons shorter, but work on them every day. He will go through a few minor fear periods over the next four months, if you notice them happening, be sure not to coddle him, but continue on business as usual. Aussies need good socialization, so take the pup to as many places and introduce him to as many different types of people as possible. Although too young to start serious stock training, he can be introduced to livestock now for brief sessions and if you are interested in trialing on stock, I would be happy to refer you to some top notch trainers up that way. This is the boy I kept from my last litter, who is about the same age as your pup:   |
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Quoted: Hey congrats on the new red bi Aussie! He looks like he came from working lines and if so, what breeder? Your pup is now officially heading into the teething stage, so be prepared with lots of chew toys, bones, and supervision or you will lose something to puppy teeth in the next four months! Attention span will drop off while teething and you will notice he is more easily distracted, so start to make his obedience lessons shorter, but work on them every day. He will go through a few minor fear periods over the next four months, if you notice them happening, be sure not to coddle him, but continue on business as usual. Aussies need good socialization, so take the pup to as many places and introduce him to as many different types of people as possible. Although too young to start serious stock training, he can be introduced to livestock now for brief sessions and if you are interested in trialing on stock, I would be happy to refer you to some top notch trainers up that way. This is the boy I kept from my last litter, who is about the same age as your pup: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Shalako/CampxFuzz/Dozer_BoogieBoardedOut.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Shalako/CampxFuzz/Dozer_Water.jpg We got him from a small local breeder who breeds them for their sheep, so the work lines you suggest sound about right. I'm not really interested in the livestock training but more just general obedience and agility training, so far those have gone extremely well. He can already navigate all of the obstacles at the local dog park. A-frame, Double bar jump, tunnel, and a hoop jump. He really catches on to things extremely quick. I've already noticed a bit of a "fear"/territorial stage, it was a bit of a surprise but I've heard they can be a bit territorial but he's been lucky in that we can take him almost everywhere with us, and we have a very active dog park with some great people and pups for him to socialize with. That is his favorite thing, to meet new people, well that and treats. At what age do you normally neuter your males? I've heard six months but I didn't know if there were any special considerations based on breed. Also, any tips on "frisbee training"? I'm not sure if it is an age thing, but he really isn't interested in fetch of any sorts unless it's a stick. |
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I recommend working in agility classes if you have access to them rather than freestyle training in a dog park if you are serious about competing. I don't require our buyers neuter until 12 - 18 months of age. I recommend waiting that long to allow the growth plates to close completely, especially important if you intend to complete in agility and advanced levels of obedience. It is also important not to be working jumps too early in the growth development phase, as you can damage the growth plates. This is why most agility competition/organizations have a minimum age requirement. The breed is a guardian breed and can be reserved with strangers. This should not equate shyness or aggressive, charging behavior towards people in public, so keep an eye out for that sort of stuff and redirect for more appropriate behavior if it happens. The breed is intended as a working breed, but they can find an outlet for their energy in other forms of competition and exercise. Retrieve is an instinctive behavior and honestly, I have found that if it isn't there as a young pup, it doesn't turn up later and can't really be trained. The good news is that he is fetching a stick, so he obviously has some retrieve drive and you just need to find a way to redirect that to a frisbee. I would actually start with a ball and move to the frisbee later. Some dogs never develop a liking for the hard plastic frisbees, though. I have an obsessive retrieving dog but she hates frisbees and so we gave up on that. My male, on the other hand, loves frisbee and showed a strong desire to jump at a year of age, so we are going on with his frisbee training after he completes his conformation championship shortly.  |
