Of course , as the original intention of this site , this website is a must see for all . Whether a long time friend and handler of Aussiez , or simply new to the breed . The site , " ALL ABOUT AUSSIES " is a must in your favorites list . Cick  >>>>>>>>>>> >>" ALL ABOUT AUSSIES " Click image to go to WAS website . For those of you truly thinking of becoming involved in working your Aussie on some type of stock , there just isn't any other resource better than this to get you dialed in and on your way . The " Working Aussie Source " should be considered a must read site for those looking to work their dog in any venue of stock work .

	This page haz pretty much been titled " AUSSIE FACTS " due simply to facts centered around the Australian Shepherd az I see the facts . May I be so bold to say that after being passionately involved with the breed on a multi-faceted level for many yearz , I have not established my opinionz through biased concept . I have made it a point to come to some conclusionz through not only direct exposure , but by paying very close attention to respected and reputable Aussie ownerz , breederz , trainerz and handlerz .   Let me also add that I am not one to follow a concept  just becauze someone haz an Aussie ( or any other breed for that matter ) nor do I feel they are stellar in their proccessez and thoughts . Although I feel I learn something from everyone I encounter , I think at timez I learn more from the ignorant than I do the knowledgable . In other wordz , watching people who have no business owning a dog , much less an Aussie haz truly allowed me to see and avoid the devistating negitive resultz that take place from poor handling and concept .    The Australian Shepherd , by all meanz is a breed that iz NOT FOR EVERYONE . Az intelligent , beautiful , loyal , majical , and ready for a job az this breed iz , they seem to mesmerize humanz in many wayz . Unfortunatley , all of the Aussie'z good traits are by all meanz their donwfall at timez when it comez to a symbiatic relationship with humanz . All to often I see this breed suffer terribly from the " I want one of thoze dogz because they are smart " syndrome . Meanwhile , the typical person that would say this is truly expressing a source of ignorance that cauzez me to feel a sense of fear for the breed . Not becauze people think they dezire a smart dog , but becauze somewhere in their pea sized brain , they think becauze the breed haz such superior intelligence that it will require less training . In hope their new puppy will come straight out of the box  knowing how to sit , down , roll over and never bother me unless I have time for you commands already programmed in their canine brainz . ON THE CONTRARY !!!! .    What I really need to say here now iz this . Intelligent dog doesn't mean becauze someone haz one , makes them appear to be a smart human , again , ON THE CONTRARY  . We live in a world today where most possessionz in our lives come with some sort of pre-installed software . Well guess what , SO DOEZ THE AUSSIE . But friend , let me tell you , IT AIN'T DRAG AND DROP software . It would take hourz upon hourz for me to describe and or explain to someone who iz not Aussie savvy , what and how the Aussie iz thinking .      Let me take a break for a moment and say this . If so far you are offended at what I have said , you will most likely want to log off of this site and never return . But if you are interested in getting a feel for this breed and are up to the challenge of an environemt that requirez REAL effort and a willingness to succomb to the fact that a dog iz smarter than humanz , then feel free to read on . I am sure most true Aussie savvy ownerz who read this will stand and applaude this commentary .    The truth be told , no matter how painful it iz ,  the fact remainz that most people with an Australain Shepherd in their possesion really would be better off  ( not to mention that I am most positive that the dog would be better off ) without them . I know that soundz arrogant but this iz an opinion that haz devolped in my heart for many years now .    Ok , now , a small piece of what this breed is thinking will settle this commentary down a bit . Folks , ( and I mean the folks looking to acquire a first time Aussie ) . When I talk about the dog being pre-programmed I am talking about the breedz genetic encoding in their DNA , and their mindset that has been established from hundreds of years of development . By they way , if you think the AKC established this breed , you have been TERRIBLY  MISLEAD , which of course is what the AKC does best . Don't believe me ? , see the page on this site called HISTORY of the AUSSIE or click here " . Never the less , and to get back on track , the Aussie is a duty bound dog . I spend so much time trying to explain this to people that are first time Aussie ownerz , only to recieve a blank stare . Go figure . When I say duty bound , I am talking about a breed that haz such a strong sense of keeping thingz in order , keeping a watchful eye on it's pack and tending to it's territory .  No old school , so called trainer that thinks endless yanking on a chain collar to educate a dog , or someone with a severe mislead definition of DOMINATE will control this breed by force . They are nothing short of absolutely out of their mindz . All the kicking , screaming , shocking , praying  and dropping off at doggie daycare in the world iz going to work in 99% of the cases with an Aussie .     This is a breed of true pack instinct and an unstoppable desire to work and organize the world aroud it . Only by earnig a mutual trust bewteen Aussie and handler , and giving this dog a sense of respnosiblity iz going to allow the both of you to remain sane . The Aussie iz a dog that needz to be trained in a manner I have tried for yearz to explain to people . I have had numerous so called trainerz from all venuez of training try to convince me othewise . If you think you know training , let an Aussie train you for a while then post your arguement .    I know it may seem az if my approach soundz like I am de-establishing Alpha Dog status . On the the contrary though . The age old thought of " you have to be the dominant alpha dog " is true overall , but the definition by which most people , and even so called trainerz apply Alpha Dog theory iz pretty much garbage can material . Alpha dog status at one time in dog training meant that you allowed your dog to learn to trust your judgements and decision making . Then thingz sort of swung over to the YANK YANK YANK  on the change theory . The comes along the bait reward concept that some new agerz that want even tell the children NO came up with .  I have to tell you folks , if you think the jump , come , cookie methods are your best way to train , I want to see what happens to your recall when your dog sees someone with a pizza and you have no more cookies . Better yet , I want to see the result when a child offerz your dog a yummy and his fingerz get nailed and the next thing you know you have a dog bite report against your speedy little flyball , frissbee or agility dog .    Where I am going with all of this is ? BALANCE BALANCE BALANCE . If you only train when Law and Order , Monday Night RAW or Jerry Springer goes off the air ( by the way , do those programs ever go off the air ? ) an Aussie iz not for you . I am thinking maybe a fake bear rug would suit you better . This breed needz to be involved with your every action to be happy and sane , Hec , teach them to fold laundry , you will be amazed . If I am irritating any one person by making these remarks , you surley do not need and Aussie and if you have another breed , you might really want to reconsider your training methods . I am not saying do not reward your dogz . What I am saying iz this . I reward my dogz EACH AND EVERY time they achieve even the smallest success . But if your rewardz are always a yummy out of hand , you end up with a cookie command dog . My dogz perform out of loyalty and dezire . Yes , I often initiate new thingz with a bait reward but quickly move on to the thought proccess that the success alone iz reward and the result iz a stronger bond of trust .  NOT , " well , that jerk owner of mine iz out of cookiez again " , " so I think I will just raid someonez bait bag . I mean , arent cookiez why we are here anyway " ?    Folks , this breed iz so far right field and different from any other , I am only trying to prepare the non Aussie savvy person for the ride of their life and prevent misery for both of you . I fool around with a little agility with my dogz and truly enjoy the game . I also fool around a little with herding and enjoy it most of all .     Here are a couple of thought proccesses I have encountered over the yearz from people regarding the Aussie . I waz once in a fairly large sized group of people , and the Chair Person for that group asked me in front of the group what kind of dogz I have . Well  , I proudly spoke up and said " Aussiez , of course " . My response from this respective chair person was a sarcastic , " OH , Border Collies without tailz huh? " . Needless to say , I could have easily been offended by the remark , but it wasn't the remark that offended me . It was the ignorance . Ok , so what ..... this person has many ribbons to the attestment of agility accomplishments , but you should see their dogz in public . Village idiots to say the least . Let me admit here though , that the whole jump come cookie concept haz one of my dogz crazy az well . But we are trying to fix that .     Let me ask you this , have you aver seen a stockman run hiz horse breathless over to his Aussie dog , step off hiz horse to offer a cookie for bunching up the herd  , I say , NOT .  Again , reward your dogz , mix it up , but this breed iz about self respect and pride . I can convince any dog to do any thing for a cookie , given time , but can you get your dog to work out of dezire ?   Anyway , let me add one more experience regarding a past Aussie owner .  I was at an agility trial with two of my dogz and stumbled into a really nice lady and we got to discussing dogz in general . She inquired what breed I had . Of course , again , I proudly stepped up to the plate and said " Aussie'z of course "  ! This lady described the Australain Shepherd to me better than anyone else ever had . Her remark waz , " Oh , very nice breed but I prefer the Border Collie " . I said , " Oh , nice breed , but why the Border Collie ' ? She responded with , '" I used to have Aussie'z , but the Aussie thinks to much . I want a dog to just do what I tell it to do , not a dog that thinks " .  That comment was the best compliment and commendation I ever got regarding my Aussie'z . It made me feel so proud . I ended up wandering over with her to her crates to pet her , " do what they are  told dogz " on the head . They were very nice Bordr Collies by the way . I just love that breed .    Let me ask you this , ever been in a situation where you had to jingle up 150 head of horses at 3 a.m. ? Well , let me tell you , with an Aussie , your horse will never lose it's breath or break a sweat and you will never spill your coffee . I prefer a dog that proccesses thingz on hiz own , from this mindset . Had you rather your dog work from thinking , " I get to do this job " , or " I have to do this job " . This concept applied to any breed for even the smallest of tasks such as a basic sit works wonders . It is a trainging method I learned FROM the Aussie many years ago .         You see , the Aussie is tenacious at work , but loving at play . If given no work , he will turn play , into rough . Rougher than you may well be willing to deal with . Oh yeah , I need to mention this . I saw my Rancher buddy back in Colorado a few years back . Guess what ? Yep , there he was , three Aussie'z and a pickup . I asked why he had three Aussie'z . With obvious answer he said , " two to watch the truck , one to work the bunch , what else " ? and he added , " them ain't non of them AKC dawgz either . Sorry AKC " !  Then of course he bought me lunch again .    There iz an old saying amongst the old timer Aussie ownerz that goez like this . " GIVE BLOOD , TEASE AND AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD " !! That izn't to say the breed is mean or aggressive , but it iz to say again , they are tenacious . NOT a breed you smack around to get your way . Build trust with much time spent sharing your life with them  . Never mislead them and share . Hey wait , wouldn't this be a better world if we applied that to the way we humanz treat each other . I promise you , my dogz respect me , not fear me . Even to the point if I were to break that trust and take the notion to start smacking one of them around ( which of course I would not do ) . I GUARANTEE I WOULD GET DOG BIT . That by no meanz indicates I don't have control over them because they would bite me if I abused them . It simply means they are smart enough to not stand for abuse .    So , PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE never abuse or tease an Aussie , you are destined to get bit . Wouldn't it make sense that if a dog that waz genetically encoded through careful breeding , to stand up to the kick of a 1500 + pound black angus bull , might just az well stand up to someone abusive . You might REALLY REALLY consider the fact that if you have children prone to teaze dogz , that the Aussie could not be a worse choice for your household . I have a rescue Aussie that waz teased by children and it took endless time to rehabilitate this dog . He iz such an awesome boy . It would draw even the devil to tearz if I told you OhZee'z story . The household he came from haz no idea what went wrong to the point that they got another dog before weeks end of me taking him on az a rescue . Go figure huh ?    Remember when I mentioned balance . I am refering to something between bait reward and mild correction . If you take an Aussie , and listen to what it is trying to show you , the dog will tell you that it iz looking for and a job az well az the rulez and iz more than willing to abide by them . But with no rulez , the Aussie will devise their own set of rulez and all to often the human sufferz , then triez the age old , I am dominant routine . If you are accustomed to packing a pocket full of yummiez , or a whoopin' stick with you everywhere you and your dog go . YOU DO NOT NEED AN AUSSIE . You need to learn trust training to save you both .   Now that half of the dog world iz feeling anger towardz me due to the facts that I have laid down , I would like to express theze thoughts too . To all of you who do agility , flyball , dock diving , obedience , herding , etc. etc. etc. , I appreciate you all no matter what your breed or training style , az long at it iz not abusive . Let's add though , if you desire a crippled dog , train for Frisbee . Now there is the best way known to man to cripple your dogz back . Although the Australian Shepherd holdz the world record for the highest jump at over 13 feet ( of course , why wouldn't they hold the world record , they wanted to do it , not told to do it ) .   I can remember when I waz a child being raized in a high level dog and horse competition household , there were very few crates at the showz . I crate train my dogz in general for obvious purposez , but what ever happened to well behaved dogz at showz and trialz . In my opinion we have taught horrible mannerz by teaching our dogz food defensive aggression from non-stop bait rewarding . What ever happened to loyality .   For example : I had unfortunate need to be in Manhattan New York one time and a police officer was going to write me a ticket for having my Aussie at that time off leash . When the street beat cop investigated further , he saw I had a 6 foot piece of 3 pound test fishing line tied around my dogz neck and lying across hiz back , and you guessed it , not one single cookie in my pocket . The law did not say what the leash had to be made of , nor did it say I had to have the leash in my hand . Ever been to Manhattan , ever dealt with a New York street beat cop ? Fixer waz an exceptional Aussie , but he stayed with me because he wanted to , not because he HAD to .   I am only trying to prevent the wrongful would be Aussie owner from creating excessive mizery into their livez . My efforts are to prevent yet another Aussie from becoming homeless and or acquiring irreversible behaior problemz . . I never have been a person of passive resistance when it comes to life .  If anyone here iz offended , you may well find yourself to be one of thousandz who have as much business with and Aussie in their life , as a moose would have use for a hat rack .      Thanks so much for your consideration of theze thoughts . I am not trying to offend . I am painfully prone to telling the truth and hoping to save an Aussie the trouble of having to tolerate an unforuntate life by being forced against hiz or her will through people choosing the wrong breed for all the wrong reazonz . Yes , the Aussie , if well bred is beautiful and intelligent . Pretty colors and specklez should be the last reason an Aussie iz brought home . Did I mention that this breed can destroy and ENTIRE  house , inside and out in one single day if bored . Don't believe me ? You better ! LOL LOL . Nothing iz more true .