Hey everyone I’m new here. We have decided to welcome an ACD to our home tomorrow and we are very excited and up for any challenges that may come up! I attached a photo I’m curious if you guys think this is a full ACD. Any tips? We do have a 5 and 3 year old I’m a little worried about him biting their heels. I owned a shepherd years and years ago and I remember he would do this on walks etc. is this something they grow out of or is trainable to not do? My shepherd stopped after 4-5 months or so.
Hi there , Yes it’s a given biting the heels . Wheels , brooms , mops , you get the picture . you need to stop it straight away. Don’t wait , establish it early. It’s pretty easy for an attentive owner , Tell puppy no and replace the item it’s allowed to bite with a toy. A lot of the dogs are later given away or sold on , because of these reasons. It’s common. I saw an ad that said the dog nips the kids this week. many resell ads say “to a home that understands or has had cattle dogs “ Or “to a home that can give the exercise the dog needs”. I suppose you may already know about the pups white fur , and that the darker fur will soon come through giving the blue or red color or both. This will make it being a cattle dog more obvious then
Oh yep! My shepherd drove me insane until he knew not to do that! But I will take the time to train him. He is 12 weeks old. We will be his third home already which is just heartbreaking. I thought those colors would be in much sooner than that
Ok 12 weeks is a bit older yes, When I picked my pup up at 8 weeks some of his sibling were still pretty white although his color was coming through well. I’m not an expert on this however. despite what the show breeders find desirable , there is a lot of variation in color here in Australia . I have heard people talk about white heelers , and some have minimal ‘ticking’ although remain quite light. here is an article I found interesting https://www.adcb.com.au/blog/australian-cattle-dogs-are-white/
I read that one. I’m honestly curious if he is full. I don’t mind a mixed dog though. Do you have any other tips for a first time ACD owner? I know I need to definitely show I’m boss from the start tips on tbay? Tbey said he’s still working on house breaking etc so I’m going to be following him around like a hawk for a while. Has anyone crate trained their ACD?
I had to google crate training , I have heard on this forum those words and don’t / didn’t know what that’s for. tips, well I have had very little trouble with my last pup chewing the wrong things in the house , as I make sure he has enough toys of his own , which he is excited about . He loves to play. I give him platted rag ropes , and a few squeaky toys. Plus he has another dog to be with . I keep them stocked up regularly with new big leg bones , we visit the butchers to get them together , so there’s plenty else to sit in the shade and chew. if your kids have toys , you will need to teach him the difference. They are extremely smart , so my pup learned not to bite my heel within the first days of bringing him home (ouch) and that was the end of it. you don’t want a heavy handed or over bearing approach they love to please the boss naturally , if your too hard you’d ruin the friendship and god forbid irreparably more. they are a best mate , a working dog , or a full time companion . They are not the type of dog to be left neglected and bored in a yard or apartment . they need room to run as I said , they are farm dogs , or for active families. great for active kids to grow up with and go on adventures together . if you do not fulfill the dogs needs they make make their own jobs , and go about it. Which could become an obsessive problem , as they are extremely intelligent they need intellectual stimulation as well as physical. the better you can understand the breed the better you can recognize what they need and meet them . I would say include them as part of the family and treat them as such. keep up the training even a short amount a day , I use liver treats , he gets excited to learn , and it’s one more interesting thing to fulfill his day with . it’s a pretty open question to begin , and I don’t know your situation or experience so I’m trying to be pretty broad. I’d say try to introduce him to other animals early if you can , so he is familiar with them , one less thing he could want to chase or herd later if he comes across it. and they can also be guardy of property and people if they are not overly socialised (generally). which is something a lot of people may find appealing , not all of them are however a good percentage will. because they are natural herders and are heel biters ( it’s deliberately in their dna) you need to channel that energy into something . You can tell them something once or twice and they’ll get it. They become part of the family and are loyal. The kids would be safer in general , they are a great judge of character , and brave.
We are going out of state to get him(on our way now!) I just wanted to be prepared with anything an experienced owner might have to offer. I had a shepherd and that’s it. He passed a few years ago. We have quite a bit of yard space for him to play in but it’s not secure so he will need to be on a leash. The teenagers can run him around. We do have some parks near by that I would be okay letting him off leash and running etc. We are an active family most of the year and I am planning on bringing him everywhere with me even to the grocery store.
I’m thinking that your pup isn’t a full ACD; based on the floppy ears and coloration. Mine was pretty much all white when anfew weeks,old, but the colors started coming in quickly after that. Two weeks old: One month old: Two months old (note the ears):
I’m glad y’all like the pics! Kyrie’s a little over three years old now: Kyrie, Willow, and old Peanut: Willow’s a mini Aussie who turned out to be not too “mini.”
