Aussie help

Our aussie is a little over a year old.My 11 year old son took her through obedience and will be showing her in 4H this year.She's from strong working lines and parents have herding titles.She's calm and mellow in the house but is in her own little world when playing fetch.She is also standoffish and suspicious when new people come to the house which is not uncommon.Jewelee is in Michigan and may know breeders there.The Aussie Rescue Placement Helpline....or ARPH is a good place to start for an adoption.

Tena

 I have had my Aussie for almost 6 yrs and he has never met a person he did not like, I have heard they are suppose to be standoffish with strangers but that has never been my experience. When ever we pass someone on the street Kobi always leans his head towards them hoping for a pet. I have no doubt he would gladly walk away with a perfect stranger unless I was near as he is my velcro dog. Kobi was typically energetic as a puppy but is very calm and low key as an adult. We are always stepping over him as he lies around. Here is a link to a very extensive Aussie rescue page: http://aussierescue.leepfrog.com/ If you read the descriptions you will find Aussies can range from high energy to loads. LOL!

Hi, I'm mostly just a lurker... and don't post much, but, as some one mentioned, Aussie Rescue and Help.... ARHP is a good resource.

Second Time Around Aussie Rescue (STAAR) also maintains a national list of aussies needing homes.

 I PM'd you the name of a breeder I know... she may be able to help, as well.

 If they want an Aussie and it needs to be a "people dog", then don't get a puppy.  Go through rescue and grab a young adult dog that has already formed its character.  The truth is that many Aussies are genetically pre-programmed NOT to love strangers, and even when extensively socialized as pups, that trait develops as they mature.  ARPH is usually pretty good about evaluating which Aussies are the more friendly variety.  However...

I found this girl on petfinder.  She's deaf and needs fencing, but is a registered therapy dog with a CGC and IN MICHIGAN!!!  Only three years old and loves everyone.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12573511

 What a great find SpiritDogs!

Luna will greet all people with a wiggle butt, but unless someone is going to work with her (i.e. C/T her), she will ignore them and any attempts them make to get her to work or do tricks. She's very independent, and not exactly super family dog material. 

That being said, there are a ton of Aussies who are. It's just a matter of finding them, and like SpiritDogs said, the chances are better when you are looking at adults.

Julie should be along before too long and she volunteers with them in Mich. She may know who they have available, etc.

Oh how cute!  I'll send that too my aunt.  They don't have a fence though and I'm assuming their HOA doesn't not allow them unless they are e-fences (they live in a REALLY nice gated community, I can't recall seeing any fences).

I don't think the dog has to be super friendly, just good for living indoors.  I don't think my aunt realizes that really ANY dog can live indoors.  That's what she means by a "people" dog (as opposed to a dog that lives outdoors and sleeps in a dog house).  The family is my aunt and uncle (uncle is not really into animals so probably would not have much to do with the dog anyway, aunt loves dogs), my cousin who is 12, and her older brother who is in high school.  I don't think my older cousin (the brother) cares too much about dogs either.  He has a cockatiel in his room and that's his pet.  So it would really just be my 12 year old cousin and my aunt who would care for the dog and my aunt said my cousin MUST take obedience

 If you want to know the breeder that I got Neiko from I'll PM you. She just had a litter and has a couple black tris available that are super cute.

 If you want a rescue dog I can help find you a good one through aussie rescue. In fact, there's a beautiful young red merle, that looks like Abbie, available in northern OH. The rep there keeps sending me his pictures in hopes that I will want to adopt him lol. She knows I'm a sucker for reds. She wants him to go to the right home so is holding off on posting him publicly.

Then there's Bandit - black bi - he sounds like he would might be a good fit:

Bandit is an adorable black and white male. He's about 1 year old, neutered, micro-chipped and up-to-date on his shots. He's a smaller guy at around 30 lbs.

 Bandit is fine with other dogs and would enjoy a playful dog buddy to romp with. He will chase cats if they run, but if they stand their ground he will leave them alone. Bandit loves people and is a constant companion to the young girl in his foster home. He will bark when someone  comes to the door but then quickly shows them where the cookies are. He is crate trained and reliably housebroken. He loves stuffed animals and will carry them around the house.

 Bandit is very eager to please and would probably excel at obedience or agility, and would love to herd sheep. His foster mom describes him as "an awesome puppy."

And Melody, black tri: 

 Melody is a 9 month old black tri female.  She is on the smaller side but remember that dynamite comes in small packages.  She is great with other dogs and is currently living with two other aussies that she tussles with daily.  As you can tell from the one picture, she is also good with cats.  She has been around various kinds of livestock and is fine with all of them.  She is definitely a velcro dog who will stay by your side no matter where you go.  She loves to ride in the car.  Even though she loves to be a rough and tumble aussie girl, she can settle nicely when she is in the house.  She is a medium energy aussie.  She would excel in almost anything that you wanted her to do be it obedience, agility, flyball or just being your buddy. She is fine with children.  She is spayed, up to date on all of her vaccinations and is microchipped.  She is crate trained and housebroken.  

 We have several more available for adoption as well. You don't necessarily have to get one from MI either. Once approved you can get one from all over, transportation can be arranged. Its best to meet the dog first though, of course. ARPH has a 30 day no questions asked return policy if the dog does not work out.

 Once approved for adoption, your cousin can get in our yahoo group to see all aussies that become available. We offer them first to our approved adopters, then if there's no takers, we list them on pet finder. We also post about aussies that are available by other means, private rescues, shelters, and so on. We don't always pull from shelters btw. If a shelter is no kill and the dog is doing ok, we most likely won't take it in.

 No dog is allowed in ARPH with a bite history as well.

 Liesje, since it's you, I know I don't have to tell you that most Aussies need a job, whether it's agility, frisbee, obedience, or herding.  But, for the lurkers out there, this is not a couch potato breed.  Although many of them settle nicely in the house when the work is done, they do need to be mentally and physically stimulated each day, lest they make up their own activities which the humans may not appreciate.  A deaf dog should really have solid fencing, too, since she cannot hear what might sneak up on her from behind, and you don't want her to be frightened by the sudden appearance of the next door neighbor's dog or a child coming onto the property.  Yet another reason I hate e-fences.  They don't keep anyone OUT.

Aussies are fine indoors (they house train faster than most breeds), so long as their exercise needs are met, but they do shed quite a bit, show dogs more than working dogs which have the more moderate coat.