thay say to give a Australian Shepherd a job to do what do they mean he will be a family dog not a farm dog?

Answer 1

Your dog may decide his job is to remove all the boards from your house, dig out all the tree roots in your yard, herd every two-legged creature within a mile to your garage, etc. You must figure out what you want him to do: pick up clothes from the floor and put them in a basket (but then you can't put things on the floor that don't belong in the basket), bring in newspaper, follow the kids around and keep them together, or whatever.

Answer 2

Doesn't mean you have to have him fill out applications and send him on job interviews (although he'd probably be smarter than at least half the applicants for any position!), but it means that you have to keep him busy. Both physically and mentally. That's a breed that becomes almost neurotic if it gets bored.

And if THAT happens, he'll find his own "job" ... but you probably won't like the way he chooses to occupy himself. He might decide to "herd" all your houseplants into the bathtub if he thinks they need watering. Maybe he'll start a remodeling job in the living room while you aren't home ... hey, you didn't need that wall, did ya? See where I'm going?

He definitely needs obedience training ... early and constant ... not because he's difficult, but because he will LOVE it. And he will excel at it, too ... yes he will! They're so intelligent. Anything that works his brain.

Exercise, and lots of it ... and then some more exercise. Throw a frisbee till your arm falls off. Take an agility course. Join a flyball league. The more energy he can burn off, the happier you BOTH will be! Good Luck!

Answer 3

Australian shepards are hearding dogs. They are most happy with a job to do. He will make a great family dog as long as he is fully exercised and gets a chance to nurture natural heardinh instincts. He would be happiest on a farm, hearding horses, cows or sheep, but this is not to say that he wouldn't be as long as you follow the suggestions above.

Answer 4

Just simply means that an Aussie Shepherd is a working dog and needs to work. ie: Something to keep his mind occupied. This can be anything from learning to sit (in the early days) through to agility, dancing, frisbee or any other dog sport.

Put another way - you know how happy a dog looks when you are playing fetch with it - well that's because you have given it a job to do. They are wired to want to please. If you don't give them something to do they cannot please you and will go looking for ways to please you, only problem is there aren't a lot of constructive ways for a dog to behave without direction.

My dogs (BC's) go completely nutty when it rains for a few days and I don't train them inside. If they do training sessions(working) then they will cope with the lack of exercise because they are stimulated.

Answer 5

This means that you have a breed of dog that is both mentally and physically active. You have to wear the out the dog and his mind. Do this through positive outlets. Get you dog involved with some dog sport (agility or flyball.) Make sure you do obedience, and exercise like crazy. If your dog feels like it has a purpose then it will be a happy dog. "job" means to keep your dog stimulated. It really is just a way of saying they are smart and need to use their minds.

Answer 6

This is not to imply that you need to go buy a flock of sheep....you just need to realize that you have chosen a working breed of dog, and as such, you need to keep him mentally and physically busy. The physical part can be accomplished as simply as regular exercise....a good long walk or run- not a quicky stroll around the block, to challenge him mentally, you can start with basic obedience- think of it as a puzzle for the dog to solve- trying to reason out just what it is you want him to do and earning your praise or rewards by doing it. You can also try things like agility, fly ball, rally. We play little games with our boy- now that he knows how to retrieve a toy or a ball- we put him in a sit/stay, show him the toy or ball, then hide it in an adjacent room...return to the dog and tell him to "go get it"....its amazing to watch them figure out things like this- like seeing a 2 or 3 year old child running to tell you "I did it myself".....

Answer 7

You just need to walk him every single day. You can get a "backpack" for him from your petstore that straps around them and sits on thier back. Fill it with bottled water or any heavy objects when you walk him. Put your groceries from the store in it if you want. This will give him a job to do and burn off more energy when you dont have two hours to jog with him.

Answer 8

that breed becomes bored VERY easily, and if u dont give it something to do like excersizing, training, and stuff like that, it will become VERY destructive, maybe even agressive. try teaching him new, and hard tricks, bc australian shepherds are extemely smart, and do very well in obedience classes. if u can, take it to the dog park (well if u have the dog) to meet new dogs and people.

Answer 9

Get involved with Agility, tracking, herding etc...

Answer 10

we had one and I would take her out to this big field let her off her leash and let her do her thing which was to run in a giant circle, she would do it as long as I would let her which normally an hour or two... take a book!