All You Need to Know About Australian Shepherds

An Australian Shepherd is the best choice if you are looking for a very active, athletic, and intelligent dog as your companion. This breed is an amiable dog, and you will get physically tired when playing with them. To raise and train them to behave well, you need to learn more about everything about the Australian Shepherd.

History of the Australian Shepherd

Australian shepherds originated from working Collies, where they accompanied the Merino sheep's journey from Germany to Australia and then to the U.S. This breed is also called Little Blue Dog. Even though it is called Australian Shepherds, it's an American breed. This breed belongs to the U.K. Rural Clade, alongside the Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, and Border Collie. From the study, 10 percent of German Shepherd Dogs carried the MDR1 gene, a mutation that causes sensitivity to ivermectin and can develop Collie eye anomaly. Furthermore, this breed mixes different cultures, influences, and national identities.

Why is the Australian Shepherd a Unique Breed?

An Australian Shepherd has a red tricolor, red merle, and an over  black merle. They have medium-length hair, are water-resistant, and can either be wavy or straight hair. As for their eyes, they are frosty blue, which many people call "Ghost eye" breeds. Most Australian shepherds have short tails or no tails at all. They are 18-23 inches in height and weigh around 18-27 kilograms. Since they are bred for herding, they tend to be smaller and thinner so that they can run fast.

Since this little blue dog is very active, it needs a lot of physical activities, so it needs around 30 to 60 minutes of exercise each day. To have plenty of exercise with them, you can play frisbee or chase a ball to burn all the energy. Due to their high energy level, these Aussie species are very agile and athletic. Therefore, they will get bored if they don't get enough exercise. Aside from that, they will become destructive and creative activities such as herding kids and chasing cars or animals. They will become very loud and bark all the time if you cannot meet their demands. On the other hand, they will be well-behaved, calm, and loyal if they get enough exercise. Therefore, they require ample space or a backyard to play around and burn out their high-level energy.

What You Need to Know about Australian Shepherd's  Health?

Physical Health issue

A physical check-up for your pet is essential because you never know what disease your dog furry will have. Even if they usually exercise, they are still prone to certain health conditions. The most common physical health issues that they have are

• Deafness
• Eye disease
• Heart disease
• Drug sensitivity
• Allergies
• Hip dysplasia
• Epilepsy
• Skin infections
• Osteochondritis dissecans
• cancer

With all the diseases listed, deafness is the most common health issue that this breed will encounter. Sometimes, deafness can not be cured by any medication or surgery, so you should be patient when adopting and training a dog that loses its sense of hearing.

Mental Health Issue

Even if this canine is very socialized and active, they cannot be left alone for long periods. They will end up having separation anxiety. It would be best if you looked out for some common signs of this anxiety, including:

• Whining, howling, or barking
• Destructive behavior
• Urinating in the house
• Loss of appetite
• Hiding
• Shaking

Therefore, you should look out for different signs of health problems in your furry friends and do the treatment as soon as possible before it gets worse.

Australian Shepherd Temperament and Personality

Different species of dogs have not only different physical characteristics, but also different personality traits. This breed is among the most intelligent, smart, and active dogs. They are not shy or reserved but friendly and outgoing even around strangers. This canine also loves companionship and affection from people around them.

Since they are very high intelligence, they can outsmart you and are stubborn. If you do not give them what they want and they get bored, it will be very challenging to train them. Since it also craves human companionship or affection, it also craves attention and is very clingy to you. This Aussie will join and do anything that you and your family do. So you need to pay close attention to them and stay close to them because they will develop separation anxiety if they do not get enough attention from you.

Not only is it very clever, but it also establishes a routine and is very consistent. For instance, if it's time for bed, it will go to bed, and if it's time for exercise, it will go and play around. You cannot interfere with its routine because if you do that, they will throw a tantrum just like your kids.

Even if this Aussie is very socialized around strangers, it's also very protective of their family and cautious around new people. They might become aggressive if they are not familiar with someone. Therefore, you should let them interact with many people, such as your family members or friends, to get used to strangers. Furthermore, this canine is also very alert to loud noises and often bark, which can become a habit.

Training Australian Shepherds

Since Australian Shepherds are very active and sometimes very destructive when bored, training is a must to calm down these negative behaviors. As a high-intelligence dog, it is effortless to train and supervise it. You can teach them to do anything you want them to, and they are fast learners. You can reward them with treats and praise for all the good behaviors, tricks, or tasks you want them to learn. They will be delighted to learn.

It would be best to start training when it's still a puppy. The eight weeks old puppies will easily take in everything you teach them, just like you teach your kids when they are still young and innocent. If you wait until later, it would be tough to train them to be what you want them to be, and they will also become very stubborn. It would help if you also taught them to become more socialized and familiar with other dogs and strangers so that they would not become aggressive or fearful so meeting new things. Start training your canine with some early-stage behaviors and after they get familiar with those, acquaint them with more advanced training.

The active and high-intelligence dog breeds like the Australian Shepherd are the most friendly pet you want to adopt. This little furry would not make you feel lonely. However, it would help if you are looking for health problems, signs for treatment, or any other abnormal behaviors for further training.