Why I Love the Australian Shepherd

I love all dogs, but Australian shepherd dogs will always hold a special place in my heart. The Australian shepherd is the dog breed that made me fall in love with dogs in general. In this article, I will explain a few reasons why I love Australian shepherds so much and why you might want to consider an Aussie as your next pet.

First of all, let me say that I respect the opinions and the experience of dog behaviorists, but I contest their assertion that Australian shepherds are not a good choice for first-time or inexperienced dog owners.

I met my Australian shepherd dog Frida when I was seven years old. Frida was living with my great aunt at the time and they lived next door to us when we moved to Oracle, AZ. I met Frida and my great aunt Jane shortly after moving here and I was so grateful to have them next door since all my friends were in the city I had left.

When my family lived in the city of Tucson, one of our next-door neighbors owned two pit bull terriers that always scared my Dad and, therefore, me. I had seen the dogs several times myself. They jumped high enough for me to see their heads pop up over the fence and their bark was ferocious. My Dad was always angry at these neighbors and worried that their dogs would jump the fence and come into our yard while I was playing out there.

So, since we didn’t have any dogs of our own and most of my encounters with dogs up to age seven was mostly negative, I was kind of scared of dogs, even little ones. (My great grandma had a snappy Chihuahua.)

My great aunt Jane’s dog Frida completely changed my mind about dogs. Frida was medium-sized, fluffy, cuddly, and a sweetheart. Frida hadn’t been raised around children, but she loved children nonetheless. She was spayed, but she was always so gentle and nurturing around the little ones that we often called her the little mama dog.

Dog behaviorists assert that because Australian shepherds are so smart, they also have a tendency to be cunning and manipulative, which makes them capable of outsmarting their owners and trying to be the boss in their owners’ place. I don’t doubt that there are Aussies like this, but this was not Frida. She had no problem minding me and my brother even though we were children.

When my great aunt Jane died, I inherited her dog Frida. I was thirteen years old at the time and I did most of the hands-on work of training and taking care of Frida. Frida never challenged my authority.

To say that Australian shepherd dogs aren’t good dogs for inexperienced owners is, in my opinion, not really fair. If my family and I listened to what the “experts” had to say about Aussies in this regard and gave Frida away, we would have missed out on an opportunity to have a unique, wonderful dog!

Okay, now that I’ve given you a little bit of back story, here are a few reasons why I love Aussies and why you should consider having one as your next dog:

1. Australian shepherds are an agreeable size. Australian shepherds are small to medium-sized dogs, making them one of the best choices for a variety of people and lifestyles that require a dog that’s not too big and not too small.
   
   Standard-sized Australian shepherds are large enough to be able to handle some “rough” handling from people, especially young children, but they’re small enough to not take up a lot of space or eat a large chunk out of your monthly budget.

Plus, I may want to get a second dog if my current dog seems discontent being the only dog in the house. It would be easier to afford to own a pair of Australian shepherds than it would be to own a pair of larger breeds. (A small dog could do just as well as a doggy playmate, but sometimes it’s just easier to keep two dogs of similar size.)

2. Australian shepherds are a guard dog that you wouldn’t expect. In today’s litigious society, many dog owners are worried about owning a dog that’s at high risk for biting the wrong person. Yet, there are also a large number of people who see the value of having a dog that can protect them and their belongings.
   
   Australian shepherds aren’t as popular as Labrador retrievers or German shepherds. Most people can easily recognize a German shepherd or a Labrador and become leery by the former and relaxed to a fault by the latter. I mean that because Labradors are so well-known for being sweet, friendly dogs, you are at much greater risk of getting assaulted on the street if you were walking with a Labrador than if you were walking with a German shepherd.
   
   Having an Australian shepherd at your side is a good way to not immediately alarm people but to keep them guessing. Australian shepherds are usually either friendly and smiling or standoffish with strangers, but not aggressive.
   
   However, because Australian shepherds were bred to herd and protect their flocks, they do have a protective instinct. Do I believe that an Australian shepherd is as likely to protect me as a German shepherd would be? No, but I know they certainly can be good guard dogs.
   
   I have written testimonies from a couple different Aussie breeders that their dogs are, in fact, protective guard dogs. I’ve also seen a YouTube video of Australian shepherds “attacking a bad guy” during a protection dog training session.
   
   My Australian shepherd dog Frida was an example of an Aussie that could keep you guessing. Most of the time, she was so sweet that you’d never know that she had a mean bone in her body.
   
   Whenever wild animals of various kinds intruded onto our property to raid our garden or compost pile, though, we’d let Frida out after them and she’d send them back down the driveway (sometimes with help from the humans and a bee-bee gun)! This leads me to my next reason for why Australian shepherds are such awesome dogs.
   
   
3. Aussies are courageous. Making livestock animals that are larger and stronger than you are move where you want them to move is a tough job. Warding off determined predators is a tough job. Some Aussies are more brash than others, but they can be taught  when to be assertive and when to exercise impulse control.
   
   It’s nice to know that a dog doesn’t have to be huge and imposing to still make a good deterrent for humans and animals!
   
   
4. Aussies are easy to train. I can’t say that Aussies won’t challenge your authority at times, but honestly, I don’t think there are any dog breeds out there that won’t challenge your authority.
   
   Dogs aren’t perfect. Any dog can have its moments when it values something else more than it values you and will do whatever it takes to get what it wants. I think this is why dog behaviorists say that Australian shepherds are difficult dogs for first-time dog owners. Some dogs are more likely to test your leadership than others are.
   
   I’ve only owned one Aussie, so there’s always more to learn. At this point, though I’d say the jury is still out on how difficult Australian shepherds are really. I had an Australian shepherd as my first dog and she was easy to train. Frida almost always minded me and my other family members. She wasn’t ornery and manipulative with us at all!
   
   
5. Aussies are adaptable. You don’t have to own farm animals to have a good place for an Aussie to live. As long as an Aussie is provided an outlet for his herding instinct, which can be done in various ways, he will do just fine in a variety of living situations. One of the Aussie’s highest priorities in life is being wherever his humans are.
   
   The way my Aussie used her herding instinct was through chasing wild animals out of our garden. She combined her herding and protective instincts to intimidate and “herd” various wild animals off of our land. It was wonderful to watch!
   
   
6. Few dogs fit as homestead business partners as well as the Australian shepherd. I love all dog breeds, but I admit to a bias towards the Australian shepherd! It’s not that other dogs aren’t equally wonderful in their own unique ways, but when I, as a business owner, am looking for the right employees or business partners to help my business succeed, I need workers that can be trusted to do the job rightly the first time.

Do you have your own Australian shepherd? Have you owned Australian shepherds previously? How accurate would you say the facts I present in this article are? I’d love to hear your comments. We can learn together!

You Can’t Escape Genetics in the Dog World

I try not to get too worked up or seem like I favor one side more than the other, but this needs to be said.

I recently read a re-homing story of a currently, as of August 31, 2023, adoptable Siberian husky named Orion. His story is the prime example of a few important lessons people would do well to learn before bringing a dog home:

1. Do your research.

2. Do not turn a blind eye to a dog’s breed in the name of rescue or for any other reason.

3. Don’t judge people who favor certain breeds and disapprove of others.

I’ve copied and pasted Orion’s adoption story here so you can look back on it after the adoption post gets deleted upon his re-home:

“Meet Orion

This poor guy had a really, really rough life before he came to us, and we’re so glad we are able to give him a second chance. We first saw him show up on the euthanasia list at MCACC and planned to evaluate him for intake. That same day we received an anonymous message pleading with us to take him and giving details on how he lived before he came to the shelter.

Orion had been neglected and severely beaten many times growing up. His original owners had him since he was a puppy, and once he became a normal husky – big, adventurous, high-energy – they mostly kept him outside, though he did still have some indoor access at the time. The owners decided it would be a good idea to get chickens, doing no research on a husky’s prey drive. Well, Ori couldn’t help himself and he killed a chicken. He was beaten so severely for it that he was too scared to let anyone approach him or to come into the house for a full 7 months after that.

Eventually, the oldest child in the home was able to get Ori to come back in before the family was leaving for a vacation. Unfortunately, after having not been in the home for so long, Ori was then left with other pets, including multiple cats, with no human contact for 3+ days. They ran out of food quickly and who knows if they had enough water as no one checked on them. Close to the end of the trip, Orion unfortunately killed one of their cats.

Huskies do have prey drives. We are sorry for the loss of the cat, but this was so, so, so avoidable, and the abuse Orion endured has contributed to the dog he is today. He is definitely more skittish, and this is why he was so quickly e-listed at county.

It took him some time in his foster home, but once Ori feels comfortable he becomes the sweetest boy. He is a big couch potato and loves hanging out with his humans. Once he starts to trust, he will give you subtle cues with a poke of his nose which gradually turns into a poke with the paw and eventually turns into him crawling on your lap. He gives the most gentle kisses and will be your best friend in time. He still does react skittishly to quick movements and loud noises, but having a safe space like a kennel helps him a lot.

He is great with other dogs and has a very distinct “on / off” switch when it comes to playtime. Inside means sleeping on the couch, but once he’s outside he loves to run and play with other medium to large dogs. He has shown no aggression or guarding towards humans. He walks ok on a leash if you don’t pull or tug (this causes him to shut down), but gentle encouragement seems to do the trick.

Ori needs a home with no cats and no young children. We aren’t sure about small dogs as he hasn’t met any, but we do think older kids would be just fine for him! He will have an adjustment period before you see his true potential, but once you do we promise it will be worth it!

https://azhuskyrescue.com/adoption-application/”

The people who bought this dog had NO idea what they were getting into. By the way, the fact that this dog went to a home where one of the humans was abusive, and the fact that the owners surrendered the dog to a rescue are both indications that the dog’s breeder was very irresponsible.

A good dog breeder will ask a lot of questions and thoroughly evaluate any potential puppy buyer, even if it means the breeder has to hold on to puppies for months and months, because she puts the highest priority on the dog’s well-being and the dog’s lifelong compatibility with its humans.

A good breeder will also require her puppy buyers to sign a contract that requires the puppy buyer to return the dog to the breeder if, at any point during the life of the dog, the new owner can no longer care for it. Life happens, but the dog’s breeder was the one that chose to bring the dog into the world. Thus, the breeder is responsible for the dog for the life of the dog. A breeder who will not take the dog back at any point during the dog’s life is adding to the shelter dog overpopulation problem and giving responsible breeders a bad name.

I’ve seen two types of people who turn a blind eye to a dog’s breed and say, “Personality is more important to me than breed”: Prospective dog owners who are uneducated about dog genetics and dog ownership in general, and dog lovers who rescue dogs. The latter group of people have much better motives, but the problem with this statement is still the same no matter which way you look at it:

A dog’s personality is influenced by it’s genetics and upbringing!

Now, well-meaning dog rescuers may refer to articles like these to prove their point: Dog Breed Doesn’t Affect Behavior, According to New Genetic Research

First, let me just say that the title of this article by the Smithsonian is absolutely ludicrous. When have you seen a bloodhound herding cattle or a golden retriever attacking a burglar?

All you have to do is read a few lines in for you to see that despite the misleading title, the author, Margaret Osborne, is admitting without overtly saying it, that yes, dog genetics still do influence a dog’s personality:

“A new genome study published in the journal Science found breed alone is not an accurate way to predict the personality of your four-legged friend.” (emphasis added)

Margaret published her article on April 29, 2022. Vivian Lam, a writer for theconversation.com, published this article later that year on December 11, 2022: Genetic research confirms your dog’s breed influences its personality, and so do you

My, how confusing science is becoming in the dog world. I’m at the point where if my experience and what I see are in conflict with what scientists are telling me, I’m not super inclined to believe those scientists. Scientists are flawed people just like the rest of us.

Orion the husky found himself in big trouble just for doing what came naturally to him. His story is a big reason why I’m not a huge fan of huskies, but that’s not the dog’s fault. The problem is that there are too many people bringing huskies into existence while there are too few families that are the right match for them.

There are animal lovers who like to get all over the case of other animal lovers who, when comparing animals to people, appear, in their minds, to be anthropomorphizing. I’d just like to ask, when animal lovers turn a blind eye to a dog’s breed because they feel so bad for the dogs in shelters, who are the ones anthropomorphizing?

They remind me of people who condemn racism, which, by the way, I absolutely condemn racism, but this is one area in which people and dogs are vastly different. Despite a person’s genetics, he can change. You cannot say that all Chinese people hate children or that all African Americans have a ton of energy.

The same is not true for dogs. The purpose for which the dog was created is the purpose he sticks to. You can expand the dog’s horizons and teach him to do a variety of jobs beyond the one he was created for, as long as the jobs don’t stray far from his area of expertise.

Dog rescuers who, probably unintentionally, encourage people to turn a blind eye to a dog’s breed somewhere deep down know that there is a supply and demand problem in the dog world, but what I think is hard for these people to appreciate is the reason why purebred dogs of certain breeds are in high demand.

The problem isn’t that there are too many dogs in general; the problem is that there are too many people producing particular breeds while there are an insufficient number of people that are the right fit for these dogs. You don’t see this kind of supply and demand problem with Labradors and golden retrievers. They’re two of the most popular dog breeds in America. There are tons of these breeds being produced every day, but you hardly ever see them in shelters because there are a whole lot of people in this world that are good fits for golden retrievers and Labradors.

Dog experts are all about reminding prospective dog owners to do their research on the different breeds, but a major con of adopting a rescue dog is that there are many more mutts than there are purebred dogs in shelters and rescues, and with a mutt, the sky’s the limit on what personality you could end up with.

Guess what? The number of households that have the resilience, knowledge, experience, time, living situation, and resources to be able to handle the challenges that life with rescue dogs brings is not a very big percentage. Many dog owners, especially people that don’t know much about dogs, need predictability and not a lot of challenge, and this is an area where purebred dogs from responsible breeders have an edge over rescue dogs. It doesn’t mean rescue dogs are any less valuable and wonderful, but you have to put practicality first when choosing a dog!

The Number One Type of Person I Would NEVER Sell a Dog To

I recently read a very sad Labrador re-homing ad posted on Craigslist. The reason the family gave for giving up their Labrador is enough to make any dog-loving person’s blood boil: “The kids want a puppy and we can’t keep both.”

I read the ad and thought, “Are you serious?”

You see, the reason this family gave for giving up their dog tells you something about the character of these people: They think dogs are disposable. Once the cute little puppy you bought is now an adult dog that you’re bored with, just get rid of the adult dog and start the cycle all over again!

Such people are spoiled, self-serving, and have no care at all for how their choices impact their animals. I’ve been an animal rescue volunteer for several years now. I’ve seen how horribly traumatized dogs become when they’re given up.

Sometimes the circumstances behind having to give a dog up are unavoidable, but this one? This one’s not an unavoidable circumstance; the parents simply don’t want to put their foot down and tell their children to be content with what they already have.

Yes, I feel horrible for the dog, but I also feel horrible for the children, too. Why? It’s because the parents are teaching their children that it’s fine to use and abuse animals and people, because you know what? How is a human abuser created?

Most of the time, he starts out by being cruel to animals. Someone who has no problem being cruel to animals is not at all far from justifying himself being cruel to his fellow man.

A person doesn’t just wake up one morning and decide to start punching, kicking, or yelling at his animals. A person becomes cruel to animals sometimes because, yes, he’s had a traumatic past and has been abused by a fellow human, thus prompting him to take out his frustration on animals, but sometimes there is no history of him being abused by his fellow man. Sometimes he becomes abusive to animals simply because he started out slowly.

The devil is in the details, you know? The abuser deceives himself, starting out by justifying actions that aren’t defined as “abuse” in a physical sense of the word, until he justifies more and more, especially when he is going through a stressful time.

I wonder how the children of this family under discussion would feel if their father one day announced, “I want a new younger, prettier wife. I can’t live with both your mom and a new woman at the same time, so I’m divorcing your mother,”?

We know that such an idea would be disgusting and horrible; why can’t we see it the same way when we decide to give up our dogs for- let’s admit it- selfish reasons?

Relationships are supposed to be for life- for better or for worse! How will you be able to prove to anybody that you can be trusted with anything of value if you insist on only having the best of everything even if it means you harm someone else to get what you want?

I have to wonder about the person that this family acquired their dog from. Most reputable breeders and rescue groups will require their buyers/ adopters to sign a contract promising that they will give the dog back to the breeder or rescue they acquired the dog from if they could no longer care for the dog.

By making this dog available to the general public, it makes me wonder what happened to the person they originally bought the dog from? Did the previous owner die? Did he/she go out of business? Did he disappear? Or was there no contract and no guarantee in the first place?

Most ethical dog breeders or rescues would not give a dog to a family that they knew would likely bring the dog back later when they grew bored with the dog’s company. They screen potential buyers/ adopters with questions about their lifestyle and their current and foreseeable future living situation. Why do they go to all this trouble?

Ethical dog breeders and rescuers care about where their dogs go! They don’t want all the money, blood, sweat, tears, and love they’ve invested into their dogs to become worthless!

Your actions don’t effect just you. Just one bad choice could cause a domino effect of sad repercussions to those you love and those you don’t even know.

Is The Pit Bull Terrier Right For You?

I’m not denying that pit bull terriers have received a bad reputation, but I have a hunch that if pit bull terriers didn’t look the way they look, if you could somehow disguise the fact that the dog you’re trying to adopt out is a pit bull terrier, I think a lot more people would take a pit bull terrier into their homes.

Why is that?

One of my friends and fellow animal rescue volunteers once shared with me a neat Spanish quote that I think describes the pit bull terrier well:

“The saying in English is ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover.’

En Español,  ‘Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos’ translated meaning ‘Faces we see, hearts we don’t know.’”

You can see the face of a pit bull terrier and shudder, but until you get to spend time with the dog, you really can’t make a fair assessment of whether the dog is safe for you to be around or not. Now, don’t misunderstand me. You certainly can tell something of a dog’s personality by observing their body language for a few seconds, but a dog could behave in a certain way for any number of reasons.

A pit bull terrier may growl and show his teeth at the vet not because he’s a naturally aggressive dog, but because he has a broken leg, he’s in pain, he doesn’t know the vet, he’s being restrained, and he’s not sure if he’s about to experience more pain or not.

There’s a big difference between being scared of a dog because of his physical appearance and being scared of a dog because of his body language.

If you met walking down the street a young man wearing a backwards cap, saggy pants, and a chain around his neck who was walking a pit bull terrier on a leash, a group of assumptions immediately comes into your mind, right?

If you met walking down the street a middle-aged, neatly but casually dressed woman walking a pit bull terrier on a leash, it’s not quite as easy to make assumptions about the dog in tow, is it?

In neither scenario is the leashed pit bull terrier displaying aggressive, fearful, or shy behavior, but which dog would you be more likely to assume to be a danger to the public?

You’d probably assume the pit bull terrier being walked by the man in gangster attire was dangerous, correct?

You see, you have to look at way more than a dog’s physical appearance when making a judgment call about his character, regardless of the breed. A dog in one environment may behave completely differently when placed in a different environment.

What are some of the pit bull terrier’s most appealing attributes? This is just my perspective on what I like most about the breed, but I believe many pit bull terrier fans would agree with me.

Number one is the dog’s personality because, believe it or not, pit bull terriers actually do not make good guard dogs. They can be decent guard dogs if you’re wanting a dog that will chase wild animals off the property and bark to alert you of the arrival of human or animal company, but the purpose behind the creation of the pit bull terrier was not to create the best man-stopping dog, but to create a dog that could go into combat against large, powerful wild animals such as bulls and bears.

It’s not to say that there aren’t pit bull terriers that will attack humans; there are plenty that will attack humans, but, as a general rule, pit bull terriers are not the most reliable man-stopping dogs. There’s a large percentage of pit bull terriers that would rather joyfully wiggle up to or fearfully shy away from strangers rather than attack them.

The unfortunate fact about the pit bull terrier’s mixed bag of guard dog reliability is that there’s a reason why so many gangsters and criminals are attracted to these dogs; these people know better than to believe that all pit bull terriers are dangerous to humans. 

Pit bull terriers have a whole lot of love to give to their families, and there are many pit bull terriers that can get along quite well with babies and toddlers.

Pit bull terriers have a loving, goofy, zest for life personality. They love to have fun and be active and they love to cuddle with their people.

Pit bull terriers are a nice size. Some are on the larger side and some are on the smaller side, but they’re a breed that’s not too big and not too small.

The short, easy-care coat of the pit bull terrier is another plus!

Then, of course, there is the pit bull terrier’s physical appearance. The dogs’ physical appearance scares some people, but I think they look beautiful. Athletic and solid, these dogs will hold up to the occasional rough handling of babies and toddlers. (In general, regardless of the breed, I don’t recommend you rough house with a dog, though. Even the most good-natured dog that plays rough can cause serious injury.)

Now, what are some of the cons to owning a pit bull terrier?

Thanks to breed specific legislation (BSL) and breed restrictions, it’s often hard to find places to live where you can own a pit bull terrier and rent. Even if you own your own home, not all home owner’s insurance companies will cover you or give you good rates if you own a pit bull terrier. If you are a pit bull terrier fan who needs help finding housing or insurance that will work with your situation, here are a few places you can go to for more information:

https://www.nokillpimacounty.org/pet-owner-resources/how-to-find-pet-friendly-housing/ (This one is for residents of Pima county specifically, but your local animal shelter may be able to provide you similar recommendations.)

This Database Lists Hundreds Of Pit Bull-Friendly Rentals Across The Country

https://www.mypitbullisfamily.org/housing/

Aside from the breed restrictions aspect, there are a few other cons to keep in mind.

Pit bull terriers are relatively easy to train, but because they’re a combination of bulldog and terrier breeds, they can be stubborn, so extra patience, assertiveness, and consistency are needed when training them.

The other issue is the dog’s prey drive. There are pit bull terriers that get along with cats, but extra caution must be taken when you share your home with both a terrier and a cat (or other small pets). Because pit bulls and other terriers were created to run away from the handler and chase and kill small and large animals, most terriers are not very trustworthy off-leash or around small animals.

Plenty of pit bulls and other terriers can live peacefully with cats, but I would never leave my cat and my terrier alone loose in the house together when I have to go somewhere, regardless of how long they’ve known each other. You can’t escape genetics in the dog world. You can train a dog to manage its instincts, but you can’t train away its instincts.

Another issue you have to watch out for in not just pit bulls, but dogs in general, is redirected aggression. Redirected aggression occurs when the dog’s prey drive is triggered by something, such as a passing human, animal, or object, and he’s restricted from going after it. In frustration, the dog will release his aggressive energy on the next nearest available target, such as the next nearest animal or even human.

Watch your dog’s body language. If you see your dog’s prey drive starting to get triggered by some outside distraction and he starts to display signs of aggression, remove him from other animals and humans immediately. Put him in his kennel or some other safe enclosure by himself until he calms down. There have even been dogs who have attacked the baby in the house because the dog couldn’t go after, of all things, a lawnmower running in the backyard! (Go check out the YouTube channel Dogumentary TV for more information on that story.)

The pit bull terrier’s prey drive is also somewhat of an issue if you’re a homesteader like me. I don’t own chickens currently, but if I did, I couldn’t let a terrier be around them. An issue that I currently face on a regular basis, though, is wild animals invading our property and stealing food from our garden.

Some of the most pesky wild animals that steal from our garden are javelinas and raccoons. A specific type of dog is required to best do the job of driving out wild animals from our garden and a pit bull terrier is not the best choice, in my opinion.

Why is a pit bull not my first choice for a homestead protection dog?

Because some of the wild animals I deal with come in large groups and they’re stubborn and aggressive, I need a dog that will help me gather the wild animals all together and chase them out the gate or whatever hole they dug under the fence, and a herding dog that also has a protective nature, like an Australian shepherd, is the best choice for the job.

Pit bull terriers have plenty of fight in them, but fight isn’t the only characteristic I need in a homestead protection dog; I need a dog that knows when to back off and focus on the bigger picture. Because of what a pit bull was created to do, a pit bull is more likely to focus on going after one javelina or one raccoon and will fight with that animal to the death, which can be a problem if we’re dealing with multiple raccoons or javelinas and one dog.

Pit bull terriers can make great city dogs, on the other hand, because in the city you don’t have to worry about your dog going after and getting outnumbered by wild animals. They’re pretty much everything most families could want in a dog that’s an agreeable size, relatively easy to care for, and makes a good watch dog.

Do you own a pit bull terrier? What do you like most and least about owning a pit bull terrier? What recommendations would you give to prospective pit bull terrier owners? Let me know your experience in the comments!

Should you toilet train your cat?

A few months after my brother, my father, and I brought home our kittens, our family decided to try out a new and unusual venture: training our cats to go potty on a human toilet.

Other people, including a friend of ours, had success in training their cats to use a human toilet, so my Mom bought a cat toilet training kit known as “Litter Kwitter”, a kit that consisted of three different toilet training seats and an instructional DVD.

We did our best to follow the Litter Kwitter company’s directions in the DVD. We designated one of the two toilets in our house for placing the cats’ training seats on. The first seat completely covered the hole in the toilet, the second seat had a small hole in it to go over the regular hole of the toilet, and the last seat had a big hole the size of the regular toilet hole. The cats were to use each toilet seat for approximately two weeks before moving onto the next seat. In each training seat, we initially filled the seats with flushable cat litter and gradually put less and less litter in the seats.

Now, the Litter Kwitter company proudly boasted on the box for their toilet training kit: “Toilet train your cat in 8 weeks or less!” In hindsight, I’d have to say that their claim was only half-true…for my cat Boaz, anyway.

Boaz was the slow one out of our three young cats. My Dad’s cat Posie and my brother’s cat Asher soon learned how to pee and poop in the toilet with or without human supervision. I don’t know, maybe I just got the short end of the stick with my cat in this case, but I’ve heard in other cat toilet training reviews of other cat owners having a similar struggle as mine did. Boaz learned to pee in the toilet within the 8-week period, sometimes without human supervision, but he never learned to poop in the toilet without human supervision.

I was very thankful that I could work at home during the day so I could keep an eye on my cat, especially during the two-year toilet training stage. Yep, you read that rightly. What should have taken our cats eight weeks, according to Litter Kwitter, took two years for our cats to learn and still not every one of them figured it out completely.

What went wrong? Why were some cat owners successful in training their cats to use the toilet and others weren’t?

Well, despite my cat’s need for constant supervision because of his bad bathroom habits, everything else in the house was doing pretty well all things considered since most of the cats were doing their business in an acceptable place without needing to be supervised.

Then, we had to learn about a rather troublesome feline life stage called social maturity.

First, don’t confuse sexual maturity with social maturity. A cat can reach sexual maturity as young as four months old, so don’t underestimate the power of those kittens! (Ugh. Talk about “kids having kids”!)  Social maturity occurs when a cat reaches the age of anywhere between two to four years. Social maturity in cats is kind of like the teen years in humans. However, it might not be real apparent when this life stage occurs if you have only one cat.

At the age of around two years old, cats no longer view their world as a carefree, safe place full of fun and adventure. At that age, cats view their world with the eyes of a solitary survivor. A cat that has reached the age of social maturity puts his own survival as the highest priority.

 If there is an abundance of resources for multiple cats, such as lots of food, toys, perching places, sleeping places and toilet areas, than your chances are greater of having two or more cats live together peacefully. If there is a lack of necessary resources, the cat assumes a scarcity mentality in which his own survival is more important than the survival of his relationship with other cats, even ones in his own social group that he’s known for a long time.

What does social maturity have to do with toilet training cats?

Perhaps the toilet training venture would have been a success if we had more bathrooms in our house. Our house only has two toilets, but we have three cats. Most cat experts recommend having in your house one litter box for each cat plus one extra.

The scarcity of toilet resources made our cats start fighting over toilets. Because he was often getting growled and hissed away from the bathroom, when my cat Boaz had to relieve himself, in fear he began relieving himself all over the house.

Putting three litter boxes back into the equation eliminated Boaz’s bad toileting habits and the cats stopped fighting over toileting areas. Toilet training your cat is a clever idea, and it can work, but it doesn’t work for every single or multi-cat household.

Keep in mind that toilet training your cat is working against nature, because every cat is naturally inclined to dig a hole and bury their waste. They aren’t provided the opportunity to satisfy this instinct by going on a human toilet. Even if there isn’t any fighting over toilets, the cats may still choose to relieve themselves in the basket of laundry or some other place that allows them to satisfy their urge to dig and cover.

What about the dangers associated with pregnant women scooping litter boxes? Would it not be good to toilet train a cat to be prepared for situations like these?

I would say a better solution, to put less work on yourself and keep your cat living a truly fulfilling life as naturally as possible, is to provide your cat a litter box and, if you’re pregnant, ensure that someone near you, preferably your spouse, will clean the litter box for you. Another option is to train your cat to relieve himself outside.

If he comes in and goes out as he pleases, this will be easy. However, remember that if your cat goes outside without you, you have no control over where he goes, which means you’ll have him returning into the house potentially carrying parasites and diseases from traipsing through neighboring cat territories and killing and eating small wild animals. See how dangerous this can be if you’re pregnant?

 If he’s an indoor cat, it’s not that hard either, though. You can provide him a roofed outdoor enclosure and a cat flap, or you can take him for leashed walks outside a few times a day.

Have you tried toilet training your cat? How did this go for you? Let me know your experience in the comments!

Terriers and Cats: Is such a combination worth it?

The dogs in the terrier group come in a wide range of sizes, colors, and appearance. Don’t be seduced by the charming appearance of a little scruffy dog with a cute beard and big brown eyes! They’re adorable, but even the littlest terriers are still dangers to cats.

Why is this? It’s because of what’s in a terrier’s genetics. Terriers were created to chase and kill small animals and fight with large animals. The animals that terriers went to battle with were sometimes vicious, so terriers were created to have a high level of tolerance for pain and a determination to fight back above ground or under ground in call kinds of conditions.

See where this is going?

Yes, terriers are cute and make fun pets, but it still comes naturally to them to be a danger to small animals. You can’t escape genetics in the dog world. You can teach a dog to manage its instincts, but you can’t entirely train away its instincts.

There are terrier owners who are also cat owners and their animals have done well together. So, yes, a house with a terrier and a cat living together is possible, but it’s still a risk. There have been incidents of terriers who have lived with cats for years and done well but who suddenly attacked and injured or even killed the family cat when something happens to trigger the terrier’s hunting instinct at just the wrong time. It can be as simple as the cat running past the dog.

I will tell you a few of the precautions I would take if I owned a terrier and a cat at the same time. If I acquired the terrier as a puppy, I would raise him around my cat and never leave them loose together unsupervised.

If I couldn’t be in the house with the terrier and the cat, I would either put the dog in his kennel in the house or put the dog and the cat in separate areas of the house where they can’t access each other. I’d do this whether my terrier and my cat were raised together or not.

If I acquired the terrier as an adult, I’d only adopt one that was known to be good with cats. Even when a dog of any breed is reported as good with cats, I’d still test the dog around my cat before committing to adoption. There are plenty of dogs who get along just fine with the cats they’re familiar with but who feel the urge to chase cats they don’t know.

If I acquired an adult terrier that is indeed good with my cat, I’d still never leave them loose in the house together. If I had to go some place without them, I’d still either put the dog in his kennel in the house (or I’d put him in the yard if he’s a larger size) or I’d shut the dog and the cat in separate parts of the house where there’s no way they could access each other.

In fact, with very few exceptions, I likely wouldn’t leave a dog of any breed alone in the house with a cat, no matter how long they’ve known each other. I’ve heard of Chihuahuas that have killed doves and Labradors, a breed that’s generally “known” to be good with cats, that can’t go to homes with cats. We must not overlook the fact that all domesticated dogs’ ancestors were wild dogs that hunted other animals, large and small, to survive.

Even dogs that have lived with cats for years are still at risk of succumbing to inflicting redirected aggression on the cats in their family. Redirected aggression occurs when a cat or a dog sees something outside- an animal unknown to them or anything that triggers their prey drive- and can’t access the animal or object. When this happens, the frustrated dog or cat redirects onto another animal or human in the house the aggression they would have inflicted on the intruder outside.

I’ve experienced the trauma of finding the remains of a beloved cat that was killed by a wild animal. I love dogs, and I love my cat, too. My cat is my baby and I will not take any unnecessary risks. A dead cat is not a mistake that can be undone or corrected with more training.

Breeders vs Shelters: A Pet Sitter’s Point of View

By Elizabeth Johnson, owner of Oracle Joyful Tails dog walking & pet sitting

The tension that exists between dog breeders and animal rescue volunteers has become so profound that it almost feels like choosing whether to support breeders, rescues, or both feels like choosing a religion.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m thrilled that nationwide there are more and more people campaigning for saving the lives of as many shelter pets as possible. There are few things that break my heart as much as the nationwide crisis of animal shelters overflowing with animals in need of homes.  “Adopt, don’t shop!” is the name of the game, but what I take issue with is when pro-adoption animal lovers condemn dog breeders and the people who buy from breeders.

I understand that the abundance of shelter dogs is an emotionally charged issue. However, you have to be practical, too. From a practical point of view, not every family is a good fit for a shelter dog, especially when you only have a few select breeds and mixes to choose from at a shelter.

Consider this: There are over 300 different dog breeds in existence in this world. A very small percentage of those dogs are in rescues and shelters.

If dog overpopulation was truly the root cause for so many dogs dying in shelters every day, we would see a wide variety of different dog breeds in shelters and rescues, correct? The thing is, we’re not seeing that.

The sad reality is that many shelter dogs, not all, but a large percentage, have issues that make them unsuitable for a variety of homes. You have to consider why the dog ended up at the shelter in the first place, as well as what problems the dog may have developed from just being at the shelter.

Notice that there is only a small percentage of purebred dogs in the shelters. Notice, too, which purebred dogs are the most common sights in the shelters. Here in southern Arizona, most of the shelter dogs are either pit bull terriers or German Shepherds and their mixes.

Do some research at your local shelters. Which dog breeds and mixes are most common in your area? Let me know in the comments!

Some of the most common issues that rescue dogs have in my area are:

1. They’re unsuitable for homes with children under the ages of 8-12.
2. They don’t get along with other animals.
3. They’re fearful, moody, or impatient, especially around small children.
4. They have separation anxiety.

My paternal grandmother, a longtime real estate, has an analogy she uses to encourage her fellow real estate agents in home sales: “Every pot has it’s lid.” She means that there is a suitable house for every human, even if it takes some time to find the right home.

I think my grandmother’s saying is applicable to the animal world as well. There is a perfect dog for every dog-loving home; sometimes that dog can be found at a shelter, and sometimes it’s found at a dog breeder’s home.

Have you ever wondered why there are so few purebred dogs in shelters and why certain purebred dogs are so popular despite their expensive purchase price?

In fact, not just here in Arizona, but nationwide, according to Rescue A Golden of AZ, there are so many people that want to own golden retrievers, that there is actually a nationwide shortage of golden retrievers needing new homes. That’s one reason why there are still many people opting to buy from a breeder. Golden retriever rescues here in Arizona have waiting lists of approved adoptive homes, some of which have been waiting for two years, to adopt a golden retriever.

A trend towards responsible dog ownership is growing. People are becoming more aware of what they want and need in a dog and what different dogs need from their owners. Responsible dog owners are planning ahead for the future and they want to know what they’re getting, doing everything they know to do to minimize the risk that they’d have to later give the dog up.

There are many dog breeders around my state that are working very hard to match their dogs with the right people.

Many breeders have prospective puppy buyers fill out an application that asks detailed questions about the buyer’s living situation. They ask their buyers to sign a contract that gives the breeder the right to take the dog back and find it another home if the new owner cannot care for it anymore. Buyers are often asked to put down a non-refundable deposit of usually between $200 and $500 to reserve a puppy.

The responsible dog breeder spends hundreds of dollars to put their breeding stock through a slough of health and genetic tests to ensure that they produce only the healthiest, highest quality offspring.

Combine the health tests with the enormous cost of feeding a lactating mama dog and her puppies, making sure someone is home with the puppies nearly all the time, making time to take the puppies to the vet and a variety of places, exposing them to a wide range of people, animals, noises, smells, and circumstances, and you start to understand why many good breeders sell their puppies for between $1000 and $3000.

If people are going to spend a large amount of money on a new dog, they want to know that they’re investment will be worthwhile!

People that are spending less money to get a dog aren’t as concerned about what quality of dog they’re getting. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes that’s not so good, depending on what kind of people they are and where they’re choosing to get the dog from.

Again, consider why most of the dogs in shelters, in my area, anyway, are either pit bull terriers or mixed breeds. Where did these dogs come from? Dog fighting rings? Backyard breeders? Irresponsible dog owners that have no care where their dogs go, what happens to them, or if they ever see them again? Impulse buyers who later learned that they’re lifestyle is not fitting for the dog? Are they untrained dogs that now have a bite history? Did they get dumped?

What kind of an impact does the breeder versus shelter debate have on me as a pet sitter?

Well, I love helping people and their pets, but I have to be practical, too. I’ve had to turn away business because these prospective clients have problem dogs. I can work better with a wider variety of clients in their own homes, but whenever I’m evaluating a dog to consider boarding at my home, I need to know that the dog isn’t likely engage in dangerous, destructive, or rude behavior while in my care.

I believe we need both breeders and shelters or rescues. I believe breeders on the whole are not the problem, but irresponsible dog ownership is.

Backyard breeders are dog breeders who are only in the breeding business to make money. Not all backyard breeders are selfish or ill-willed, but the fact of the matter is that if they can sell a puppy for such a cheap price (no more than a few hundred dollars), then the risk of costly health and/or behavior issues is high. 

These breeders likely have not done much in the way of health and genetic testing on their puppies, they haven’t gone out of their way to socialize the puppies, they’re not feeding their dogs high-quality food, and they likely won’t do much to screen their buyers but will instead hand the dog over to the first person that shows up with the money.

If you buy from a backyard breeder, you’re getting little more value for your dollar than what you’d get if you opted for a much better option- adopting a shelter dog. You can adopt a shelter puppy or dog for no more than a few hundred dollars and while you won’t have much of an idea of the dog’s history and genetic or health tendencies, you will get a dog that has received sufficient enough health care, feeding, and socialization for it to fairly easily become a well-behaved family pet.

Wanting only the highest quality and most reliable dog doesn’t make you a selfish person. When we let our emotions do the directing instead of wisdom and our wonderful Creator, we’re going to have issues.

If you want your pet sitter and dog walker to like you, if you want your vet, your trainer, and your groomer to like you, you owe it to yourself to take the time you need to make an informed decision about what you can handle and what kind of dog is the best fit for you long-term. Your choices don’t effect just you!

I understand the animosity between breeders and animal rescue volunteers; I really do! There’s a lot to consider and plan ahead for when choosing a dog! You have to think with your head more so than with your heart when making such an important decision.

Sometimes the best answer is a rescue dog, and sometimes the best answer is a dog from a reputable breeder. Whatever decision is best for you, my desire is that we would come to appreciate that not all dog breeders are selfish, greedy people and that you just might be pleasantly surprised with of the greatest friends you could ever ask for by taking the time to find the right rescue dog for you.

For further reading, I suggest this excellent article written by a golden retriever rescue in California that understands the benefits of both rescues and responsible dog breeders:

Be Puppy Smart: Choose a Responsible Dog Breeder

Stupid Young People

Young adult pet owners, please consider this piece of advice from an animal rescue volunteer: Don’t impulse buy an animal!

Too many people act like pets are disposable. As an animal rescue volunteer, I’ve seen the effects re-homing has on a pet’s personality: it messes them up.

Have you ever wondered why a large percentage of people choose to avoid adopting rescue dogs and opt for dogs from a breeder instead? Not everybody that prefers breeders are selfish. They know that rescue dogs often have problems and they’re trying hard to anticipate what will be best for their family so they don’t have to give the dog up later.

Sometimes pet re-homing situations are unavoidable, but most of the time, planning ahead will spare you and your future pet a lot of grief and trauma.

I’ve heard case after case after case of young people getting together and having children, then deciding that it’s too much to own a pet at the same time that they’re raising children. Think about these things before you bring that animal home! Where do you see your life going in the next five to ten years?

If there’s any doubt that you will have sufficient time, energy, and money to spend caring for an animal not just right now but when you start having children, when you want to be able to spend time away from home without your animal, or when you have to move, do yourself and the animal a favor and stay away from the animal.

We must stop thinking like children desiring instant gratification, especially when the lives of those we love most are at stake. Good things come to those who wait.

Don’t abandon your cat in an emergency!

As a dog person that also likes cats, I want to encourage my cat-loving readers to plan ahead, preferably before acquiring a cat, and prepare for the unexpected. None of us are guaranteed we’ll be able to stay in our current homes forever, but this is one unrealistic desire that cats have.

I love cats, but if there’s one thing that aggravates me about cats its their natural resistance to change. Life is full of changes, and a cat in its natural state will fight against necessary changes in ways you’re not going to like.

If you had to flee the scene due to a house fire, or, you simply had to move, if your cat is unprepared for dealing with these important changes, he could act out in a variety of ways. Nobody likes having to wrestle with concentrating on the road when they have a screaming cat in their car. Other forms of resistance to change that a cat may display include house soiling, moodiness, and refusal to eat.

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you why it’s important to help your cat learn to be adaptable, I will explain to you what are some of the measures I have taken to try to help my cat overcome his urge to resist change and instead be ready to adapt when necessary.

Prepare your cat for wilderness travel.

I did this by teaching my cat to walk on harness and leash, ride in a cat backpack and a bike trailer, and come reliably when called.

If you’d like me to write more about my experience with teaching my cat to become an adventure cat, let me know in the comments!

This is a picture of Boaz sitting on a tree limb during one of our nature walks away from home:

The YouTube channel Traveler’s Garden has been an enormous help and inspiration to me as Boaz and I continue on our adventure cat training journey!

Get your cat used to riding in his kennel in the car.

I did this by feeding Boaz a high-value treat whenever he was quiet in his kennel in the car. I use Nature’s Logic freeze-dried raw beef liver bites. Most people recommend starting by taking your cat for short distances in the car, such as just around the block and back home. I didn’t have that option with Boaz.

When we went to pick up Boaz at our nearest animal shelter, the nearest animal shelter was 40 minutes away, and Boaz had to make multiple visits to the veterinarian during his first year of life, so he had no choice but to accept long car rides in relatively short time.

Accustom your cat to the presence of other animals and small children.

I did this by feeding Boaz high-value treats or a meal in the presence of cat-friendly dogs (with a screen between him and the dogs) and taking Boaz in the bike trailer or cat backpack to different locations away from home.

Also, please don’t let fear of stressing your cat hold you back from trying new things! Yes, cats don’t like change, but who’s running your life- you or the cat? The reality is that life is full of changes and the sooner and more positively we can teach our cats how to be resilient and adaptable, the better off you, your cat, and the people around you will be.

Prepare yourself and your cat now so that you don’t have to be worried when changes must come.

Thought for the Day: Make Time For Your Dog

The dog breeds that are the easiest to train have remained at the top of the list of America’s most popular dog breeds for decades for a good reason, but there’s a catch: Most of the dogs that are easiest to train are high-energy breeds!

This is because the dog breeds that are the easiest to train are the ones that were bred to do a complex job in conjunction with the handler for long stretches of time every day.

Where people get themselves in trouble is when they’re drawn to a particular dog breed because of its trainability but they fail to find the time to exercise their dog every day. If these high-energy dogs don’t receive sufficient time to drain their energy in a positive way every day, they will expel their energy by making noise and tearing up your house and yard.

There are a plethora of dog breeds that are low-energy and don’t require a large chunk of your time, such as bulldogs, basset hounds, and certain types of mastiffs, but why aren’t these dogs nearly as popular as, for instance, Labrador and golden retrievers?

There’s a catch to the lower energy dog breeds, too: These dogs were not bred to perform a complex job in conjunction with the handler; they were bred to be capable of doing a job away from the handler (guarding or hunting) for an extended period of time. How does this tendency translate to you as a dog owner?

Well, an independent dog sounds great to the average busy person with many demands to fulfill in a day, but an independent dog is a dog that thinks he doesn’t have to abide by your rules. Do you see where this is going?

In order for you and your dog to be able to live together harmoniously, he needs to be able to respect the rules and boundaries of your house. You need to be able to trust that when you’re out of the room or out of the house, your dog isn’t going to dig out the trash, chew the furniture or electrical cords, scratch up the walls, annoy your neighbors with constant barking, and will be able to reliably obey your commands when you most need him to mind.

Don’t be fooled; low-energy dog breeds are often not the easiest dog breeds to live with. High-energy breeds like Labs and golden retrievers can actually be easier to live with than low-energy dog breeds if you just block out about an hour of your time each day, divided into two thirty-minute sessions, to take your dog for a walk or a run.

What time you save by not exercising your dog, you’ll pay in the form of having a dog that’s not the most obedient, respectful housemate.

Dogs require your time, no two ways about it, but what would you rather spend your time doing? Would you rather spend your time cleaning up after your dog and getting mad at him constantly, or would you rather spend your time having fun with him and getting some fresh air?

Is the English Shepherd the Perfect All-Around Dog?

According to Sycamore Spring Farm, an English Shepherd breeder in Frederick, MD, the English Shepherd used to be the most popular breed of dog in America in the 1800s and early 1900s. When farming used to be a much more popular occupation in America, nearly every American farm had an English Shepherd!

What made these dogs so popular?

I think Highland Glenn Ranch did a great job of describing the breed. You can read the full article here. Here is an excerpt:

“The English Shepherd is a gorgeous dog of medium build. The average adult stands around 20 inches at the shoulder and weighs 50 pounds. A dense coat of medium length hair requires minimal grooming, sheds water and dirt, and is able to adjust to any climate. English Shepherds are level-headed, suited to many jobs around the small or large farm. Energetic, agile, athletic, quick, sturdy and muscular. The English Shepherd shows alertness and intelligence in his face. They have the unique ability to adapt to all types of livestock, never too rough, discerning the amount of force needed whether cattle or chickens. Naturally gentle with young livestock and children.

Natural instincts enable him to work independently with minimal direction, using choice and consequence sometimes unbelievable. Yet, he desires to  please and work in partnership with his master, too. Not obsessive about herding, the English Shepherd is quite willing to lie about, even on your lap, when there is no work to do. Just when you think him asleep, with an eager gaze and bright eyes he springs into action when duty calls!

The English Shepherd works in an upright, loose-eyed manner. Generally a low heeler, he will herd and drive or lead when needed but is not obsessive. Often referred to as possessing an ‘off switch.’ Confident and purposeful, his commitment to rules compels him to maintain order even when his master is absent.”

According to the English Shepherd Club, English Shepherds even make for decent hunting dogs:

“English Shepherds are also valued for their tracking, hunting and treeing ability. Advertising brochures from the 1950s depict English Shepherds treeing squirrel, coon and possum, and note “English Shepherds will tree anything and everything.” This may include, of course, your neighbor’s cat! An industrious English Shepherd may not be satisfied with simply treeing critters — he may decide to climb a tree or two himself! English Shepherd owners need to be aware of and make allowances for the many faceted drives their dogs inherit.

Although it has been more common to use English Shepherds to hunt game that can be treed, the prey drive of some English Shepherds transfers well to upland birds such as grouse. Hunters that use them for upland birds work them as flushing dogs. The dog works within gun range, finds and flushes birds, then retrieves them after the shot. All they need is a good prey drive, above average obedience training, and a gradual introduction to gunfire (to minimize the chance of gun shyness).”

I’ll just admit up front that I have a bit of bias towards several of the shepherd dog breeds, and now the English Shepherd is close to the top of my list of favorite dog breeds. The only reason why it’s not at the very top of my list is that I have never been able to interact with an English Shepherd in person to see if we “click”.

I’m a homesteader and every homesteader needs a good dog. The English Shepherd sounds like everything I could ever want and need in a dog.

I’m glad we have an abundance of different dog breeds to choose from today, but I believe that it is rather problematic when people start breeding dogs that specialize in certain areas of work and not others. Where you get yourself in trouble is when you create a dog that specializes in one or two types of work, because the dog is going to fall apart in the other jobs that most people need a dog to be good at.

For example, you could breed a dog that’s an excellent hunting dog, such as the hound dogs, but if you focus too much on trying to create a dog that’s great in one area, you’re going to have a dog that’s not so great in the other areas that most people need a dog to be good in.

Regarding my example of the hound dog, sure, hound dogs are some of the best hunting dogs out there, but try living with one! Hound dogs are noisy, stubborn, and smelly, so they’d be difficult dogs to have in the house, but they’d also be difficult dogs to have if they stayed outside full-time (which I don’t recommend for most dogs) because they have a propensity to follow their noses rather than their owners’ commands.

The Labrador retriever is another example of a dog that I love and, for many people, is almost the perfect dog. The reason I say “almost” is because while Labs are versatile and great family pets, because they don’t have a mean bone in their bodies, they will betray you in the event of an assault or burglary.

You could buy a terrier, which is another breed that doesn’t have the herding instinct that many people have trouble with, but with a terrier, not only does the herding instinct go away, but so does the trainability and, with a few exceptions, the protective instinct.

Instead of buying one dog for hunting, one dog for protection, one dog for moving livestock, and one dog for being a good family pet, why not buy one dog that can do all these things? This describes the English Shepherd dog.

Do you have any experience with English Shepherd dogs? Do they make good family pets even if you don’t own livestock animals? Share with me your experience in the comments!