r/miniaussie

My pup periodically experienced limping or lameness after an intense game of frisbee with high jumps and quick twists. It never lasted more than a day. Usually she would sleep that night and be fine the next day. However, it happened again and this time it won't go away. She either favors her other leg now or when it's really bothering her she will hold up the injured one and bunny hop. I took her to the vet and they gave me an anti-inflammatory to try and scheduled her for a sedated exam with X-rays. It was their opinion that it might be a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (knee) as opposed to the hip. The medicine has helped quite a bit but I can tell by the way she walks and sits, not putting pressure on that leg, that it is still bothering her. I've restricted her exercise and only allow leash walks - which is absolutely torture for an Aussie. The weird thing is she still tries to run, jump off beds/couches if I'm unable to catch her in time to stop her. I'm trying my best to prevent her from doing these things but as you all know there is no "off" button for these dogs. It's also strange to me that she will let me feel her leg and move it around slightly to check her pain level. When I do this, she doesn't act like I am hurting her. Have any of your Aussies needed surgery for similar injuries? I'm afraid it is now a chronic condition and that may be the only solution at this point. Thank you for your help.

This morning my 1 year old mini brought me a mouse head. Yes, the head of a recently killed mouse. I don't know where the body is. I think it may have been killed by a cat in our yard? I can't see my mini actually catching and killing a mouse and ripping it's head off but I don't know for sure. I promptly threw it into the garbage. Anyone else experience something similar?

We adopted a mini Aussie around 9-weeks old, and he is now about 13 weeks. I’m trying to assess if we’re on the right track with crate training and alone time. He will sleep through the night and even after a quick potty around 530/6, will go back into his crate for another 45 min to an hour.

We have been doing enforced naps about every hour or so, and sometimes this is very seamless with him going into his crate calmly. Other times (usually the AM), he still puts up a bit of a protest cry for a little while (5-15 min) and then settles. We’ve done crate games, feeding in there, etc. and he generally goes in if I give him the command.

Living in a 1 bedroom apartment is a bit tricky - we crate him in our bedroom, covered, with sound machine/fan going because he seems to be too focused on us and any sounds to settle when we had crate in our adjacent living room. So he is always in a different space when napping during the day.

Given how brief his awake window is, I’m not entirely sure when to practice alone time when he’s more alert than not. Perhaps, I just have to do it. I attempted to give him a kong and place him in the crate just before it was his nap time, he immediately didn’t focus on the Kong and started barking. I hadn’t even stood up to leave to practice making it a non-eventful departure.

I guess I’m curious whether it just takes more time/him aging, or if there’s some room for waiting out his protest barks/cries before going back in during “alone time” practice as opposed to doing 1sec/2sec interval departures ? Any tips from anyone would be appreciated!

My partner and I brought home our sweet 8-week-old puppy a few days ago. She has been doing great with her crate in every aspect....except when we leave the room for a few minutes to simulate leaving the house.

She has positive associations with the crate and always receives high praise for going in there. She loves to run in and out to eat her food, drink water, chew her bones, etc. Even in the few nights we've had her, overnights have improved immensely with no real issues other than sleep deprivation for mom and dad.

Each time we prep for a crate session, we make sure she's had some playtime and training beforehand, and we put a high-reward treat in there (like a kong or pupsicle) and quietly close the door behind her. All is good and well until she can't see us, then it's full-blown screaming and crying. Even when we're in the room with her and she can see us, see whines and barks. We have tried putting a blanket over the crate, but it seems to make things worse.

We've been trying to crate her in short sessions so that she knows we'll come back every time (with high praise and affection!) and doesn't develop negative associations. We also hope in that time we can get a sense for how long it takes her to calm herself down, which is where we would love to hear form others about what has worked and what hasn't.

What I would love to hear from others:

• Did you crate train in short sessions? How long did those sessions last?
• How long did it take for your pup to eventually calm themselves down during those sessions?
• How much time did it take overall for your pup to be okay left alone in their kennel?
• What eventually worked for you and your pup? What didn't work well?

We are very well aware it's only been a few days and know it will take time and patience, it just gets a little overwhelming at times. We ultimately just want to hear experiences from others who have had success so we can hopefully see the light at the end of the tunnel and leave the house together again!

Thanks in advance!

I was walking by a dog that had met mine before and it was fine, (small maltipoo/cavapoo type breed) and my Aussie got excited and jumped a little so I pulled him to the side till he stopped jumping, and then I let him walk towards the dog to say hi, as my dog turned around the other small dog lunged on his back and bit his ear. The previous time before the dog was nice and just tried to hump a little.

And the lady with the small dog tried to say that it was my fault because my dog got excited. That "I don't have my dog under control." I only let the leash loose because they were greeting like they had before. And that was after I had stopped the jumping.

Mind you, this person was laughing when she heard my dog yelp from being bitten. And I had to tell her "it wasn't funny."

My boy is 9months and he's super assertive and playful so basically all the small dogs in the neighborhood bark at him. And I have a hard time finding other dogs to socialize because he's been barked and lunged at probably by 80% of all dogs he's ever met. He has had positive meetings with dogs who seemed to be older/better trained tho. It's just hard finding those dogs.

For training, I use tight leads near people, and loose lead for sniffing walks in the park. Heel will work in not so busy areas. He's super excited so I'm always luring him into a sit/down or crossing streets, going into alleyways to get away from people trying to pet/get him excited or their small dogs barking at him.

He does not bark back at dogs unless it's pitch dark out and he sees some kinda animal in the bushes.

***Any suggestions on some more training I should be doing in public. Should I just avoid every single dog I see on the street? (busy downtown core area).

I feel like, yes, he's excitable, but he does listen if I give him enough time to calm down and direct him away from exciting things on walks into sits.

He does jump and nip at me sometimes when excited, I stop everything and wait till he sits before moving on and he's never actually bit me or clamped down hard. It's all been mouthing or nips at clothing and shoes.

Is this all normal behavior? And anyone got any in public training tips. (He gets hours of walk/jogging, 5 bathroom breaks, frozen kongs, fetch, tug and lots of enrichment and love).

Thanks.

I was at a rally-obedience event today and met a woman with a 1 year old MAS. This breed hasn’t been on my radar as a potential next breed but our talk (and pup cuddles!) has got me thinking I should maybe add this breed to my potentials list.

I’ve been around dogs all my life and am currently on my 4th shelter rescue - she’s a 3 y/o medium mixed breed (primarily greyhound, BC and ACD). She’s wonderful, but also has her challenges. I’ve decided my next dog, in about 2-3 years from now, is going to be an ethically bred purebred puppy.

I want a smart, biddable, handler-focused affectionate dog. Ideally medium-energy but I’m used to high-ish energy dogs as well. I want a dog I can train in rally/obedience/agility. I prefer larger dogs but my partner prefers smaller dogs, so I’m looking at small/medium dogs that look like large dogs, if that makes any sense lol.

My current top breed is a small munsterlander, which is a gun-dog. I like the idea of a gun-dog because they tend to be human-focused and can settle between activities. I’ve always loved herding dogs as well but thought they were a bit too much for me, however they’ve been some of the calmest most affectionate dogs at the comps I go to and I’m starting to be swayed!

Anyway, what would you tell someone who is interested in the breed? I want to hear the good and the bad! What activities do you do with your dog? Is the shedding manageable? Do you compete with your MAS? Are they usually dog friendly?

Thanks in advance!