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Australian Shepherd


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I clipped my aussies coat in summer. We live in a very bad tick area, so it was not worth the risk. She looked funny, but much easier to find ticks on her.

Her coat grew back and didn't loom overly different to me, maybe a little thicker.

I wouldn't clip them unless I had to though.

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My neutered boy has a very thick woolly coat, especially in winter, and he doesn't do a seasonal coat drop like the entires do. His coat is a totally different texture to an entire Aussie and his feathering on the front legs is very woolly.

I tried a Furminator, it was useless. It skimmed the surface of his coat and did nothing about the thick layer of undercoat that causes most of the woolliness.

The best tool I found is an Oster undercoat rake. It gets right down to the skin and removes the undercoat in huge swathes. In fact, given a good workout with the Oster, he can go from looking like a tubby black bear to a sleek and handsome dog.

The Oster also does a decent job on his feathering, although it is always going to be a different texture.

The only parts of the coat that I scissor are the ears, the paws, the hocks and the dock of a bobtail. There is no way I would use clippers on an Aussie.

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How does this breed cope in a suburban yard?

I have three Aussies and we live in suburbia. We run between 10-12k's a day and a good part of that is through light bushland where they can be off leash. They spend most of the day lazying around but once the children get home from school they are up for a good play around, ball, frisbee, soccer....

How do they cope with livestock - i.e. horses?

Mine are all curious when they spot a horse or cow but won't chase them.

Are they good off leash (yes with training)

All the Aussies I know are great off leash and are easily recalled. With the correct training they are an excellent obedience and agility prospect. They are also great with flyball and other such sports.

Are they good with small animals like smaller dogs, cats and chickens?

This depends on how they are raised, our three have been around cats from the beginning and accept them as part of the pack. They are brilliant around other dogs, however if the male is a little bit rough with smaller dogs. As for chickens, I would never trust mine with them, they get very excited when they see a bird and will chase.

What are they like with other dogs?

My female adores all other dogs, male/female, small/large, puppies/adult. My male is fine with all females and puppies male and female, however other male dogs he occasionally will have issues with. As ridiculous as this sounds, my female will get especially excited when she spots another Aussie or BC.

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  • 3 months later...

They bark, some of them bark a lot, some don't. I have one who barks at everything......he's a big happy boy who likes a chat and his bark is friendly, curious, informative etc. However, he's loud and it's ear splitting and when he barked he set the other dogs off. I solved the problem with an electronic collar which worked like a charm.

These days he's pretty quiet and if he starts up again he gets the collar on for a day.

My girl and my puppy aren't barkers at all. She will give a warning bark at strangers coming onto our property or anyone coming near our car if she's in it, but overall she's fairly quiet to live with. The puppy doesn't bark at much of anything so far (he's 9 months old).

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I have an 11mo dog. He doesn't bark much at all. I am not sure if it is just him, or the fact I tried to ignore him when he was little and making a noise.

He will bark if he is playing a noisy game outside, or bark once when the water bowl is empty!

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  • 3 months later...

Hi, I'm a new Aussie owner, don't need to tell you what a fantastic pet they are.

I have a problem with our four month old 'Oscar'. He has a scratching problem, :) he scratches his chest just behind his front legs, no sign of feas, we've looked at what he's eating and are trying to steer away from wheat products, has anyone encounted a similar problem?? Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)

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Hi, I'm a new Aussie owner, don't need to tell you what a fantastic pet they are.

I have a problem with our four month old 'Oscar'. He has a scratching problem, :( he scratches his chest just behind his front legs, no sign of feas, we've looked at what he's eating and are trying to steer away from wheat products, has anyone encounted a similar problem?? Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)

.

Hi Aussie Oscar

Just because you cant see fleas doesnt mean they are not there. If you are sure there are no fleas then maybe a trip to the vet would be the best option to get an expert opinion. All breeds can develop itchiness but there could be any number of reasons why. It could be flea allergy, food related or something environmental. Good luck and i hope you find an exlplanation. :D

Come and join us in the Aussie thread and tell us all about Oscar. Pics are a must :)

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...amp;start=24450

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  • 1 month later...

Hey sorry if this is a tad personal, My OH might just be allowed to get another dog and im trying to convince him that and Aussie would be a good fit, as he wants a jogging companion and a loyal dog medium sized not to hyper but will go running with him when he wants, his mum said it has to be good with other dogs and kids as they have a beagle and he has 2 younger brothers 12-14yrs old (younger one has a disability) so IMO i think aussies would be a good choice. So my question is how much roughly is an older or pup on limited register (he isnt interested in showing or breeding).

Thanks in Advance

if you have any other breed suggestions would be considered, early researching so he wont be getting a dog any time soon :)

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In Vic, pups sell for around $1000. Don't know about older dogs, the one that I got didn't cost me anything but she was a rescue and you'd probably pay something for a retired show dog or older pup that's been run on.

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In Vic, pups sell for around $1000. Don't know about older dogs, the one that I got didn't cost me anything but she was a rescue and you'd probably pay something for a retired show dog or older pup that's been run on.

Thank you :) you dont see many in rescues at all which i guess is a good thing :) i think i have seen one and im not sure that it was a purebred.

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  • 6 months later...
Is it normal, once a bitch is desexed that the hair texture becomes really thick in the feather area? Thick as wool? Or is it the luck of the draw?

ETA: The overall hair has changed, but the feather area is ugly as & thick as.

Yup - I've heard it's quite common. Perhaps strip her coat out and see how it recovers?

Would clipping them make it worse?

Sorry, I dont have aussies but am a groomer. Do NOT under any circumstances clip or let a groomer clip an aussie. It will stuff the coat completely! Buy a furminator, they are cheapest on ebay and give the bitch a reallllly good bath and blow dry with a high powered dog dryer and once she is completely dry attack her pants/feathering with the furminator, do not do it wet or you may cut the coat!

I was just going back through this thread and found this. I now have some experience to comment on this. Shae came to us in Feb 2011, completely clipped off, almost to the skin in some parts....her coat was very short all over, almost like velvet. I was horrified and thought for sure it would take two years and a couple of seasonal coat drops before her coat came back to normal.

By mid year, she had a good growth and she was set for winter, by August she had pretty much her full coat back and it is sensational. She has an absolutely beautiful coat.......straight, silky, luxurious and easy to look after. And she has lots of it, and it's not woolly at all. So clipping this particular dog did nothing but give her a short coat for a period of time. It certainly didn't ruin any part of her coat.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey Guys :wave:

Do Aussies cope well in the heat?

It can get into the 40s quite easily here in SA summer.

Hi Kahlua

yes aussies can cope with that sort of heat. All of mine survived the extended heat we had last year and they were outside. As long as you have good shade and plenty of water....both drinking and paddling( some just love to paddle in their water buckets and kiddy pools), they are fine. I also have put down wet towels but my older dog refuses to even walk on them let alone lay on them.

I wouldn't be asking them to work during the heat of the day though.

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