FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Destructive Aussie

by Scott
(Iowa)

Our Aussie is a little over 2 years old. He has destroyed alot of things including kid's toys, air conditioner cover, grill cover, apple trees, and other trees. He completely obliterated our apple trees which has been there for over a year. He nips at anyone he does not know. We had church kids next door that would throw rocks at him while he was in his cage. He tries to bite our vet. He is very aggressive. My wife wants me to find a new home for him. I don't know what to do with him. We are worried what he will do next. We used to only put him in his kennel at night or when the church kids come. What should we do?

Comments for Destructive Aussie

Click here to add your own comments

Your Dog Sounds Bored
by: Jean

Do you exercise your dog and does he have a job to do? An inactive Aussie is a destructive Aussie! A game of ball once a day is not enough.

Cesar Millan's Book
by: Anonymous

I agree with Jean about the exercise. Aussies are very intelligent dogs that are high energy. If they aren't exercised enough each day, they will find ways to release that energy doing things you don't like. Cesar Millan has a great book that can help you. It's at your local library...'Be The Pack Leader'. I am using his method to train my own Aussie. He talks about exercising your dog for an hour and a half each day, then after taking him for a walk. Not letting him walk you, but using your calm assertive energy to have him walk at your side. Your dog must be in a calm submissive state before the walk, so I always play fetch with my dog before attempting the walk. It won't happen overnight, but if you work at it, it will pay off for you. Pick up the book and it will explain it a lot better than I can as my response is long enough, lol. He also has a show on tv, 'The Dog Whisperer. I think the man is a genius with dogs. Even celebrities call him to help their dogs... even aggressive ones that other ppl said should be put down. Good luck with your baby. Lisa Rogers :)

For Destructive Aussie
by: Anonymous

Sounds to me as though your dog is being caged too much. Don't understand how "church kids" could be throwing rocks while your dog is caged? Do you cage outside? I wouldn't cage the dog for the kids, why would you? They throw rocks at your dog? If you cage your dog outside, you might want to stop. Cage an animal too much, you'll have a pretty miserable animal.

cage
by: Scott

The only time we would cage the dog is at night or when the church kids come to their fellowship center. That is because we were worried he might hurt one of the kids. He is very territorial when it comes to us. He will growl and chase someone if we are outside with people other than those closest to us. We put him in the fenced in area at night because we were concerned about the coyotes. Can he be bored when the kids play with him every day? By the way the fenced in area is outside because he is an outside dog. We have had aussies since I was a kid and this is the first destructive one we have had.

Change his behavior
by: Anonymous

I am sad to hear that. I have a very alpha aussie that's turning 2 years old in May and his first year was very challenging, but I can say that he's a completely different dog from a year ago. Exercising was the main priority and socialization. He used to attack strangers on his walks, he used to chew everything ,digs whole everywhere on backyard ...We decided to changed our behavior and take charges cause my Aussie was bossing us . We took him to agility courses and obedience courses. It was very disappointing at beginning cause he was the worst student in the class. We used to say he might had ADD. We got a trainer/dog walker that would run with him for an hour 2 x a week. Yeah we invested in him and I can say that he is the most wonderful dog now. I was giving up on him taking for adoption and after reading a lot about the breed and we corrected our own behavior to fix our lovely Aussie.No more digging , biting, chewing he loves to be at service so he follow us everywhere and wait for any command all day. He comes back from his agility and go straight to his bed that exhaust him physically and mentally. Same with the jogs so if you give you Aussie 3 x a week vigorous exercise and mental stimulation he will be you dream dog. PS we are still working on his strong herding instincts he likes to chase skaters ,we have hope because he used to chase bikers too and he stopped. good luck and take charge...

Aussie
by: gayle--big run aussies

First of all, Aussies do not do well away from humans. They NEED lots of attention and contact from humans and it seems like he is not getting what he needs. As a breeder, I will not place a pup in a home if they are going to keep the pup outside. As a breed, they are bred to work closely with humans and that desire is still very strong in the breed. It seems that he is lacking in socialization and that he is destroying things out of frustration. It is called "separation anxiety". He needs more interaction with his family. He needs to be moved in the house where he can interact with his family and become part of that family. He needs positive training from an experienced trainer to repair the bond that has not really been established. Teach him tricks. Set up home made agility equipment. Do something with him that will make you and him partners and buddies. He needs to feel needed. He is an Aussie, a sensitive dog who truly needs to be needed. You are welcome to contact me personally at bgrnaussie@comcast.net

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.