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Advice On If We Are A Good Fit With An Australian Shepherd?

by Danielle Jenkins
(Gonzales, La)

This weekend a sweet Aussie found us at our family’s camp. He has a collar with no tags. We are currently trying to find out if owners are looking for him. Going to a vet tomorrow to scan for a possible chip. In the meantime he is in our fenced in backyard.

If we can't find the owners we said we would have a trial period to see if we want to keep him.

Here is our situation. We have 2 children (3 & 10) who he adores and they adore him. We both work full time. Leave the house by 8-ish, return by 6. It’s usually a mad dash in the evenings to get dinner, homework, baths, and quality time together before bedtime. We already have a Papillon male inside who is a handful. At the moment with the new Aussie our Pap is in heaven. They have become fast friends.

We have to keep him outside for now. We returned on a Sunday evening and attempted to bath him and he ran for cover behind a bush. He is too dirty to have in the house and since our work week has started we haven’t had time for attempt #2.

His first day alone during the day outside he tore up an outdoor cushion. I know he needs to have a lot of activity, I am just afraid he won’t get it from us during the week (at least during the next few months since it gets dark before we get home.

Last night my girls went outside with him for a little under and hour to run and play with him (until he retreated to rest) but we feel like that isn’t enough. We want so badly for it to work out and for him to be ours, but we just don’t know what we can do to help keep him occupied during the day while we are away.

We aren’t opposed to keeping him inside once we can get him cleaned up and checked out by a Vet, but my husband also has allergies so that may prove to be impossible too.

Does anyone have any advice that could help us keep him? We are thinking it will probably be best to find a better home but wanted to check out options and learn a little more first.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Comments for Advice On If We Are A Good Fit With An Australian Shepherd?

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Toys!
by: Richard

I give our Aussies activity but to help with not tearing everything up we provide lots of toys. We are stay at home but busy currently have two.

Companionship
by: Jenny

An Aussie wants to be with you all the time. He is most likely anxious that he is alone rather than just not exercised. We had kept our assume outside at first and he was just miserable. Once he moved inside he was so much happier and we'll behaved. So I realize you intend to try to move him inside but I definitely advise that when you are home he should be inside with you. Our Aussie was ok being left alone in the day but also loved playing with our cat while we were gone. Other than that it sounds like you would be a great fit! Your active family and fenced in yard will be great!

Thanks
by: Danielle Jenkins

Thanks for the input! As far as toys, if we decide to keep him we will definitely get on that! And as for getting him inside that will take a little longer. I can’t get him to a vet until Sunday to check if he is chipped or not, and a groomer won’t take him until he has proof of vaccinations so we are at a stale mate right now. He is too dirty to bring inside (the constant rain all week hasn’t helped) and already the past 2 evenings we have only been able to spend about 20 mins with him before we had to go inside. ☹️ Still working on it.

Worth tryimg
by: Donna

We had a male Aussie, he was the sweetest, best boy. He passed on at 16. We miss him so much, we're getting an Aussie puppy - eta, this weekend.

Were I you, I'd try to crate train the boy - his destructive tendencies sound like boredom or separation anxiety. If he can adjust to the crate, then he'll be happier and so will you. Throw treats in the crate so he doesn't mind going in. I'd put him in for 5 minutes, then get him out. Slowly extend the time and try to put him in the crate to sleep. I'm not a trainer, use google to get professional advice!

We're going to crate train our new boy - for his sake and those rare times we're away and will leave him with a puppy sitter. Properly trained, dogs view their crates as safe, comfortable places.

Aussies are great dogs, very intelligent which works both for and against them. You'll have a great companion once you work it out. It's well worth the effort!

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