training my aussie pup!

Question
We just received a full blooded aussie from a friend of ours as a gift.  She is approximately 4 months old and already is house-trained.  We prefer to let her stay outside, but do sometimes bring her in to sleep.  Since we have let her in a couple of days here and there, we are having a hard time teaching her to stay at the door and not run in.  Is there an easier way to train her to stay at the door?  

Also, we tried to train her to walk besides us on a leash, but she bucked so hard and thru her head from side to side, I thought she was going to hurt her self.  I have people to suggest getting a choker chain to train her to walk on a leash. But I can't bare the thought of this...could you suggest a better way?

We are trying to decide whether we want to breed her, I have found out this would be really hard for people that work outside the home to accomplish.  We have a lot of dogs around us and even though we have 8 ft. fences are still afraid that the great dane that lives beside us could get over the fence with no trouble when our aussie goes in heat.  Could you tell me about what age do they go in heat the first time?  Do you recommend getting her spayed/neutered before her first heat or after?

I know these are alot of questions, but would greatly appreciate any answers you could give.

Thanks,
CJ  

Answer
First off, I would not suggest you breed this dog unless you have solid information about her parents that includes health testing for hip dysplasia and eye problems, as well as reasonable assumption that her lines are free from epilepsy.  The Aussie breed has a very small gene pool, and the last thing that's needed are more puppies that carry genetic diseases.  Get yourself a mentor from the Aussie club before you consider breeding.  And, review the information at www.wonderpuppy.net on what constitutes responsible breeding so that you will not fall into the category of irresponsible breeding.

The way to teach her not to barge is through training.  Aussies do fabulously well with clicker training because they are so biddable and smart.  There are free step by step lessons at www.clickerlessons.com. You really do need to start at the beginning, but these dogs learn very fast.  If you have trouble, get help from a positive reinforcement trainer who has experience with the herding breeds.

As to walking on leash, you simply introduced the leash too quickly.  What I suggest first is to introduce it in the house.  Let the puppy sniff the leash while you feed it a tidbit. Or, while she eats dinner, lay the leash on the floor next to her bowl.  In a safe area (where the leash will not catch on things) allow the pup to wear it, but just drag it around.  Next, pick up the leash, but do not try to direct the pup - just let her feel the light weight of it in your hand.  When you do pick it up to walk, let the pup run out of leash, but YOU stop, so that she doesn't get to pull you along.  See the lesson on loose leash walking at the site I gave you.

You can also get an Easy Walk Harness (good for you for not wanting to choke your dog!).  It's available at most Petco/Petsmart, and online at Amazon.  An Aussie will probably take a size medium full grown.  My dog is a medium and she is 19" high with a 20" girth.

Do not leave your dog outdoors AT ALL when she is in heat.  Even if the Dane can't jump or claw his way in, it would be no trouble at all for a Border Collie to climb such a fence, so if there are any unneutered dogs within a mile, please don't take the chance!  I recommend that you spay the dog at about age six months, before the first heat.  You reduce the chance of mammary tumors, and you prevent unwanted litters at the same time.