does anyone have an australian shepherd?

[basildonbond]

just idly thinking about getting a second dog and wondering what would be a good fit with ddog

he's an 18 month old Toller so we wouldn't actually be getting another dog for a year or so at least

the obvious answer is another Toller but we'd need to get a bitch as a second dog (all his best doggy friends are girls) and that's cutting down on the potential very small pool of puppies even further

I don't want a lab or golden - they're lovely dogs but not quite enough zip for me and they're a bit too big on the whole

I couldn't cope with a full-on border collie

Sighthounds are lovely but the ones we know aren't that bright (sorry, not meaning to offend any sighthound owners here)

Ddog doesn't really like terriers or small dogs in general (and I'm not that keen either) and he's very scared of german shepherds and the like after a couple of unfortunate incidents in the park

our dog trainer last night said he could see us with an australian shepherd, so I googled as you do and they do seem to share a lot of characteristics with Tollers but I've never actually met one in real life ...

Any experience?

PS My rescue karma is pretty good with 100% rescue cats and many rescue dogs in my and my family's past but right now I'm not looking for a rescue unless it was a breed-specific rescue

[twainiac]

Hi, FIL has an Aussie. He's lovely, very trainable, very bright. He did once, when he was young, show some jealousy over DS (very young baby at the time) Never seen a hint of aggression since....... He is also very devoted to FIL, but it is just the two of them, so maybe that's why. Loves long walks, loves water, lovely dog!

[tabulahrasa]

I don't have one, but I know some...they don't seem much full on than collies to me.

Both the people I know who have one got them for agility, so they do agility training, classes and compete and they're still on the go a lot of the time even with that on top of walking and what have you.

Rough collies (I'd say smooth as well, but they might be even lower in numbers than tollers) are less intense...

[Bubble2bubble]

Don't own one, but I have met two and they were much bigger and hairier than I expected not helpful. Stunning dogs, I was quite in love with them on looks alone, though can't judge on temperament.

Have you looked at Hovawarts? Lovely temperament and not too big

Disclaimer: I normally only ever suggest rescues but you specifically said this is not what you want this time, even though I did see a Toller girl for Rehoming last month :)

[Buttholelane]

Hovawarts are guard dogs?
A lady on another forum has one

[Buttholelane]

** and he is very lovely but I think she did have some issues with him if I remember rightly.

[basildonbond]

a Toller in rescue?? where??

[LikeABadSethRogenMovie]

We have an Aussie. She'svery bright and easy to train. Great with kids and generally ignores other adults outside of his 'gang'. Ours has an hour+ off leash walk each day and is then generally happy to sleep and hang out. She's quite a quiet dog, unless you're the postman. He always leaves her a treat on the doorstep so I inadvertedly taught her to bark at him!

[Bubble2bubble]

A pound in Ireland Basildon she was rehomed locally. It was unusual certainly, though pretty much every breed turns up eventually :( .

There was also a Toller lookalike in my local pound earlier in the year, not sure if she was a Toller or not tbh though several Toller people thought she was from the photos.( I believe Irish Retriever rescue were involved in gettng her out at the time - could be worth asking )

[CMOTDibbler]

Sighthounds vary massively in how bright they are - it just depends exactly what is in their mix for lurchers at least. My probable saluki x grey is not the brightest button, but dpuppy who is whippet x doberman ish (total conjecture, mum is def whippety type though as she was found stray so we know that) is pretty bright and learns very fast.

[muttynutty]

Australian Shepherds are fantastic dogs (getting a little bit fashionable at the moment so check breeding carefully). In my opinion very very similar to a collie with regards to daily needs and energy, brain exercise.

[basildonbond]

Mutty- in your opinion woud they be compatible with a Toller? Ddog has on average about 2.5 hours of exercise a day, mostly off-lead but we also do frequent short bursts of training and quick games. We do obedience classes and he's just started heel work to music. He's very chilled at home if there's nothing happening - his breeder said they're like collies with an off-switch. Any second dog would need to have similar exercise/training requirements

[muttynutty]

I don't think I would agree that they have more of an off switch than collies. They are up and ready to work all the time. With training my chap chills quite happily but he does have a pretty full life. Similar level of walks to you but agility 3 days out of 7 and then competing most weekends. He is also a Search and Rescue dog so can have some night shifts to add to that. He adores the SaR work so that may be something you might consider doing?

I do find that mine is like the collies in that he does need brain work so the "training" would need to be part of the daily routine. He will walk or run all day and still come home and drop the tennis ball at my feet like the collies but after brain work he is relaxed and chilled.

In my case he is a bit more sensitive than my collies, he likes to please and does not like to get things wrong so positive training works well. He loves people and is very pushy to get cuddles and strokes.

I think the major difference you will find is having a herding dog after a gundog - that can be quite a different approach to what you are used to with the Toller.

Could you get to a few agility shows etc there are always some Aussie's competing and you could get to meet a few and see what you think?

[Booboostoo]

I don't have one but I looked at the breed and rejected it for us at the time because they were too similar to collies. We visited a couple of breeder and talked to as many owners as we could find and the dogs seem to be extremely intelligent and loyal. At the same time they need a lot of physical activity, mental stimulation and have a high sense of belonging to the family group (so need to be with you a lot, may stress if the family separates, may bark at strangers a lot).

[kelpiekelpie]

We have 2 rescue kelpies - is that the same as Australian shepherd??

They are smashing dogs. Good with children, bright and friendly. Our younger one loves chasing a ball and requires more exercise than the older one (obviously!) but settles easily too. Here he is causing trouble next to me!

Let me know if there's anythign I can help with. We haven't had them as pups though.

[kelpiekelpie]

Here's the other one for balance!

[kelpiekelpie]

Oh I've just googled Australian shepherd. Not the same at all! I do apologise!

[Owllady]

Everyone has such a downer on Collies :o
I walk mine an hour and a half a day and she's a lovely dog, not hard work at all! She is my shadow though and I can't move without her getting up and keeping an eye on me, but I like that.
I would imagine any shepherd dog has similar traits to a collie tbh.

[basildonbond]

I don't have a downer on collies at all! One of my childhood dogs was a collie cross and my parents had a beautiful border collie until he died at the age of 17 three years ago. However he was completely bonkers until he was about 7 and the labs, retrievers and spaniels were always a lot easier to cope with

[Buttholelane]

I love collies.

Mine is fabulous, takes as much or as little exercise as you can give her happily.
have taken her out literally all day round the parks, pubs etc and have kept her indoors for four weeks twice (in season) and 6 weeks once when I did my ankle in.
Never trashed my house or showed any sign of stress and aside from the last two weeks of the six when she was starting to get bored and I taught her all sort of tricks I didn't give her a load of mental stimulation.
She was happy to just chillax.

Aside from her love of trying to herd cars she is the perfect dog.
Learns most tricks in less than 15 minutes, exceptionally obedient, gentle and friendly.
I honestly cannot understand why people carry on so bad about them, I have met other working bred collie owners with dogs like mine so she can't be that unusual.

[Booboostoo]

I don't think anyone has a downer on collies, but the OP suggested they would not suit her as a breed so if AUstralian Shepards are similar they may not suit her either. They are amazing dogs but the owner must be able to meet their needs, like with all dogs, otherwise things go wrong. While you may find the odd chilled one, on the whole they need more than average time spent on their training, exercise and mental stimulation.

I find shepherds quite different from each other. GSDs are quite different from collies and both quite different from Pyrenees. Mountain dogs for example (super chilled off switch but can get quite serious about protecting the family, a trait that is not that prevalent in collies for example).

[basildonbond]

It's not so much that I couldn't cope with a collie it's more the fit with my current dog. The description of Australian shepherds on the breed club website is almost word for word the same as descriptions I've read of Tollers (mostly when breeders/breed clubs are trying to put you off!). I will try to see some in real life over the summer

[scandip]

I have an Aussie. Our dog is a female and has a lovely temperament. She is a softie and likes a lot of affection. She is very loyal and likes to follow us around.
I think they are high energy dogs, but she is also calm and sleeps on and off throughout the day. She likes fetching and can play for ages and goes to training sessions. They do need a good run around too.
I think when you read about a breed there are general characteristics, but dogs are individuals like people, so not every Collie will be hyper etc.
From what you say about the exercise and training you give your present dog, an Aussie could be good for you as they do need that level of input.

[Owllady]

I wouldn't say my collie was chilled, but she's not hyper either.
She's my third collie as an adult (I'm mid 30s), though we had them as children too but they are fantastic dogs.
I'm sorry if I'm a bit defensive but there was a thread a few weeks ago that said they should never be kept as pets. Which is a bit of a shame as ours have always been rescue and good pets.
Anyway I decided to fuck off for a while, I might again :o

[muttynutty]

Dont fuck off Owllady your opinions were and will be missed if you do

[Buttholelane]

Sadly, I think as a collie owner you have to be prepared for comments like 'that should be on a farm' 'it's not a pet it's a working dog' 'God I bet that needs a lot of exercise, crazy dogs' 'wow you must have your hands full' etc.

Always said by know it alls who don't actually have one of course!