Miniature Australian Shepherd Care

The Miniature Australian Shepherd: compact, intelligent, lively, and versatile. This smaller version of the standard Australian Shepherd is easily trained and beloved by its owners--and as a bonus, the breed doesn't require a great deal of care. Below you'll find plenty of details on raising a Mini Aussie: puppy care and development, exercise needs, tips on feeding, and more. For answers to all your Miniature Australian shepherd care-related questions, read on!

Mini Aussies are lively and athletic, but they're comparatively small--so while these dogs need consistent exercise, they don't need a huge amount of it. As a herding breed, Mini Aussies are intelligent, task-oriented, and highly trainable, so they'll do best with activities that stimulate them mentally as well as physically. (These dogs compete very well in obedience and agility trials, for example.)

But specifically how much exercise will your Mini Aussie need? A typical adult dog of this breed, depending on its age and overall activity level, will require about 45 minutes of proper exercise each day; you can begin exercising a Mini Aussie puppy at three months old by taking it on short (5- to 10-minute) walks, then increasing the walks' frequency and duration as the puppy grows.

There are, of course, some precautions needed when exercising your Mini Aussie. First, puppies younger than nine months old shouldn't participate in activities that include a lot of jumping and running, as doing so can injure their still-developing bones and joints. And regardless of age, it's best to keep a Mini Aussie leashed when in public. These dogs have incredibly strong herding instincts, and will try to control almost any moving object--people, other animals, bicycles, even cars!--often by nudging or nipping at them, so a leash will help curb that behavior when you're out and about. They also have pretty high prey drives, so they're likely to chase after interesting-looking critters; even when you're exercising in your own yard, the area will need to be secured with a fence or something similar to keep the dog from taking off after every squirrel it sees.

Safeguards aside, it's a good idea to exercise your Mini Aussie every single day. These dogs are smart, lively, and work-oriented--so a bored or restless Mini Aussie will become agitated, disobedient, and thoroughly unhappy; the under-exercised Aussie might create its own "task": tearing up everything it possibly can! So consistent exercise is good for the dog, for you--and for your possessions as well. Here are a few exercise ideas:

• Walking: Two 20-minute walks per day is a good target
• Fetch/Frisbee: A Mini Aussie will chase a ball, stick, or Frisbee for hours
• Hide-and-Seek: Great indoor rainy-day activity; give the dog a treat when it finds you
• Canine Sports: These dogs excel in obedience and agility trials, flyball, and other competitions
• Dog Park: Mini Aussies love the company of other dogs; a leash is recommended

When indoors, you might want to give your Mini Aussie access to one or more balls or chew-toys that will allow the dog to burn of any excess energy. It's also recommended that you establish a consistent exercise schedule for your Mini Aussie, such as walks after breakfast and dinner and a play period in the afternoon.

The amount of care needed for these dogs in terms of shedding and drooling is fairly low overall. Miniature Australian Shepherd shedding is seasonal and moderate, and drooling is basically a non-issue.

Mini Aussies have thick double coats, with an undercoat that sheds lightly for most of the year but more heavily during the spring and fall shedding seasons. Owners say brushing once or twice a week with a bristle brush (and more frequently during shedding season) should reduce Mini Aussies' shedding pretty well; you may need to vacuum and use lint rollers to pick up stray hairs occasionally, the owners say, but shed hairs aren't a huge problem.

A Mini Aussie may drool a bit in anticipation of food, but not much otherwise. If your Mini Aussie is drooling excessively, it may be a sign of a medical issue, in which case a veterinarian's care might be needed.

Though opinions vary on what's the best dog food for Mini Aussies, the most popular and sensible choice is premium grain-free dry food. High-quality foods have the animal proteins, carbohydrates, and omega fatty acids that dogs of this breed need on a daily basis; cheap, generic foods simply do not have enough nutrients to keep Mini Aussies healthy. The food will also need to be grain-free because these dogs often have allergic reactions to corn, barley, wheat, and other grains.

An adult Mini Aussie should eat 1½-2 cups of premium dry food per day; try not to feed your Mini Aussie too much, because these dogs will easily become obese is they're overfed, which will cause breathing, joint, and digestive issues, not to mention a shortened lifespan.

No temperature requirements have been documented in this breed. Information to date asserts this breed will do well indoors and outdoors. The originating country of the United States has a temperate seasonal climate, so they should be able to adapt to a wide variety of temperatures.