# Just got my Aussie Puppy!



## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Hello all, just wanted to take a minute to say hi and introduce myself and my new Aussie Puppy MJ! I just brought him home yesterday from the breeder (a wonderful lady that breeds show stock Aussies) and he's been fitting in quite well. No accidents! testiment to the smarts of the herding breeds, he picked up that he has to go outside to go potty and whines when he has to. Other than that, I've already taught him sit, down and come, and he does all of them reliably after just two days of teaching (though his down needs a bit of work) 

So overall I'm quite happy with his progress in that respect, the only downside, is his semi constant whining. He's such a cuddle bug and wants someone with him all the time during the day. Right now I'm home so it's a win win situation, I keep him under the kitchen table while I study, but I do give him time outs in the laundry room (puppy proofed) so that he gets used to being alone for at least part of the time. He cries alot and howls when I first put him in, but eventually settles down. I need to get some kong toys to keep him busy, I put some ice in last time and he settled in quite nicely. Last night he slept from midnight, whined a little around 4 am, but I knew he was ok, then up at 6:30 so I'm a little sleep deprived today. 

I'm not using a crate just yet with him, he doesn't really seem comfortable in it so far, but we're working on that with some positive training (treats when he goes in and then praise) I'd rather slowly do it, then just put him in there crying and whining. He does go out every 2.5 hrs and gets special treats for the potty training!

So that is it so far, he was a little rough the first day, but I learned that ignoring when he gets hyper really works. I only give him attention when all four feet are on the ground and he's not trying to nip me. However I did read about developing a dog's mouth to become soft, in the rare instance that a bite does occur, so I'm not discouraging light nips, just the painful ones (luckily he's only done 1 so far). I'm very quickly learning that Aussies are insanely smart, but they MUST be kept busy at all times! Lest you end up with a neurotic puppy. Today MJ had a long walk, multiple play sessions, and a trip to the VET, so it's safe to say he's tuckered out today.

That's my puppy diary if you will, and a little about me, I'm studying for graduate school exams, so I'm having quite the summer. I've been wanting an Aussie for soooo long now, I really love the breed and figured since I'm home now would be a good time to train a puppy, a nice distraction from studying! I previously had a German Shepherd, loved him dearly, unfortunately not the best trained dog, since we were all really lax with him and never really put in the effort. Sadly he passed away 3 yrs ago to a tumor growing near his heart and it's was really hard to move on after him. We all loved him soooo much, but recently I found myself really wanting to get another dog, and decided on an Aussie because I'm really active (hiker, biker, all the good stuff) and figured an Aussie would be a good fit for me. 

The next big hurdle is getting my Aussie used to my other two little ones Holland Lop and Netherland dwarf bunnies  But that's another post folks!


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

oh he sounds like a cutie!!!! who is the breeder always curious to where other aussies come from. i myself have 3 which are my prides and joys!!!
cant wait to hear and see more on your aussie


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

He came from Dove Creek Aussies 

Here's their site http://dovecreekaussies.com/


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

oh ok cool. do you plan on competing with him in anything?

oh and congrats on your newest addition


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Not showing, he's got his tail lol but agility, flyball, and frisbee definately!


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

ohh did you request a tail? good luck in whatever you do with him


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

I did, I just saw tailed ones and they have such fluffy nice tails, so I figured MJ would look so cute with one and he does!


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

I think we need some pictures, pronto! 

Congrats on your new addition!


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

yeah aussies when they have tails are normally nice a fluffy and pretty. i bet he looks cute with one


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Yes he does, and I am working on the pictures! They'll be up soon


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## Equinox (Nov 11, 2008)

I've never seen an Aussie with a tail! Looking forward to the pictures  

Congratulations on him, too. Sounds like you're on the right path with training.


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Lol well here's mine, he's got a teeny white tip on his tail, but other than that it's long and black  Sorry the pics arent the greatest, we got rained out of our evening walk (usually tires him out) and he was being a motion machine.


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

OMGoodness he is so beautiful!!!!!!! what a cute little face and you are right very cute with a tail


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## ladyshadowhollyjc (Oct 28, 2008)

Awww!! He's so cute!


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Thank you  He does have this innocent little face that can fool everyone! JK he is a cuddler when he wants to be. I took him to petsmart today (in the cart of course because he's only 8 weeks) and he hated it Poor thing, he saw this huge black mastiff and yelped! (despite the mastiff being super friendly) Obviously he has never seen a dog so huge, he kept looking towards me for comfort, but I didn't want to encourage his fear so I just let him sit in the cart. Poor little guy, hopefully he'll make some friends at puppy class  Another interesting day with MJ though, today I could really see his Aussie side come out because he kept trying to nip my legs while we walked and it became such a fun game for him! Good thing his sit is solid, I firmly said "NO" and told him to sit and he did! The wonders of Sit, I'm amazed he was able to because he seemed in full on puppy crazy mode, but he did listen so again I'm very impressed. He even figured out how to go from down to sit! I could see him thinking about it for a second before he'd lift up and go into sit. A few hard nips today as well but ouch worked both times, I would say it, turn my back, and wait a minute while he sat all sad, we'd make up and he'd be super gentle with his nips. 

He's still whining ALOT though, and I'm just ignoring it completely (though it's hard at 6 am!) the breeder told me it'd probably be a few days, and all the puppies of his litter are doing it. I can tell he's slowly getting better at being left alone, because the yelps and whining are a lot shorter when I leave the room and he does settle down for 2 hrs after a good bout of excercise. Tomorrow I think we'll work on heel, I tried it for a few minutes in my kitchen without a leash and he was getting the hang of it, so we'll see


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

oh he sounds like he is going to be an excelent dog!!!!! any plans to do herding with him?


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

you can still show him with a tail. it's just a fault. and hey if he grows up to be beautiful I would show him!


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

oh yes i was going to tell you that you. he looks very cute in the pictures. with a tail you might just have to show under certain judges.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

There is an aussie breeder I know who has a black bi bitch with a tail and she currently is major pointed. Here is her pic her name is Ling


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

wow she is very beautiful!!!!1


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Oh I didn't know that? Thanks for sharing, well hmm I just might, his dad was a winner, and he is "big boned" like him alot, though his coloring is more like his mom's (kind of like kechara's, all your aussies are gorgeous!) That aussie is really cute! I love her face  Well MJ is settled in the laundry room for the night and boy did he put up a fight against that baby gate, luckily it was only for a few minutes and I know he's tired because we walked around the neighborhood before bedtime. A funny thing happened right before the walk though, I was playing with him and his chew toy and he HUMPED ME! at first he just hopped up on my legs as I was sitting down, and then he did his usual perch on top, then back and forth! Goodness this MJ is full of surprises!


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## cherryhill (Aug 21, 2009)

who are his parents?
my male did that when he was a pup too.
and then my black tri did that to my male the first time she ment him


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

His Dad is Honky Tonk and his mom is Poudre Trouble, they're listed on the site 

Yes I was shocked that little puppies could do that? My GSD never did it at all, lol so I guess I'm stunned by a humpy MJ lol. He wasn't really being dominant or mouthy when he did it, so I don't know if it's just a play thing some puppies do? I just pulled him down and resumed throwing the kong toy and changed positions so he couldn't get back on me, and he didn't try again.


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## Malorey (Nov 28, 2008)

What a cutie, and omg, Ling is my favorite Diamond Aire doggie!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Malorey said:


> What a cutie, and omg, Ling is my favorite Diamond Aire doggie!


That Ling girl is my Hawkeye's grandma!


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

Hey guys, I had a question about how to train my pup out of ankle biting when we're out for walks and playing in the yard. He seems to love getting underfoot alot (this morning I accidentally got him and felt so bad!), and then starts nipping/biting my pants, not hard in the beginning but he does get worked up and starts doing that aussie growl and yip when he does it. Obviously this is something I don't want my 50lb dog doing, and I'm trying to see which method is best to train him out of it? Right now I've tried saying "NO!" and command him to sit, which he does, but then in another second he'll got after my legs again, and repeat. I try redirecting towards a toy, and he will go after it, but then runs right back underfoot! He's VERY food motivated which is great, and I've read that Aussies will do anything for a treat! He doesn't get fed at regular intervals, instead I make him work for everything he gets (toys, food, water, out time) he must obey a command before getting any of these (right now it's just down or sit). He gets fed half his food through kongs and the other half is earned via training (we only do 5-10 minute intervals, or I just ask him something once before we do an activity).


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## Zeiff (May 6, 2009)

MJtheAussiePuppy said:


> He seems to love getting underfoot alot.


Is this while walking? Rangers first summer he would get underfoot when we walked away from the house. However when we were walking home he would pull hard trying to get home. He was very timid in leaving home. 

Now he seems to like exploring away from home. Sometimes a little too much so.


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

Aw! There's an aussie front coming around! So many gorgeous Aussies on the board now. I've never heard of people requesting tails! That's such a cool thing to do. He's gorgeous!


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## MJtheAussiePuppy (Aug 22, 2009)

MJ can really do it anytime, not so much in the house, mostly when he's outside and allowed to let loose. Generally when I'm walking him to the front yard, or calling him to go back in the house he will get underfoot and sort of nip at my pants. If I stop in my tracks, he usually loses interest, or if he's more hyper, he'll keep at it until I say NO and tell him another command. He will also do it on walks, and stopping helps him lose interest then as well. He tends to zig zag around me while walking, sometimes following sometimes leading, most of the time lagging behind and then running up in front in the opposite direction of the leash. Actually what I did last night was to stay NO, sit, and then a treat. It worked, and he followed me and when he'd pause, I say "lets go" and he happily trots along. Today I am going to try teaching him heel, and lure with a treat to see if that works!

Thanks Hallie, yes it seems they're becoming a popular dog!


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