Top products from r/AustralianCattleDog

I can totally understand not wanting to leave her in her crate for so many total hours each day. First I would recommend having lots and lots of toys on hand. The idea is to try to keep her engaged as much as possible while she's out there. Dogs can get tired of toys so I suggest investing in some new ones if you can and rotate them every few days. Have lots of chew toys on hand including hooves, horns (mine loves water buffalo horns especially) and antlers. The Busy Buddy Tug-a-jug can be a great toy once they get the hang of it. People who keep dogs in their apartment will actually give them all of their chow in these (start with small sized kibble first - any ACD mix will be smart enough to figure it out quickly) and they work to get it out during the course of the day. This will tire them out not only physically but mentally as well, which is hugely important, especially for ACD's. Along these lines, find new ways to engage her when you are home. Walks and exercise are essential but maybe start some training on new tricks (just 5-8 minutes at a time). ACD's need a job to do and helping to fulfill that in various ways can help to ease anxiety during others times of the day. It will be a process and it may not come without some trouble but it should eventually get better. I hope some of this is useful.

As long as you tire her out every day you will not be disappointed! Welcome to the club.

It took me a few months of pushing myself to get more comfortable trusting our adult adopted ACD (adopted in Feb this year) but after I realized he's not going to take off sprinting when he's off his leash, the bond really solidified.

They are very smart and have a lot of personality. I've only been able to find one toy that mine wont destroy within a half an hour.

Above all other advice make sure you get pet insurance (I think we have healthy paws). Within a couple of months we had to have a few teeth extracted from ours before we enrolled. $700. They are hearty pure breeds, but they're still pure breeds and have genetic issues sometimes, or they just play hard and tear their ACLs often (my vet recommended fetch with a ball rather than a frisbee).

I also highly recommend agility training. My ACD loves it and can do a full hour before getting brain drain. I've been tempted to try taking him to a dog friendly sheep ranch but I don't want to unlock his heeling instincts, I'm fortunate to have an ACD that is more of a retriever than a nipper.

Positive reinforcement training sessions which emphasise fun, play and success. Start with ‘Building Block behaviours’ Your dog will think he is training you! https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/

Teach your dog to play tug by the rules and use it as a reward for recall (‘come’). http://www.reddit.com/r/dogtraining/wiki/rulesoftug

Look into taking up a dog sport. Even young pups can start play based learning for sports such as Nosework, agility,obedience etc. https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com

Depending on age, go on hikes, to beaches or drives in the car to explore new places together

If you have a puppy, look into puppy schools which focus on opportunities for you to watch your dog interact with other pups and for you to get some training on reading dog body language.

Be kind and patient with your dog and use positive training to teach good manners and reinforce the behaviours you will want in your dog.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/calm
Your dog will love you for it.

ETA- if you have a puppy, this is a great book. https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Puppy-Days-Start-Right/dp/0964151871

ACDs can be a bit suspicious of other people and dogs which results in difficult behaviour. Make sure you socialise your pup carefully.

I had a clicker for a little while, but then I lost it and never replaced it. She picks up on things so quickly, it doesn't seem to matter how I reward her.

I mostly use these small treats as rewards, you can find them EVERYWHERE. They are a great size, large bag, and high reward value.

http://smile.amazon.com/Cardinal-Laboratories-Botanics-Training-Rewards/dp/B000OUOYH6/ref=pd_bia_nav_i_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZT128HDE4RZWZ3YRFNX

I found this book really helpful.

And the ACDRA has some good breed specific information.

Good luck! ACD puppies are intense but super receptive to training. It will be a fun for you and your dog :)

This purple squirrel treat puzzle toy was suggested to me on this subforum a while back, and has been very good for my ACD. He and his older Boston Terrier brother love it to death, and yet haven’t come close to tearing it apart like they do with almost any other toy.

As for chews, antlers are great. My ACD loves them. It’s just a matter of being able to find them for cheap.

My dog went through some really basic obedience classes when he was a pup, and I think it was really helpful that we put a lot of work into getting him used to walking next to us while on his leash. Honestly, he took right to the bike lead; I took him around town slowly the first few times, and that was about it. I think he knows that the bike = running, so he cooperates. Honestly the most difficult part is when he's over-excited and tries to herd my bike by nipping at my front tire.

As far as the leads, in my judgement it's best to have a lead that attaches to a mid to low section of your bike. My bike is pretty tall so I went with the Petego Spring Lead Universal Bicycle Leash and attached it to the lower section of my seat tube (below the top tube); whereas my wife went with the Walky Dog which she attaches to the rear axle of her bike. I will say that the Walky Dog is kind of nice because you can pop the lead right off the bike and use it like a leash, though if you're running two dogs the Petgo attachment has two attachment points.

Sorry that's not a lot of info, but if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer.

We stay inside at -30C
We play until I make him stop at -20C (~10-15 min)
Anything warmer than that and I watch his body language. Any sign of loss of interest in playing or holding a paw up away from the snow and we'll stop. If he gets snow stuck in his pads I'll stop him and melt it.

We dont do much leash walking in the winter. We'll go to a dog park where I can throw a ball along a trampled path where we might not lose it. If we can't do that sometimes we'll go to an open area where he can chase around some larger toys like his egg or ball.

I have a lot of fun when there's a crust layer on top of the snow that a ball will roll on forever, but the dog is too heavy and has to fight through it.

To specifically address your question, at -10C for 30 min I wouldn't be too worried as long as he's moderately active. If you are doing most of your walks on city streets/sidewalks I would consider boots to help protect his paws from the salt.

Also check his paws nightly to be sure that the pads aren't split or cracking, there are balms/moisturizers you can use if they are. My pup usually ends up cutting his pads on icy snow at least a couple times a year.

It's not for chewing or inside play, but you could look into getting a Jolly Ball (6" or above). Dakota LOVES his, he herds it around the back yard like a madman.

I have a variety of treat balls that keep my heeler busy and last quite a while. This Starmark ball is one of his favorites. It provides a challenge if you find some chewy treats (anything not hard and crumbly, like dog jerky) to stuff in there.

Bullymake box is a subscription box made for power chewers, there's some good durable stuff in there. Or you can buy their toys individually here.

Feste's the same way with his toys. He had the gopher version of the piggy, and poor Malvolio died within a week :(

There are a couple toys that we've had for a long time, though.

1.) Kong makes a few good toys for "extreme chewers." They're usually black and smell like rubber, but they've held up. We have a ball and a treat dispensing Kong like this.

2.) Rope toys don't last, but one Invincible Chain from JW has lasted us several months (I even wrote a review on it).

Oh, and here's Feste (when he was a puppy) with Malvolio

We have this one which is AWESOME:

http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1419201598&sr=1-1&keywords=roll+treat+ball

Use it for breakfast and dinner on rainy days when he doesn't get in his usual hike. Takes about... 8 minutes? But he has a lot of fun with it!

Be careful with muzzles. They can be very constricting and harmful to the dog.

Patricia McConnell's books are really pretty great (short, to the point, reward-based). Here's one that may be what you're looking for.

It's a chuckit brand ball!


Canine Hardware Chuckit Kick Fetch Ball Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084DRJKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KskoDbAWSW1B8


He loves it too, not totally indestructible, but still holds up great

We have one of these for dinner time The large fits about a cup of food. Its cheap, durable, dishwasher safe, all that stuff. Dog figured it out pretty quick.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DK26M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tuffy makes some good stuff. We have a number of them. I just picked up the large sheep, it's almost as big as she is. Great for tug. She will chew the ears off. But in 14 months she's only got through 1. There's bones, bully sticks, balls etc to distract her also.

These are the favorites:

http://www.tuffietoys.com/
https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Twist-Treat-Small/dp/B0002I0RLW
https://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M

I use these every day for both meals
bob a lot

Kong wobble

I got the bob a lot when I left the other one at my parents house. It allows you to adjust the kibble flow in two places (inside, and the opening size).
The wobble is much easier to fill. I ended up drilling a few small holes near the main hole, and stringing some zip ties across the dispenser hole, so that food comes out slower, rather than Neko being able to empty it in a few pushes.

They are pretty similar, so you probably only need one.

sorry for the late response, sounds like you've got a good grasp on indie's diet. Here's what we supplement our boys' diet with, plus pumpkin 2x a day, in case you wanted to check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Glucosamine-formerly-Liquid-Health/dp/B000VKA93C/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1464040965&sr=8-3&keywords=k9+liquid+vegetarian+glucosamine

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-All-Natural-Supplement-Pump-Bottle-Dispenser/dp/B0002ABR6E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464041095&sr=8-1&keywords=grizzly+salmon+oil

If this is actual anxiety, it isn't just about the right toys and exercise (those things help, however) it's about desensitization. I highly recommend this book.

get some kongs from amazon, and rope toys they freaking love them this is what i have bought for mine, he is currently 5 and so months and finishing the teething cycle, sorry for the links in mexican amazon but we are from mexico :P
https://www.amazon.com.mx/gp/product/B004VBC0SY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com.mx/gp/product/B00KNWVPFO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've had my ACD for nearly a year, and while many Kongo have fallen in the valiant battle against his chewing tendencies, one particular toy has not.

And it is a bright purple squirrel.
https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Busy-Buddy-Squirrel-Medium/dp/B000A61GNO

I can get my (big) fingers in the holes to grip and tug, so yes? I have a separate "treatball" though, the Extreme is his tug-o-war ball that takes the worst abuse and keep on going.

A little bit of both. But mostly bike trails with light traffic. We sometimes jog off leash at a park thats dead empty in the morning, hell keep with me, but sometimes jog ahead maybe ten fifteen feet and look back at me, if i stop or slow hell come back to me. Also if i call he comes right away, but i havent tried to keep him at heel. Hes 0% aggressive and has no prey drive. We see squirrels all the time and he doesnt care. I would take him off leash but im worried about being rude by doing so, or be seen as non courteous to other riders. I was looking into something like this possibly? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003OYIAW4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A6UA4NC1RXBMR&psc=1