Does anyone own an Australian Shepherd General Chat

Does anyone on here own an Australian Shepherd - what are they like to live with? What are their personalities like? How similar/different are they to border collies? Any info much appreciated x

I have several friends with ASD, one has made up the first Ob Ch, WT Ch and dual OB and WT Ch in them.

They can be gobby if you are not careful, they are not a breed for me, but I can see the attraction.

Like BC they are very smart and like to be doing stuff and, as can be seen, are very successful at it.

What is it about them SB that makes you not want to own one?

Being a dog next to own on my list, i'd like to get as many opinions as possible.

What do you mean by gobby? Do you mean they express various emotions by barking?

A friend of ours has one. He's absolutely gorgeous lol but is very, very lively and is as strong as an Ox!

If he swung his bum at you - you would go flying!

His owner is a dog trainer and yet he admitted that when reaching 'teenage' years his dog was a real handful. Still; Sunny (dog's name!) is pretty obedient and certainly knows his commands. In fact; he went through the whole routine of the commands he knows in about 2 minutes in an attempt to get the cocktail sausage his owner was holding!

The owners wife struggles to take him out as he is sooo strong on lead and their sofa / house has sustained a *lot* of damage from him lol. He was a rogue as a young dog too - he stole things left, right and centre lol and was generally very naughty! But you look into his eyes and you melt! He is very friendly!! xx

I am not a fan of the appearance of BC/WSD/ASD etc they do nothing for me.

I mean they can be extremely noisy (but hey, what do I know, I live with a GSD)!

Out of interest would a border collie also not be a breed for you?

Would not feature in my top 100 breeds...........

I know a few people with Aussies. I think they are great looking dogs that you can do lots with but without the obsessiveness of a Border Collie. I would have an Aussie but would never consider a Border.

I like the Miniature Aussies (aka Miniature North American Shepherds) after meeting someone 12 years ago in the USA who bred them.

If I was looking for a smaller dog for agility, HWTM or flyball, that's what I'd go for - all the ability and scope of the BC, but the size of a Cocker Spaniel. The only comparable breed is the Sheltie, but I do not want all the coat.

I rather like the mini too MM

a friend has AS and BC's . love AS especially the black n tans

I was considering AS for my next dog to be a companion pet but also to train/compete in agility and working trials. But I would want a rescue and I'm not sure how often they would come up in rescue, whereas theres loads of BC's in rescue needing homes!

http://www.ascuk.co.uk/homesplit.htm
http://australianshepherdnasa.com/Rescue-and-Re-Home-Scheme

Australian Shepherds are one of the more common breeds around here - I have several friends who own them and enjoy the breed immensely, although I never foresee myself owning one. They are excellent all around dogs, very versatile and an excellent candidate for sport/performance and just a general active lifestyle. Very fun, many of them seem to possess a sense of humor, for lack of a better term. The average well bred Australian Shepherd could really easily be a great performance dog and companion/pet. Many breeders around here strive to produce working dogs with the conformation to remain functional and succeed in the show ring, and have produced just that for generations.

The one trait I hear from everyone regarding Australian Shepherds, especially in comparison to German Shepherds and Border Collies, is that they are very "bouncy". Pushy and in-your-face but happy, happy, happy. Goofy and playful, although they can also be exceptionally dignified. Most Aussies I've met love to talk. Just highly amiable dogs, overall great with other dogs and people. I have heard from a friend or two that their dogs aren't the best to have around kids (whereas my German Shepherd is very sensitive to children), but I think the breed overall can do well with them.