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Older Australian Shepherd Not Adjusting and Seems Scared of Me

I just adopted a 2-year-old Australian Shepherd who was living on a farm with a large family. Since he's been in our home he runs away any time we get close. He's let my kids pet him once.

I haven't even been able to take him on a walk because he won't let me close. As a result he goes to the bathroom in the house. I'm concerned we're going to have trouble house traininghim if we wait too long to correct this.

I want to give him space but at the same time am ready to get him used to our home and start taking him on walks and start with training.

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Patience and kindness
by: Richard

How old is he? I have 2 Aussies and Cooper I got when he was 9 months old. He was a little scared for awhile and I think it is because they are intelligent and sensitive. The main reason though is because they adopt their person and become very attached to them. The best way to help them transition is to be patient and kind and let them have plenty of space to run off their anxiety. He will definitely choose his person and then accept everyone into his pack as he sees it. You have to make sure he knows who is in charge and spend lots of time outdoors with him just playing for a little while and then start introducing him to obedience training. Depending on how old he is he may be missing the person he chose before you adopted him and if that is the case this is where the patience and kindness is so important. When he does come around you will be blessed with the best dog you could ever hope for. Aussies are the best friends! Enjoy the journey!

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