Hi Julie,

I used to have an australian shepherd growing up. Two actually. We also raised Siberian huskies, bred one, kept the pups and I did training with the mail, we even showed in obedience and in confirmation. That however, was a bit ago. So I am trying hard to remember everything. I live in a two story house. THe living area is upstairs and we have wood floors and a deck. We have a mostly fenced in back yard but would get a dog run. The dog would mostly be in, but out when we leave the house. I am just wanting a refresher again on what to expect, time wise and exactly HOW to potty train, etc. Also we need to find a breeder, if you have any resources there. I started with the breeders directory from australianshepherd.org. Any other ideas as we embark upon this?

Thanks!

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

It’s great you are looking into being prepared before you get the dog-that’s so important an responsible! Have you considered going through a rescue group instead of a breeder?  Such as this one: http://www.norcalaussierescue.org/index.htm   I highly recommend this avenue-you can find all types of wonderful dogs this way, that is how I adopted my German Shepherd years ago.  He was about 2 when I adopted him and turned out to be an amazing dog.  A lot of these rescue dogs were given up because the owners couldn’t handle the puppy phase or the early teenage phase, but they are still great dogs.  Puppies and dogs less than 2 years of age are A LOT of work and would be like having another baby in the home.  I know that with children, I have less time than before and that may be something to consider.  One great thing about rescue groups is that they tend to know the dogs really well and can place them with the right “match”.  They often don’t place a dog with children unless they know it has lived with children before, so a lot of thought goes into the match.  Adult dogs can bond with your family just as well as a puppy and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you “saved” a life-in fact, that bond can be more strong than a puppy bond.  Plus, you know what you are getting when you adopt an adult dog, regarding temperament, energy level, size, etc. AND you don’t have to housetrain them and they are past the chew everything phase! Just something to think about.  Also, the rescue groups are often looking for fosterers so that can be a chance for you to dip your toe in the water by trying out a dog before committing.  Just a thought.  You should go to an adoption day and talk with the fosterers and visit the dogs available for adoption.  You don’t have to commit, but it can be a lot of fun to see the dogs and you can meet several that way in person. 

If you do decide to go with a breeder, make sure you visit in person and see the conditions the mother and puppies are being raised in, you wouldn’t want to buy from a puppy mill accidentally so that is why you should visit in person.   Check out my article about this: The Best And Worst Place To Adopt Your Next Dog

Here are some things to think about regarding Australian Shepherds:  They are VERY active dog and need a lot of exercise to prevent behavioral problems that may develop if their energy needs are not met.  They like a job to perform, whether that is obedience, agility or some dog sports for example.  One of the reasons a lot of these dogs are given up is because people don’t realize how much energy this particular breed has.  A typical dog will need at least two long walks a good 45 minutes each, twice a day and this breed will need a lot more.  They often also need off leash running time everyday with Frisbees or balls for example.  You’ll need to tire them out at least twice a day, meaning they come home and lay down to rest AND they’ll need a job to do.  Here’s a good list of things to expect from an Australian Shepherd: http://www.norcalaussierescue.org/aboutAussies.htm They are a herding dog so this is another consideration when having children.   Just prepare yourself well before you adopt; make sure you understand the commitment, have the time to put into their energy needs, and train them well. 

Check out my media article on Responsibilities of adopting a dog:

Responsibilities of Adopting A Dog

Houstraining your puppy:

Establishing a routine with your puppy is one of the most important things you can do.  It may take several weeks to housetrain or longer for smaller breeds. 

1. Take puppies out regularly-at least every 2 hours and after eating, drinking, and a nap.
2. Observe your puppy outside and as soon and give it a name like: “do your business”.  As soon as they pee or poop praise and treat at the exact moment they complete it.  Plus, it is important to observe if they did eliminate, because if they didn’t you’ll know you need to bring them out again in a half hour or less. 
3. Puppies need to be fed about 3-4 times a day on a regular schedule.  Make sure you take them outside after eating. 
4. When the puppy is inside with you watch them close for signs they may need to go-it can be a great idea to attach their leash to you so you are always close to them in the initial phase of housetraining so you can have good timing. 
5. Confine them to a small area when you are unable to watch them.
6. If you must leave your puppy for more than two hours you need to give them an amount of space that offers a sleeping area, play area, and elimination area with newspapers on the floor.  Leaving your puppy for long periods of time will prolong the housetraining though. 
7. If you catch a puppy in the act of eliminating indoors, quickly say ‘no’ in a matter of fact way and bring them outside.  Do NOT get angry or punish your puppy for accidents inside.  At this point it is up to you to prevent it and you can cause behavioral problems if you punish your puppy for this. 
8. Clean up all accidents well to remove odor or puppy may want to eliminate in that spot again. 
9. When your puppy has had no accidents indoors for a few weeks you can begin to offer more freedom with you in the same room watching closely.  Slowly offer the freedom and observe closely to be successful. 

If you plan to get a puppy make sure you designate a good 2-3 weeks or more of intense observation.  With patience, consistency and prevention you can be successful but it can be a lot of work so go into it knowing what to expect and everyone will be happier!

Good luck!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Julie

Hi Julie,

I\’m interested, but before we commit, here is a short story. We(wife & I)have been married for 49yrs. Yes, we are officially \”elderly\”, 72 & 71.  We have a nice home in western GA, and have suitable grounds to have a dog, and even have a medium sized fenced (4\’H)area within.  We have had many animals in our past, all sizes from miniature poodle to German Shepherds.  Our last pet had to be put down due to Illness after being over 17yrs old.  He was a male cat.

We are now thinking about a small to medium dog that would stay inside unless it wants to be in the yard for a while.  We did go outside our thoughts and tried a 3yr old female German Shepherd long coat from German Shepherd rescue.  At first we thought she was just uneasy, but it took both of us to get ahold of her collar so as a lead could be put on for her walks.  If I (male)came into a room where the dog was,she would run out to another area.  She would not eat(we had food that she had been eating, same bag), but no consumption.  She would take several pieces and place them in other rooms, but not eat.  To sum it all up I believed this dog had been abused somehow by a male, possibly elderly.  The person from rescue contacted us to see how the dog was doing and reluctantly we had the dog taken back.

We have now made arrangements to travel in Dec., something we rarely do especially when our cat was in poor health.  We will look for a dog after the first of the year.  I (male) am pretty active, and the wife would like a chance to walk with a dog also.  We loved that Shepherd, but that fell through, even though she was almost 80lbs.

Your thoughts and if we contact you, should we have:
     1.  An animal in mind
     2.  Already have the animal
     3.  Have nothing going yet

So, as you said we tried to be specific and in doing so we were lengthy.  We apologize.  But a dog is what we believe we would like to have, preferably 9 - 12 mo. old and female.

Thank you for reading this,
Frank

—-

Julie’s response:

Hello Frank!
 
I would be happy to assist you in finding the right dog or when you decide you’d like some training or advice.  I might even recommend you consider a dog that is older than two because they have passed their teen years and will be a lot easier to handle.  It is good you are considering a small or medium size dog because large dogs can be difficult to handle because of their strength and also your 4 foot fence is a little low for a large dog who could possibly jump it.  Rescue groups and shelters are a great place to do your search because if they are good they know the animal well and can make a good match.  I truly believe there is such a thing as dogs have different energy levels and temperments and all that needs to be considered for both you and the dog to have a good life together.  
 
Let me know if I can assist you in any way and I’d be happy to, and if you do adopt I’d love to hear about it!
 
Talk soon!
 
Julie

“The best place and worst place to adopt your next dog.”
By Julie Bjelland Lokhandwala
www.webDogTrainer.com

Want to know the best and worse place to adopt a dog? Adopting a puppy from a puppy mill tops the worst place to adopt a dog. If you buy your dog from a pet store or online there is a very high chance it came from a puppy mill. What is a puppy mill exactly? Having just watched a report with Lisa Ling on the Oprah show that took a hidden camera into the life of puppy mills, I was so horrified and shocked that I had to share what I saw. I knew they were bad but I did not know just how bad. If you didn’t have a chance to see the shocking video I will try to describe it for you. If more people actually knew where and how their puppy mill dogs came to be I am sure they would change their minds and stop buying dogs that came from puppy mills. If we instead adopted our dogs from shelters and rescue organizations we would be doing more than saving the life of a dog in need. Puppy mills are extremely inhumane and it is quite shocking we allow them to run.

Let’s take a virtual tour of a puppy mill together and find out where those puppies parents are. We come across a place where hundreds of dogs are kept in small rabbit-like wire fences with wire flooring. The dogs are dirty, covered in urine and feces, large patches of their fur missing, and skin covered with sores. Several dogs are kept in each small cage and the adult dogs do not even know how to walk because they never have been out of the cage! They spend up to 10 years or more in these tiny cages together with no medical care. The females are forced to breed every cycle producing hundreds of puppies each. The females are covered in tumors from over breeding. When the dog can no longer reproduce they are shot and killed. Some of the dogs have had a long tube hammered down their throat to damage their vocal chords so they cannot bark. The dogs are not socialized and have never had a human pet them. Many have chains on their necks that are so tight there bloody skin has grown through the chain.

Once these breeding dogs have there puppies the puppy mill owners take the puppies, clean them, fluff them up and make them look cute for us to adopt. If you knew this cute puppies mother was suffering for years in a cage to produce this puppy would you want to finance this operation buy buying it or would you want to do what you could to shut it down? If you buy a puppy that originates from this kind of place you are financing them to continue. If we stood together and never bought another puppy from a pet store or online, and instead gave a home to a dog in a shelter or rescue group you have stood up for what is right to improve this whole situation. These puppy mill dogs may be cute on the outside but they are over bred, which can cause major behavioral and physical problems that can end up costing you a lot of money and suffering down the road.

How can you know if a dog came from a puppy mill or a reputable breeder? If you still want to buy a dog then please only do it from a breeder where you can actually visit their location and see the condition of the mother and other dogs. If you buy from a breeder online where you cannot physically visit the area there is a good chance it is coming from a puppy mill. A good breeder will actually take back a dog even years later if needed rather then seeing it end up in a shelter. A reputable breeder also has extremely extensive adoption procedures because they want the adoption to be the best possible match. You get what you pay for too; so do not be fooled by a discount breeder.

So where is the best place to adopt a dog? If you are thinking about adopting a dog and trying to decide where the best place to adopt your dog is, look no further. Shelters and rescue organizations are the new “in” thing. People are educating themselves and realizing that there are so many really great dogs to adopt right in there local animal shelter or rescue organization! You can even find puppies and purebred dogs there too. They say education is freedom. Well, education is also freedom for dogs! Now, Americans are learning that most dogs in shelters and rescue groups are actually really great dogs, which would make wonderful family companions. Mixed bred dogs are often healthier too, getting the best traits out of the mix of their breeds, and you can have a unique dog like no one else.

Slowly we are abandoning the myth that all shelter dogs are there because of some behavioral problem. The truth is that most are there because of a mismatch in their past home not because there is something wrong with them. Also, oftentimes people adopt a cute puppy only to realize they didn’t know how hard it was to raise a puppy and it ends up at the shelter. If everyone decided to adopt their next dog at a shelter or rescue group we could prevent so much unnecessary death and shut down puppy mills!

I am a huge advocate of adopting adult dogs in shelters or rescue groups for lots of reasons. Millions of wonderful dogs are killed every year simply because there are not enough homes for them and yet puppy mills are generating new dogs every day. Why are we producing all these dogs in horrible conditions when we have perfectly good dogs needing homes in our shelters? Shelter dogs and rescue dogs make wonderful companions and with a little training we can really have the kind of dog we always wanted and feel great we adopted a dog in need rather than supporting grossly inhumane puppy mills.

What can ONE person do? Adopt your next dog from a shelter or rescue group and never again from a pet store or unknown breeder. Get your dog spayed or neutered to prevent the over population of dogs. Spread the word about puppy mills. Learn more; educate others, volunteer at a shelter or rescue group.

If everyone who is affected by this information tells someone they know and so on, maybe we can spread the word and educate more people and find ourselves saving the dogs we love. Dogs love us and depend on us, let’s work together! Let’s save more dogs lives and shut down puppy mills. Adopt from your local shelter or rescue organization!
——
program that is featured on her unique, interactive Dog Training Web site at: http://www.webdogtrainer.com/. The site allows dog owners to ask Julie any question about their dog through her personal, one-on-one live chat consultations.

Imagine life with a well-trained dog!