Specific Nervous/Scared/Agressive Issues

First off, bones have a much higher value than balls, etc.  Even used bones.  In our home, unless someone is actively chewing on a bone, it is returned to the toy box.  Leaving them lying around tends to invite snappish, or resource guarding behavior.

I think if this were my dog, I would gently remove her from situations where other dogs are getting all "up in her stuff".  She is saying that she doesn't like the familiarity and basically telling them to get out of her personal space.  She is probably more comfortable with the ones she doesn't get snarky with, and that's why she allows their behavior.  I personally don't enjoy dog parks....I find watching my dogs backs to be exhausting, and simply find other places for them to play and run.

I'm not a trainer, have no real qualifications other than being an old dog hand, but my common sense tells me that this girl is being exposed to stuff beyond her comfort level.  there are ways to desensitize her, but I'm not great at explaining so will leave that to someone who might actually be able to make sense explaining!

I don't know how much research you did on Aussies before getting these dogs, but just because they are small doesn't mean they don't act like Aussies;-)  I'm a trainer and I don't force my dogs to "enjoy" a bone in the company of another dog.  It's relatively easy to teach dogs not to guard from their human companions, but not so easy with dogs, so it's safer to just separate them when they are chowing down on the good stuff.  That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be taught to "leave it" or "come" to you when you ask, but reactions between dogs are so lightning fast that humans are often too late to intervene, even with a spectacularly obedient dog.

Many, if not most, Aussies are born with, or develop, a reserve with strangers (including strange dogs), and some stop playing with any but familiar dogs once they are out of adolescence.  That's normal behavior for them.  If you want an eternally friendly or playful dog that gets along with other dogs for life, choose a Lab or a Hound, perhaps, not an Aussie.  That doesn't mean they should be aggressive, but a little snarkiness and "persnicketyness" is normal in terms of who some of them accept or not.   Most herding dogs hate Boxers and Huskies because they have a very forward (Aussies think it's rude) style of approach.  The quick answer is that your dog doesn't want to play with rude dogs, and wants them out of her face.  Did you ever feel like distancing yourself from a guy who has bad breath but wants to talk to you while standing three inches from your face?  That's how she feels LOL.  If she's getting that worked up, why torment her by forcing her to accept a ton of strange dogs coming in to her territory? (Did you read the Australian Shepherd breed standard?  If not, go look at the section on temperament - it specifically says that Aussies have a strong herding and guarding instinct - that sometimes translates into the behavior your female is exhibiting - she'll walk with another dog on someone else's territory, but doesn't want them to violate hers.  One reason why Aussie people are so against miniaturizing this breed is that people get them as pets and then cannot deal with the temperament of what was supposed to be a working dog, and I think now you might have some understanding why they often don't last as pets in some homes that are less committed than yours.  Hopefully, you can gain a better understanding of your dog's hard wired tendencies, do some training to make her more responsive to you, but also give her a break and put her away when you know that people or dogs who make her nuts are there.  The more she practices that behavior, the better she will get at it, and there's no sense risking that someday she will get sick of it all and plant a tooth in someone's rear.  The good news now is that you did a good enough job socializing her that she seems to have excellent bite inhibition!

Just a side note - any Aussie that develops aggression should have a complete thyroid panel done.  Hypothyroidism is relatively common in Aussies, but easily treated. 

So-called Miniature Aussies are often ill-bred because the reputable Aussie breeders will not sell their breeding stock to anyone who wants to miniaturize the dogs.  They ask that people not call these dogs Mini Aussies, but rather another name that does not link them to the Aussie breed - too bad it's thus far fallen on deaf ears...  Reputable breeders are working very hard to rid the Aussie gene pool, which is quite small anyway, of some of the genetic disorders that plague the breed, and unsound temperament is one of those things.  In any case, I always tell people who decide to get one anyway, or who rescue a mini to get pet insurance just in case. 

Sorry if what I say offends you, but that's how many of us Aussie owners see it.

 I don't own an Aussie, but I do own a Corgi. Anyone in her space is immediately reprimanded.

I think what we are all saying here is that this is NOT abnormal behavior.

glenmar

I think what we are all saying here is that this is NOT abnormal behavior.

4HAND

glenmar

I think what we are all saying here is that this is NOT abnormal behavior.

I have two Aussies and agree with this statement.Mine don't care to get familiar with dogs outside our home and I would not care to make them uncomfortable by allowing visiting dogs loose in our home or taking them to dog parks where loose dogs could infringe on their sense of order:) Funny you should say that about Boxer play style.While attending obedience class with our female Aussie a Boxer blew his recall and began to romp around the building in a hilarious display.My son did not have a tight grip on our girl's leash and she broke free to put an end to the foolishness.Thankfully she recalled immediately.The break in protocol was too much for her serious work ethic. To the OP I guess I wouldn't see this as something to "fix" so much as something to be mindful when other dogs are around.

LOL, I had to laugh at your description of your dog putting an end to the foolishness.  My girl acts like the "fun police" too when things get out of hand (that would be *her* definition of out of hand).  Not at all uncommon for herding dogs to do this, and it's the most frequent reason for them being asked to leave play groups.  No one else can have any fun while they're there;-)  At least mine will "leave it" when asked, but she still gets in a few licks when I slack off...

Anyway, manage the bone chewing. Never leave them down for long and if the older dog gets snarky about the bone then take it away. You will notice that having the bone vs not having the bone is a lot more stressful for that dog. The dog does not want the stress of having to guard the bone. So don't feel guilty for taking it away. Always trade though until the dog has a solid drop it and leave it.

The 2nd word of advice is that I strongly believe your older dog is not a good candidate for day care or dog parks. Your dog is attacking because it is uncomfortable with dogs in its face. This is what goes on all day at day care. So all this anxiety builds on your dog time after time. This reactivity will continue to get worse.

Dogs coming to the home. I have 3 aussies and they are fine with dogs coming in the home. Abbie will get a little snarky but after a while she relaxes. Until she relaxes I manage things by giving her time outs (her or the other dog crated), I give her extra attention, exercise, etc. I control what rooms are open or closed to dogs based on how important abbie thinks those rooms are. So basically what I'm saying is manage manage manage

spiritdogs, thanks for the info on the thyroid panel. I dont think that she is really aggressive but if it gets bad or next time I am at the vet I may get that done. However, please think about what you type before you do. I am sure that you meant well but what you typed made me feel awful. I did a lot of research on the Australian Shepherd breed and fully understood what I was getting into. I was just looking for some extra support/ advice on how to help my dogs to be better. I understand and feel your thoughts about some people that get Aussies without doing any research on them however, I can assure you that I am not one of those so I was offended by how you worded your reply. 

Secondly, for you to tell me that my dogs are not real Aussies, and they should not be linked to the breed is awful. Think about what you are doing before you type things about other people’s dogs "plaguing" the breed. Why do you think that a "normal" size Aussie is any better? There are good breeders and bad breeders for both regular and smaller Aussies, and for any breed. I will give you the following: I believe that I got my oldest from a puppy mill with out knowing(huge mistake and if I knew what I knew now I would not have done that - but I would not take her back for anything). This could explain some of her difficulties vs her brother. I got her before I knew much about puppy mils and did a TON of research on behavior, psychology, etc. My second one was from a very reputable breeder and he is just fine as were his brothers and sisters. So I will support that there are good and bad breeders but to say that smaller versions of a breed should not exists is not right. When you say they have an unsound temperament, what does that mean? Didnt you just tell me that my Aussie was "normal?"

Forgive me if I am being a bit defensive but I think any of you would be.

 Another time,

THANKS AGAIN!

I'm sorry you were offended, and I'm not suggesting that your dogs aren't nice pets, but my chosen breed is the Australian Shepherd and I don't apologize for trying to educate you.  I'm known around here for being blunt, but please note that I never said you shouldn't love your dogs or do the best for them - we all do that even if our dogs are of unknown parentage and came to us through a shelter, like two of mine did.  But, still...

From the ASCA web page:

"The Miniature Australian Shepherd, North American Shepherd, North American Miniature Australian Shepherd, and/or Toy Australian Shepherd breeds are not recognized as a variety of Australian Shepherd by ASCA. The club considers such dogs to be a distinct and separate breed and will not accept them into its registry.  Our bylaws state that ASCA's purpose is: 'To encourage members and breeders to accept one breed standard for the Australian Shepherd as approved by the Club as the only standard of excellence by which Australian Shepherds shall be judged.' It is the mission of this club ASCA and the mission of its members to preserve the breed rather than change it." 

I didn't make up my statement - this is the official position of the Australian Shepherd Club of America.  Similar sentiments are expressed here: http://www.australianshepherds.org/miniaussie.html

For the lurkers here... Reputable breeders generally belong to their respective breed club and they show, trial, or work their breeding stock so that buyers can be confident in their prospective puppy's ability to perform as a show dog, working dog, or lovely companion.  In Aussies, the minimum genetic testing that is usually done is OFA or PennHip to test for hip dysplasia and CERF for eye anomalies.  Your breeder should be able to supply you with that information for several generations back, as well as provide you with any titles the pup's ancestors earned.  Reputable breeders generally sell pet puppies on a spay/neuter contract and will take the pup back for life if for any reason you can no longer continue to care for it.

Attempting to pour oil on troubled waters......

Anytime a breed is miniturized, you get a smaller version of the same working dog.  So you have all the long bred work ethics and needs in a little package.  This smaller package often encourages people to take a small, but powerfully inclined WORKING dog, home to suburbia.  Working dogs have an inbred need to work, regardless of their size.

My dogs have been taught from a very young age to accept periodic fosters into our home and they are fine with those.  However, a visiting dog?  A dog on the street that gets in their faces?  They take offense, as your girl has done. 

When I started with shepherds I thought I knew about dogs.  A dog is a dog, right?  I've had dogs all my adult life.  Nope, a WORKING dog is not the same as a regular dog and I learned, much to my dismay, if I didn't give them a job to do, they would find their own, which often included eating large pieces of furniture.  And reading and researching is all fine and good, but it doesn't BEGIN to give you a real idea what the breed is going to be like in REAL life.  Wow.  Did I every have to learn in a major hurry!

Please try to understand that sometimes people who are passionate about a breed tend to get a little carried away and maybe sound more unkind than they meant to sound.  And unfortunately, the internet doesn't let us see faces so it's harder to interrupt passion vs just unkindness.

This is a nice community and ALL of us are nice people who are always willing to help, so I hope that you'll feel free to continue to ask questions here.

Jewliee, also how does your dog react when she gets "snarky?" What does she do?

by snarky I mean, she will follow the new dog around and basically try to tell the new dog that all things in the house belong to her and the new dog is not allowed to touch it. She'll give the dog a stare and other body language that tells another dog to knock it off or you will get bit. She'll "correct" the dog. Mostly it sounds a lot worse than it is. A lot of noise and some snapping but nothing serious (never does damage). 

Totally understood. Also fully understand the idea that smaller versions of the working dogs could encourage people buy more based on size(they  just want a small dog) rather than breed, however like mentioned above that does not make them any less of the breed than they are so why call them different? Could be fighting an uphill battle…but for the sake of discussion and curiosity….If you change the name or not call them Australian Shepherds don’t you think that people would be more apt to get them because they are small and cute and would have no relation to another breed that they could be familiar with?

From what was mentioned earlier the reason that miniature Aussies are poorly breed most of the time is because normal sized Australian Shepherd breeders will not allow others to breed their dogs for a smaller size. Do you think that if they did that we could have smaller Aussies with none or less of the “defects” that you were talking about? Why couldn’t Australian Shepherds be recognized like the poodle family?

I guess that I don't focus on if the breed is recognized by the AKC (etc) but more on the behaviors and psychology of dogs in general, that is probably where my disconnect is. I think that breed mostly denotes what the dogs physical, psychological, and habitual tendencies could be. My apologies for causing a ruckus, I am done. Thank you for the discussion, got me a little wound up but I did learn a bit. J

That is good info about your dogs and fostering. That is what brought my questions about, we are looking to foster soon and wanted to make sure that my dogs would be accepting if we went forward with it. It sounds like you have had success, which is encouraging.

Once again, THANKS A TON! You were all very helpful.

Please remember that I started with my dogs YOUNG to accept fosters.  Many of them as young as a few months.  And fosters to not ever usurp the place of my resident dogs.  They are loved and given attention, but they do not get priveleges above and over my crew.