It's time for Tuesdays' Show & Tail' over at Angela's West Virginia Treasures! If you have a cute story and picture of a pet, or any furry (or non-furry) friend, you are welcome to join in! Check her blog for the rules, post away - and thanks, Angela, for being our host!
Today's featured pet is our Australian Shepherd, Nitro. We got him as a 2 month old puppy about 6 years ago - he was such a sweet baby, but also one of the hardest pups I have ever had to housebreak!!! He crate trained easily, but had no qualms about eliminating in his crate!It was a frustrating time for me - I got up at 2am every morning to potty him, then went back to bed, and up again at around 5am for another potty time....He did learn to pee on command when I took him outside - when I told him "Go Potty!" he would do so within a moment or two. But, sometimes there was a dry crate, and sometimes not! He was becoming an embarrassment!
When he turned 4 months of age we were ready to give up. We put his crate in a large and nicely bedded horse stall, and that was where he went for the rest of the night. Something must have clicked, however, because all of a sudden - - he stopped eliminating in the stall, crate or the house! I don't know how to explain it; it just "happened", and to this day, he is the best house dog you could ask for!
One year we took Nitro to the Aussie Picnic, a fund raiser that Aussie Rescue put on. They had an event where you could test your Aussie's herding instinct, and it was fun to watch an experienced trainer put Nitro through his paces! At first he was hesitant to go near any of the sheep - he was always taught "NO!" when it came to chasing our horse or other pets. But, when he got the go ahead and encouragement from the trainer, he showed his Aussie skills, and did a fine job, making us very proud to say he was our dog!
For anyone who might be considering an Aussie for their next dog, they are a wonderful choice if you like lots of activity! Aussies can excel in agility, herding, fly ball, and frisbee! They are also a gentle breed of dog and fiercely loyal to their families. Aussies are a 'people dog', and will insist on being near you, with one or more of their body parts touching you- and yes, Nitro thinks he is a LAP DOG!
6 comments:
Oh he looks so cute on your lap with his buddy. Nice to 'see' you.
So Nitro did good at gathering the sheep?
You have the sweestest bunch.
NITRO is sure a good name for those Aussies -- they are exploding with energy!!!
He's cute! I have a friend who has Aussies. They are cool dogs!
Living it up at Lakewood,
Cindy
Nitro is soooo cute! Isn't it funny how he somewhat potty trained himself. Who knows what goes on in their heads.
How does Nitro get along with the corgi's? Is he much bigger than they are? And I'm also wondering who is beside of Nitro in the last picture with you? I'm full of questions today!
Thanks for joining in again this week!
Tuesdays' Show & Tail!
Angela
I just love seeing your guys on your lap! What a couple of cuties! Glad Nitro learned the fine art of potty training. Having cats is a much easier lifestyle, but I DO love dogs! Hope you're having a great Christmas Season,
blessings, Debra
Aussie's sound a lot like Border Collies. Our neighbor's have 2 Aussies and a Australian Cattle Dog. They are great dogs for them... not so great for us. When they turn them loose, they come over HERE to chase our horses, and they are the ones that fuss with our dogs.
They have been keeping them on long chains and in runs lately so that they won't come over (it is the new Cattle dog pup that has a wander-lust and corrupted their other young male) We have GREAT neighbors... I wish we could figure out how to break their dogs from coming over here, but I think they just get really bored since their people are gone all day to work.
When dogs are TOO smart, they tend to get themselves into trouble if they get bored... I didn't know pups could make so much "confetti!"
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