FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Is a Mini Aussie Right for My Family?

(North East Texas)

I am looking at getting a Mini Aussiesometime next year, but I have some concerns.

I am currently 13 but will be 14 this summer. I also have two younger brothers who are almost 8 and 10. We have 2 cats who get along with dogs. My mom homeschools us, and my dad works from home so we are almost always here. I go on walks every morning, and we love going camping as well as biking.

We have previously had a Husky and a German Shepherd. We know a lot about how to handle the high energy levels. However, we recently had to take our German Shepherd to the shelter because we couldn't afford to handle her health problems. She also had really bad separation anxiety, and she was not eager to please. She also barked at anything that moved. It drove us crazy! She was so big none of us could handle her on a walk.

Do Mini Aussies have these problems?

I live in the north east part of Texas, so we get hot! How well do Aussies do with the heat?

I have read a lot about them online. Some articles say they are easy to train others say they are hard. What can I expect?

Comments for Is a Mini Aussie Right for My Family?

Click here to add your own comments

Aussie behavior
by: Oracle Joyful Tails

I have no idea how old this thread is, sorry. Hopefully what I have to say will be helpful.

First, I want to applaud you for thinking ahead instead of buying on impulse.

I've never owned a Mini Aussie, but I have owned a standard-sized Aussie in the past and from what I hear, they're about the same.

Aussies generally are easy to train if you're the right person for an Aussie. They need a calm, consistent leader who will consistently enforce discipline with them. I'd say you'd be better safe than sorry and be sure that you all can afford to hire a professional dog trainer before you decide to get an Aussie.

If you just recently had to surrender a dog to a shelter due to issues with managing her behavior and being unable to afford her medical costs, I'd suggest 3 things:

1. Wait until your family is financially stable or until you're old enough to work and earn a reliable, recurring income yourself.

2. Consider what kind of a life you see yourself living over the next 15 years or so and research dog breeds that best match that lifestyle.

3. You might want to look for an easier dog breed than a GSD or an Aussie. If you don't know what you're doing and if everybody in the family isn't consistent, the Aussie will call you out for your unreliability. Aussies aren't out to take over leadership of their households, but they will attempt to do so if they don't have a reliable leader. The Aussies' attitude is, "Somebody's got to enforce discipline, and if it's not going to be you, it's going to have to be me."

There's a lot to learn about dog behavior and how to be a good leader for your dog. Labs and Golden Retrievers are good choices for people who don't have much experience in the world of dog training, but as with any breed, YOU HAVE TO PUT THE WORK IN.

By the way, don't fall for a smaller dog just because smaller dogs are generally more affordable than bigger dogs. Smaller is not always better. In my research, I've found that most smaller breeds are, in general, less likely to be good with small children, they're more likely to be yappy, they're harder to house train, and several are not easy to train in general.

Best wishes to you in your journey!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.