Fender, Named After My Husband's Bass Guitar

by Jaime
(Nashville, TN)

I have wanted a dog for over a year. I was researching different breeds of dogs for months. At the time, I worked at a women's ministry and one day one of the girls staying at the facility had her family visit. With them they brought a litter of Aussie puppies. It was love at first sight. I had never seen such beautiful pups! So I started researching Australian Shepherds. Every Aussie owner seemed to rave about their dogs and the breed.

So once my husband and I bought a home, we decided to start looking for the perfect Mini Aussie (we decided to go with a Mini because we live in a smaller home.) Luckily I found an amazing breeder 30 miles from our house. We put down a deposit and a litter of puppies arrived about a week later.

We had a blast coming up with possibly puppy names. We just got married in April, so this is like our first child. We decided on Penny Lane if it was a girl and Fender for a boy. My husband plays bass in a band so he was really excited about naming a boy puppy Fender and he is a huge Beatles fan... thus Penny Lane.

Then came our next decision. We had such a hard time deciding which color Aussie we wanted. My favorite is the red merle, my husband's favorite is the blue merle, my mom loved the red and black tri's. So we decided to wait and see once we saw the pups.

When we went to meet the puppies and pick ours out, I immediately fell in love with the little red merle. He was the porker of the litter and his coat was so handsome. We picked him and named him "Fender."

We still haven't picked up the little guy. He will be 8 weeks old next week. I can't wait to go and get him! I have visited the farm several times to see him and he is such a doll.

Does anyone have any advice on how to start training your Aussie? What age is a good time to start? Thanks!!! Love the website and all of the amazing Aussie stories and photos!