australian shepherds

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Aussie
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Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:41 am

australian shepherds

Post by Aussie »

Hello
I am very interested in hearing about people's experiences in owning and training australian shepherds. Some websites say that they are too strong-willed to be trained using treats etc.. What are your experiences? Thank you
emmabeth
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by emmabeth »

Not an Aussie shepherd person... but all dogs can be trained using rewards, the trick IS... to find out what that dog finds rewarding and work out how to use that.

Nettle on here has dogs that are not particularly bothered by food treats - they will take them if they are available but thats not really what floats their boats at all. What her dogs work for is the fact she facilitates all the good stuff in life, they like to chase things and catch things - Nettle knows which things can be chased and caught and which things are a waste of time!

Also when someone tells you a dog is too 'strong willed' to work for rewards or for treats - do question their training methods as this is often a reason given for using punishment and fear to train. Its not that the dogs wont work for rewards at all, its that the trainer is too stupid to figure out what the dog finds rewarding.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Sarah83
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by Sarah83 »

Nettle on here has dogs that are not particularly bothered by food treats - they will take them if they are available but thats not really what floats their boats at all. What her dogs work for is the fact she facilitates all the good stuff in life, they like to chase things and catch things - Nettle knows which things can be chased and caught and which things are a waste of time!
Just to add to this, my own dog will work for the opportunity to sniff a tree or patch of grass or other interesting smell while we're out but won't take a treat unless I practically put it into his mouth and even then he'll sometimes spit it out.

I know somebody on another forum who has Aussies and she uses reward based training with hers. I can't see why any breed would be incapable of learning through reward based training as long as you find the right reward. Some dogs are more challenging than others with what they find rewarding though.
morganelyse92
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Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:17 am

Re: australian shepherds

Post by morganelyse92 »

Hi!
I have an Aussie and the only thing I can use to train him is one of his toys that he loves.
Treats don't really do anything for him.
Hes a great dog and really smart. Aussies learn very fast.
I love having one.
:)

Hope that helps
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2many
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by 2many »

My mom and I have had an Aussie/Sheltie mix for 11 years now, and have had great luck with food rewards for her, unless she is in a high stress situation. I have also worked at a doggie daycare for the past 2+ years, and all the aussies and aussie mixes we have had come through respond very well to food rewards. Today we had three Aussies at work, including a deaf pup, and a younger new puppy who just started last week. Already he is picking up on commands at an amazing pace. The deaf aussie pup was the same way with her puppy training.

Aussies are strong willed, but they all seem to want to please, or at least humor people ;). They are smarter than most people I have met (including their owners, in many cases!!). Great dogs. Lady was our first experience with the breed (we researched both breeds after we adopted her), and I would not hesitate at rescuing an aussie or aussie mix in the future.
phinlucysmom
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by phinlucysmom »

I have 2 aussies, tri-color, brother and sister 14 months old. yep I did what we are told NOT to do, got 2 puppies at the same time. but they learned how to potty and crate train so much faster together.
Food works best for us. They will do anything for cheese. They are brilliant and smarter than me. they need a "job" so they say, which is to play around a lot and stick to me like velcro. they are great just takes patience and time. I have an issue with walking them because they get so excited when they see other dogs. My male wants to herd his sister so there ends up being a loud free for all which people think they are fighting and mean...they're not at all. I don't think its necessarily the breed as far as toys or treats, I've seen aussies that prefer toys over food. I think they are like children very different, mine are changing all the time, their personalities are definately coming out and they are very, very different. I believe like others have said you have to find what works best for them and you. Like Zak George says its their currency..with his one dog its frisbees. just be patient and you will find out their currency.
AussieMommy
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by AussieMommy »

In my experience, it really depends on the dog. My current Aussie, 10 weeks, does best with training with toys (especially ones that squeak). I also use treats but he learns so much faster when I have a toy in my hand. Aussies are etremely intelligent (Mine learned sit almost totally reliably in 10 minutes the day we got him home) so sometimes they just get bored. Sometimes I wonder who is training who. Mine has been here less than a month and knows sit, down, stay, and come, plus he heels (most of the time). But they are still a lot of work-and require lots of energy. I take mine on a mile walk on most evenings (sometimes two miles) or at least he and I run up and down the driveway together for five or so minutes. Then I take him on walks whenever we have to leave him more than an hour.
SterlingPup
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by SterlingPup »

I have an 11 week old Australian Shepherd. He is extremely smart! Within 2 weeks of owning him he can sit, wait, stay, shake, lay down, leave objects, and go to his crate or go to his bed when told to. It takes only a few minutes for him to pick up on a new trick. He's also mostly potty trained with only a few small accidents, otherwise he has a small area in the back yard fenced off for him to use as a potty. I used small treats and some pieces of chicken to motivate him (he is highly food motivated). He also LOVES ice cubes as treats, he will do anything for an ice cube. If he is misbehaving, all i need to do is grab a treat and I have his full attention!! Australian Shepherds are extremely smart and a little strong willed. Over all if you start the training early and take charge of situations they will quickly understand what it is they are supposed to do.

My only warning is they are very high energy. If my puppy doesn't have enough play time thoughout the day to release all that energy he can get very nippy, but given enough workout he is a very sweet dog.
josie1918
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by josie1918 »

Our neighbors have one named "butch" who is an absolutely amazing cattle dog, he will do ANYTHING for bacon, other food does not really interest him, but bacon................So when they were training him to work cattle out came the bacon, this is one smart dog, very clever, high energy (not a problem this is on a ranch) and focused. They are amazing dogs. :D
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Gwaenardell
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Re: australian shepherds

Post by Gwaenardell »

My aussie is a wonderful dog, he works for all types of titbits, toys and for caress (be enough to make aussie happy)...

My second dog is beagle, so that I don't ever mean, aussies are strong-willed... Never :lol:

(sorry, my english is horrible, I'm from czech republic and I'm bad in english. Very bad :x )
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