Choosing the right Australian Shepherd Puppy for your lifestyle!
Choosing the right Australian Shepherd Puppy for your lifestyle!: Australian Shepherds are wonderful dogs that fit into any lifestyle. However, there are various “types” of Aussies available, ranging from high drive to low drive, so it will be beneficial to know which one best suits your needs in the long run!
First and foremost, keep in mind that Australian Shepherds were initially intended to be herding dogs. Australian Shepherds are highly clever and make wonderful companions because of their employment as herding dogs, but if you’re not ready for a higher drive dog, it can cause heartache. Not every Australian is a “low drive” or companion dog, and not every Australian is a “high drive” or working dog. Australians can be anything from a happy housemate to the energetic ranch dog of the day. To determine which breed of Australian Shepherd puppy best fits your lifestyle, let’s look at some of the differences in drive that these puppies can have.
What does a high drive dog mean?
A dog with a “high-drive” is one that is constantly active. These dogs have an insatiable desire to be active, work, think, and participate in everything. These Australians are still in the US and around the world, herding dogs. They are also your “working” line of Australian Shepherds, who are the ones you see participating in agility, Frisbee races, search and rescue, and other activities. With the correct physical conditioning, of course, these dogs can all probably work all day long since they all have that great drive that makes them easy to train.
For anyone whose dog will be used for a job, task, or skill requiring a lot of focus, energy, and/or movement throughout the day, high drive dogs are fantastic. However, if you’re not prepare to meet their energy demands, they may develop really harmful habits in the house as a means of expressing their urge to move. They have the potential to become harmful if they use that energy to control or herd you.
In one way or another, very active families are the ideal for these dogs. Do you enjoy running marathons? Work-related cows? Play agility or frisbee competitions? Look for and save? How does detection operate?
These dogs are probably what you’ll want. Even though these dogs make wonderful friends in the correct environment, they do require regular training and maybe additional work when they are puppies. Early training initiation is strongly advised. Make sure you understand how to correctly educate kenneling or “place” so they have a place to “turn off” and relax, as their “ON” switch is typically always flipped. as well as provide you a rest.
Is there such a thing as a medium drive Aussie?
Indeed, there is! The majority of dogs that Legacy Ranch produces are often classified as medium drive. These puppies have a switch that lets them hang around with their humans and be content when they get past their early zoomies. They also love to chase a ball and work for food.
These canines are excellent at many different sports. Are you interested in advance submissiveness? Give it a go with these folks. Do you want to give nose work a try? Absolutely! Would you like to watch a ton of Netflix after taking a walk? These puppies will not back down! Camping and hiking together? Okay, let’s get start!
These pups love that active time with you the most but will happily snuggle down at the end of the day!
Here in Colorado, hiking and active pastimes are quite popular so we have much more interest in these type of dogs. But don’t worry, if that’s not your thing you’re not out of luck yet.
Are there “low drive” type Aussies?
Indeed! Certain Australians have a reduce drive and are better suit to a very busy companion lifestyle.
Despite this, these Australians may still wish to relocate. They definitely will! They’ll want to walk and probably play a game to burn off that energy. These puppies still require mental and physical stimulation, just not to the same extent as their higher drive and possibly medium drive peers.
In our experience, truly low drive Australians are rather uncommon. They do occur, of course, but an Australian couch potato is typically not a very happy one.
Can Australian Shepherd’s be service dogs?
Absolutely! Due to their high intelligence and drives they can make great service dogs BUT it is imperative that you find a service dog trainer that not only knows how to work with Aussies (they are very different from Goldens, and labs that are common service dog breeds) but that you also start the puppies very early in training. Due to their high intelligence and typically early development it is a good idea to start immediately!
You will likely want a medium to higher drive dog for this kind of work since it requires the dog to pay attention throughout the entire day. A Low drive Aussie will usually not have enough motivation to work out well with this pursuit.
How do I find the right Aussies for me?
The best thing to do is talk to the breeder! Any good breeder should be able to describe their Aussies temperaments and the potential temperaments of their puppies. If you are looking for a specific type of dog definitely don’t keep it to yourself!
PLEASE DONT PICK ON COLOR ALONE! Pick on personality and drive traits first and THEN color. Hopefully we can find that perfect combination.
Here at Legacy Ranch we strive to have a good “all round” Australian Shepherd’s that tend to be between medium and the lower end of the drive spectrum. But we do have some high drive dogs as well so if that’s what you’re looking for we may have a good pup for you!
While our resident trainer is not a service dog trainer, She is very open and honest in her opinions of puppies so don’t be afraid to reach out to her via the Training page or Contact us if you have questions!
The MOST IMPORTANT factor in any puppies life besides, or in spite of, drive?
Even with the best-matched human and dog, their training and surroundings from the moment they return home can make all the difference. Whether or not the puppy has the desire to come home with you, the amount of time and energy you invest in exposing and teaching the dog to the outside world will determine whether or not the dog can handle your requests rather than their innate curiosity and self-assurance.Please, please, please begin working with your dog right now!
Locate a trainer that is a good fit for your goals and schedule those lessons. Start these puppies early and progress from simple obedience to complex demands! When those puppies are fully immunized, especially, allow them to accompany you to as many (safe) locations as possible.
