Miniature Australian Shepherd or Miniature American Shepherd:
These are both exactly the same thing but with different registration. To be AKC registered, they require them to be called Miniature American Shepherds. To be ASDR registered, they can keep their original name of Miniature Australian Shepherd. All Mini American/Australian Shepherds come from selective breeding for size (and with reputable breeders, temperament and health). There can be a small percentage of other breeds in their genetic makeup that were used to begin this size reduction process. This is the preferred method of breeding smaller varieties.
Recall Training:
When the pups begin weening to their own food, we say “Puppy Puppy Puppy” when we put down their bowl. This becomes a positive association with the phrase and is the beginning of recall training. The most important lesson for a dog! As they get older this is changed slightly to “Puppy Puppy Come” and eventually “Puppy Come”. This is maintained throughout their time with us and can segue nicely into name training.
Name Training:
We can begin name training as soon as you have decided on the name. If you prefer to get to know your pup a bit before deciding on the name, all you need to do is integrate it into the phrase “Puppy Puppy Name” or “Puppy Name Come” until you get the same result without needing “Puppy” at all.
“Leave It” Training:
Another important safety lesson that we begin early is “Leave it”. Some trainers prefer this to be used for things that the pup will never be allowed to touch, it is reserved for dangerous things like unidentifiable food on the sidewalk or chocolate that has fallen on the floor. Personally I find that this attaches anxiety to the phrase which can trigger unpredictable responses (running away, panic peeing). So we train “Leave it” in a more relaxed fashion more like “Don’t look at that, look at me”.
Calm Training:
- “Sit” – Once the pups are fully weened and have set meal times we begin teaching them to sit before they can eat. They will have already received some sit training by simply rewarding them when they sit of their own accord, but now we begin requiring a sit before food. This both exercising their desire to work as well as calming them down when you are trying to move around and set a bowl down on the floor without tripping over a jumping dog or having it knocked out of your hand. We begin by simply holding the bowl and saying “Sit” until all puppies are sitting. As you can imagine, this takes a while to begin with! But the longer they have to sit while waiting for their siblings to get the idea, the sooner they get used to being calm and waiting patiently. When everyone is calm, the food bowls are placed in front of them
- “Lie Down” – Once they have mastered “Sit” we move on to “Lie Down”, this is mostly just to add another ‘job’ to their routine and exercise their brain. One of our dogs gets so excited about food time that he finds it really hard to sit still, once he is lying down he still wriggles a bit but it is much easier to come to calm stillness lying down and he now knows food comes fastest if he doesn’t wriggle! It is very cute when he is wriggling but it works his brain so much to practice settling down that it is worth doing.
- “Settle” – In my opinion and experience, Mini American/Australian Shepherds have a tendency towards being more laid back than their standard sized relatives. This is only anecdotal as I’ve only owned Minis but from what I see in Australian Shepherd groups, there is an intensity in the larger dogs that I have not seen in my Minis. Dogs do tend to pick up the temperament of their owners though so this could be part of it. Either way, to make sure we don’t end up with highly strung dogs or puppies, we put an emphasis on teaching them how to relax. This means lots of calm time. We make sure that being around us doesn’t only mean food, play or walks. It means relaxing, being stroked until they fall asleep, cuddling up close where they can feel our calm breathing and heartbeat. Teaching them how to transition from play to calm. We often just sit with them, either working on a computer or reading a book. This helps them understand that they are our companions, not our entertainment and visa versa. When they are calm we repeat “Good Settle” so that when we want them to be calm, we can ask them to “Settle”. So for example with my excitable dog at meal times, he will be told to “Sit” as I prepare his bowl, “Lie down” when it is on the floor in front of him, and “Settle” when he needs to settle and stop wriggling. This can be used when play is getting too rowdy. We maintain an “Indoors Calm, Outdoors Crazy” ethos for the pups growing up, we know this won’t always be the way their forever homes are run, but we believe it is a good baseline for them.
Potty Training:
Pups up to 10 weeks old will be potty/fake grass pad trained, depending on the time of year, they will still be spending more time inside than out. We have no problem transitioning them from potty pad to outdoor potty, we just put the potty pad outside and give them doggy door access, they soon get the hang of it!
- To train your pup where they can go potty, stand still and say “Go Potty” and wait until they go potty in the right place (If they sit and watch you, waiting for you to play with them, just walk around the desired potty area without interacting, until they get distracted looking for that good spot) then reward with enthusiasm, excitement, “Good Potty” and/or play/treat.
- Once the pups are tall enough to make it through the doggy door, they have free access to their outdoor dog run. We prefer this option as it means they can take care of their own potty needs as and when they want. There are times when we close the doggy door, when we are cleaning outside or training calm time. Times like these are when they tell us if they need to go out. If you do not have a doggy door set up, you will need to learn your dogs signals.
- Signs are:
- restlessness,
- maybe a little whining,
- pacing back and forth between you and the door,
- excessive drinking (seems counterproductive I know!)
- and if they are getting desperate, you will see them sniffing around for a good spot and beginning to circle it!
- They can be trained to ring a bell when they need to go out. Just make sure that there is no play when you take them out after ringing the bell. If you play with them outside after they rang the bell but before they went potty… they will ring the bell for play, not potty, they will ring the bell a lot! 🙂
“No” Training:
As Aussies are so smart, reprimands can be kept simple. We train the dogs to stop whatever they are doing when we say “No”, no need to shout, just a firm command. Sometimes we pair that with another word if it is something that comes up regularly, like “No Lick”, “No Dig”, “No Jump” etc. Shouting can cause those unpredictable responses I mentioned earlier, so a firm “No” with a gesture of some sort, I’m a fan of the finger point gesture. For male pups as they get old enough to start wanting to mark everything will respond to a well timed “No” when they are sidling up to the object (usually something that has already been marked by another dog). If it’s an appropriate object then you can reward the mark with a “Good Potty” They should have no desire to do this in the house, but it is good to keep an eye for any of that body language of sniffing and lining themselves up beside the spot in question to nip it in the bud.
Separation Training:
To minimize separation anxiety, we start getting them used to being left alone at 5 weeks of age, this the same time as we start to expand their world by letting them visit an outdoor enclosure. We start by taking all but one pup outside for supervised outdoor time. The one pup inside gets to experience a quiet house by themselves and we can observe how they manage by having someone out of sight but within earshot. They have the benefit of being in a place they know well, that is safe and comfortable. If the pup has no issue with it, we will continue to do it on rotation to make sure it stays that way. If they are uncomfortable with it, we will try a couple more times to see if it improves with practice, if not, we start to introduce background noise, like radio or puppy tv on youtube, this usually does the trick and can be used by you, their new owner, when they are learning to settle in to their new home. We advise using the same method, short sessions of being left alone to get them used to it before you need to go away for a few hours as normal life requires. This way they will learn that you will come back. They may whine, that is ok, if you can, try and only come back in the room when they are not whining, so as not to associate whining with someone else solving their problems. If they are whining for longer than usual, try leaving the radio on, or puppy tv on youtube within earshot, I avoid using regular tv as you don’t always know what is going to come on. Leaving them with a bone, new toy or one that they haven’t seen for a while (I like rope toys or zero stuffing toys as there is less of a choking hazard compared to one with stuffing) can distract them enough that by the time they get bored of it or finish eating the chew, they are already used to the fact that they are alone in a quiet house. If you have an indoor enclosure for this just make sure you have removed anything that you are uncomfortable leaving them alone with, blankets that you don’t want them to chew, toys that make loud noises, things they could climb on to escape. If you are using a crate for separation training, make sure to work on positive association with the crate first.
Crate Training:
We introduce the pups to a crate at a young age, we keep the door open and make sure it is a positive cosy space. They don’t get unsupervised access yet as a cosy covered crate may look, to the uneducated puppy, like a great place to poop! As they get older we introduce “Go to Bed”, this is their signal to go into the crate, where they will find a bit of kibble waiting for them. When they are comfortable going in and sitting in the crate, we close the door, give them a piece of kibble and open it again, then call them out with the “Puppy Come” command. This progresses to longer time in the crate (we start with a bit of kibble every 10 seconds if they are not whining.. if they are then we just get them to sit before we open the door and try again another time), then to not looking directly at them when they are in there and eventually moving a little further away. This slowly helps them get used to being happy and calm in the crate on their own for a bit longer each time. This is done very carefully to always maintain the positive experience related to the crate. It is always a place where they get a treat, get a rest or peace to chew on a bone without having to share.
If you choose to use a crate, which I recommend at least until they are through their teething phase and have earned their unsupervised free range rights, I recommend using the above method to get your pup used to the crate in your home.
MidWest iCrate Fold & Carry Single Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate
I like these crates because they are easy to fold down for road trips and won’t get damaged like fabric foldable crates. I put a blanket or towel inside for them, something that they can easily move to one side if they are too hot. And put a blanket over it to make it den like. Make sure it is something cheap that you don’t care about to begin with though as there may be some nervous chewing until the pup is settled. 36” should be the maximum size needed for them to be able to stretch out. They often come with dividers if you need to make the crate smaller. You should only need to make the crate smaller if they have had an accident in there, the smaller the space, the less likely they are to go potty in there, but hopefully it won’t come to that. Crates can often be found second hand online.
Grooming:
Our dogs have wonderful magical coats! Dirt just falls off and baths are only required if they rolled in something especially stinky! We brush them regularly as it is a nice bonding time. For this I use a slicker brush all over. I find the slicker brush works fine all year round. If you live in a hot climate you may want to use a rake to help expedite the shedding when they blow their coat in the spring. If you like to take them to a groomer, please make sure they don’t shave or cut their hair. Their top coat may not grow back the same, it may all grow to the same length rather than having the feathered long guard hairs. Some people like to trim paw hair (I would only consider this if there is some issue like dirt or snow clumping in the hair), I don’t trim their paw hair as it provides a great barrier against hot sidewalks (always check the sidewalk with your hand and if it is very hot avoid it wether they have paw hair or not) and do so called “hygiene trims” at the back end. I don’t find that to be necessary as they keep themselves nice and clean. Keep an eye on the hair behind their ears, if it is very fine then you may find small mats developing here and if you don’t catch them early they need to be cut out. The mats can be brushed out when they are small using a metal comb, but if you use the slicker here regularly (weekly should do) then it shouldn’t be a problem.
Medication:
Our dogs have been tested are not MDR1 drug sensitivity. BUT, I treat them all as if they are, only because those drugs are easy to avoid and I would rather be safe than sorry. Drugs that are macrocyclic lactones (like ivermectin) can be avoided and you can request that your vet avoid using any of those drugs too. In general I lean towards the less the better when it comes to medication. If I can find a natural alternative, that is what I will use first. I avoid putting our pups on flea and tick medications because I don’t know what their future owners preferred method may be, nor where they are going to be living. Pups that live in Colorado for example, don’t need flea and tick medication, rather using topical sprays or collars only when they are going to be out hiking in areas where they could pick things up. But in more warm and humid states, they need to consider
Extras:
Adding hand signals to your commands is a great addition to their training, they can learn to follow hand signals without vocal commands, this can be helpful in noisy environments or when you want to be quiet.
Invisible doors, you can train your pup not to go into a room or a part of the house. Just sit near the doorway and say “No” when they try to cross the threshold. They will test you to see if the “No” was related to what they were doing, so it it will take a couple of times. Then reinforce the training until they won’t cross the boundary even when they think you aren’t looking.