Giving your Australian Shepherd the Right Exercise

The Australian Shepherd is a herding dog that is very intelligent, trainable and super energetic. If not exercised properly, that pent up energy can create a lot of disharmony in the house. This breed of dog needs to and loves to run. They also love problems to solve. Obedience and agility training are great methods to allow them to use their minds in a way that won抰 leave your cupboards bare or lead to escaping fenced yards. At the very least an Australian Shepherd should be given 15 minutes of solid run time twice a day. Anything less than that and you are looking at some potential destruction inside your home. A brisk walk is a good start, but don抰 expect it to expend all of that high energy.

The good thing about Australian Shepherds is that they are highly trainable. With a little bit of time and effort, and systematic dog training you can teach your Aussie to exhaust itself. Not only will this provide a release of your beloved pets?energy, but it will also keep its mind active and stimulated. Plus it will keep a harmonious house and the enjoyment that you spend with your Australian Shepherd will create a closer bond.

There are other things that you can do to give your Australian Shepherd a little boost to their daily exercise. Dogs are pack animals and love the company of other dogs and family members. Finding another playmate can help expend some of that energy. Also, if you have children and train both kids and dogs to play nicely, they can wear each other out. You don抰 want your Aussie to chew on the kids and you don抰 want the kids to pull on the fur or get too rough with the dog, but extensive play with an Australian Shepherd should be encouraged.

You need to find some room to run. This can be a fenced in backyard or a dog park that allows off leash running and play. These are the easiest and safest places to let your Australian Shepherd run but a nice long leash, a zip line, playing tug of war, fetch and chase games in and out of the house and even off leash, open area runs are good exercise choices. Keep in mind that if you do let your Aussie off leash, you need to train them to have excellent recall. If you go for runs or long walks with your Australian Shepherd, you also want to make sure they know how to behave on a leash. You also want to make sure that the collar on an Aussie is secure as they can figure ways out of it. A good rule of thumb is to keep it tight, but allow enough room for four of your fingers to slip through.

You can also provide toys that stimulate their problem solving abilities (like a treat stuffed toy, a toy that moves on its own, etc. ?get creative). This allows them to expend some mental energy and perhaps give you a bit of a break. Remember, a tired Australian Shepherd is a happy Australian Shepherd. Make a safe play area inside the house as you will be physically interacting with your Aussie regularly and you don抰 want your breakables broken. Be sure to keep your pooch running, trained and obedient and they will gladly cuddle up with you at night.