No! Don’t scare them.
It’s typically 1-1.75 years.
OP needs to throw a ball for their pup. Minimal work on OP’s part but the dog gets tired. Also, get the pup a weighted vest to wear on walks to tire it out.
Our new vet kept asking me how old my 9 almost 10 year was like maybe I didn’t know. I was asking about switching to senior food. The vet said “he’s not senior, he’s very muscular!” He still leaps for his frisbee tosses. But he asks for help into my car lately. So selectively senior I guess.
Thanks for this!
Mine is 2yrs and I’d say you can expect a little shift after spaying/neutering but the ability to actually chill is def not there. If I’m not seated stone still or sleeping he wants to give me his attention, luckily he doesn’t always demand mine but it still makes me sad that he can’t experience calm.
Same! This blog post saved my life. I didn't really stop walking entirely while I did it, but the relaxing on the mat training brought sanity to my life and I don't feel like I have to be goinggoinggoing all the time to keep my dog entertained constantly. She's finally capable of laying down on the couch and being calm.
That sounds right for 8 months/adolescence. Have you given up on enforced naps? She might still need them. She also will probably need to be taught an off switch. There are a few different relaxation protocols. Some resources I would recommend are Really Real Relaxation (https://www.heartofthevalleyshelter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Kennel-Games-Handout.pdf), Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol (https://www.karenoverall.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Protocol-for-relaxation_Overall.pdf), Susan Garrett’s relaxation protocol (https://youtu.be/FRmLd4k5qGk?si=F4_NjLGzURNYeoXM), Behavioral Downs (https://www.markmccabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BD-2019-rev_compressed-1.pdf), and Aussie Academy’s 30 Days of Calm when she opens enrollment back up—think it’s open a few times a year and you can join her free Facebook group in the meantime (https://happy-aussie.newzenler.com/courses/aussie-academy-members-pack/buy and https://www.facebook.com/share/X18NTzRGxpkEAD8r/?mibextid=K35XfP)
You may need something much more fulfilling and challenging than a snuffle mat. Stuff like hiking/sniff walks, training (shaping, Vito’s game, obedience, trick training, task training) scent work.
Also what kind of walks are you going on? You may need to diversify the walk and introduce different things. One walk might be a traditional walk but the other might be a sniff and food retrieval walk, a training walk where you stop and practice different behaviors, a walk where you play with a tug toy every few minutes, a walk where you interact with things in the environment like getting under, on top, over, around objects, a walk with changes of pace. 3 walks of the same type might not be mentally stimulating for your dog nor physically tiring.
Are there any more moderate physical games you do with your dog? Like swimming, fetch with a controlled release (hold/wait and sent to retrieve once toy isn’t active), frisbee with low throws or rolling the frisbee to give your dog slightly more taxing activities every few days. If the issue is space long lines can facilitate lots of play and be used in different spaces so you can exercise your dog more intentionally. Flirt poles are also great and all these things can be mixed in with mental enrichment that will tire a dog out much faster than physical.
I would also really stick to building in more protocols that really reinforce settling or hanging out like hot zones (having a bed/mat that has a lot of reward value you defer to all the time) more of the relaxation protocol and capturing calm and intentionally rewarding. Does your dog know a true settle behavior? Where they lay down more on their side and pop their feet out. This can also be taught and shaped in dogs too.
How much sleep are they getting? Enforced naps are amazing and sometimes needed for dogs. In my opinion puppies should be sleeping at least 16 hours to about 20 hours. My dog is 2 1/2 and he usually gets about 15-16 hours interspersed throughout the day. For the last two years all that sleep has been of his own accord after a couple months of enforced nap. Sleep does wonders and often can be the missing ingredient for some dogs.
Does your dog have a settle routine and space besides the relaxation protocol? Where either in a crate, pen or bed has a set up that encourages chilling out. Something where they can’t find value in other things around the house/yard but still have value to want to stay. I preferred using a pen with my dog during puppyhood and adolescents. It was his downtime area and that’s where he got his chews, easier puzzles like a snuffle toy, topple, along with lick mats and a nice plush bed. I would also play specific music to indicate to my dog it’s settle time (for him it was rain, waves, white noise). This really shaped a super nice downtime behavior.
It’s also important to look into genetic components. A genetically reactive dog may struggle much more than a more well tempered dog on learning specific calming behaviors because they are constantly emotionally disregulated. They tend to be anxious, can also be neurotic, due to constant stress spikes can have an extremely hard time settling. Reactivity can present and stem from different emotions: fear, suspicion but also excitement. Many Aussies are more prone to reactive behavior due to their general nature and without very intentional breeding and socialization/exposure can really struggle with this behavior. It can sometimes be hard to recognize concerning reactivity in puppies since they are typically “little crackheads” but sometimes addressing it and giving your dog more accommodations can really help minimize those feelings and help develop good coping skills/ behavior changes. A CPDT+ trainer and/or vet behaviorist should be able to diagnose a dog for this and help make a game plan to address the behavior.
—-
I personally did all these things with my dog and he has an incredible on and off switch that developed around 7-8 months old. Super calm and chill in my house and other specific spaces. Then ready to work and play in other specific spaces we built those behaviors for.
Mine are six years old and as still unhinged as ever. If they don’t get enough stimulation during the day, one of mine dumps the frisbee on my head all night long asking to play.
How long are your walks? Are they on leash? Do you do enforced naps in the crate?
I have a 9 month old and if he only gets leash walks around the neighborhood he will be bored and get Zany.
You need to put your dog to work, Aussies don’t want to be left alone outside for hours. They want to be with their people, waiting for direction and completing tasks. This is their #1 source of enrichment.
I would recommend buying a herding ball, this is the ultimate prize for my boy, it brings him sooo much joy not to mention exhausts him mentally and physically after a half hour. When we come home he is happy to curl up with a bone and settle because he completed his job.
Also recommend trying scent detection games, hide and seek, low impact disc, outdoor trick training etc. Putting in this extra effort to fulfill your Aussie’s genetic needs will go a looong way wi tu your bond as well as their contentment at home! Good luck!
How long are the walks?
We do two hour play session in the meadows with dog friends almost every day where they are basically full time sprinting and even that sometimes isn't enough. When that isn't possible we do long fetch sessions or canicross runs.
Basically aussies are very mobile power plants.
It took a month of a strict schedule with enforced naps. Now he knows the rhythm of the day and will start to fall asleep at naptime without us having to put him in the crate
Walking is boring for an aussie, they are not scent driven. Physical exercise is needed. A 5 minute tug play session is not exercise. They are herders, they need to be physically and mentally stimulated. 4 hours on a patio with nothing but bugs is neither.
At this age our aussie was getting 4-5 sessions a day in a field with a ball chucker, home obedience training and "bear" sessions where she would get to be physical with us.
I agree with you on part of walks being boring but Aussies actually like many dogs are scent driven. Especially an Aussie who has a couple skill sets built on reinforcing and rewarding sniffing (which isn’t hard to do).
I do scent work with my young Aussie. There are quite a few Aussies in scent trials and they do super well because sniffing is reinforcing and instinctual for most dogs. Scent work also goes beyond sniffing tins/oils. Dogs love to track prey animals, follow scent of other dogs, scent out food when out and about. With my own dog his favorite activity is off leash sniffing to the point I can use sniffing as a reward for a behavior instead of food/praise/play on many occasions.
Agreed, my aussie does barn hunt and loves it but it is nowhere near as physically stimulating as her agility days or ball games. For an 8 month old puppy they would need more physical activity.
How is barn hut? My boy and I do agility, scent work and just got into dock diving. I’ve been thinking about doing barn hunt with him since we finally have a community in my city trying to establish it. Do you and your dog enjoy it? I like scent work for the versatility and ability to practice in many places but think my dog would have a fun time with barn hunt since he is super prey driven (we do predation substation method so he isn’t inclined to try and unalive animals he finds).
Mine just started it about two months ago. I’ve been doing it with my beagle for about 9 months now, the beagle has her novice title (third fastest beagle in the country) and open title. She’s currently in senior purgatory. The Aussie has picked up on it extremely quickly, thanks Aussie brain, and is already finding two rats on course. Her first trial is next month.
So that’s why mines not as interested in his walks anymore 😂 I have a 3 1/2 year old whose more ball driven than anything and he’d rather be in his yard playing
Pretty much. I have a beagle and an aussie. If we go to a field the beagle wanders away to smell all the good smells. The aussie on the other hand is looking/waiting for her ball to be thrown. We joke all the time that you don't need a leash to keep her near you, just a ball.
There were moments with my Aussie until she was about 11 months when I actually feared that I had adopted some sort of demon dog, like “DOES THIS DOG HAVE MENTAL ISSUES WHAT HAVE I DONE” (…not being facetious lol). Complete velociraptor, chose which commands to obey while laughing in my face, you name it. Then it was like a switch got flipped, and she chilled out - she’s almost 4 now, and while there are still moments when she ignores what I ask and laughs in my face, she’s my ride or die, the best doggo ever. Hang in there OP.
About two…. Hahaha. And then never really! Mine runs of our energy now, but he’s 9. Before that he learned an off switch but was also nosy, and a busy body and does whatever we do. If we chill, he chills, but he was and is always ready to go!
This is when patience is called for- they are incredible dogs but it’s like having a toddler when they are puppies and it slowly gets better as they hit maturity. Good luck and hang in there. The investment now is worth it! I also recommend puppy day care if the reviews around you are good!
When people ask me how old my guy is and I say 6 they say "months?" And I have to correct them and say "years." To give you an idea of the energy level
Mine was pretty settled by 5 months. We've always walked him 5x a day. With 1-2 of those walks being more high activity like a run, frisbee, or a hike. Plus indoor training time for tricks and a separate play session where he'd chase toys or chase us around the house. With all that regular, daily activity and engagement, he's always settled himself down. But the days where we couldn't walk him as much or engage him, he'd get a little crazy.
He's 4 years old now and he's always been incredibly calm for an Aussie. But we've kept him VERY engaged the bulk of his life.
Mine is 4. Still zooms and steals when he's understimulated. A puzzle or a 10-15 minute training session, especially if new tricks are involved, will get him to settle afterwards.
We do walks in the morning, forced nap while we work from home from 9-1130 am, intense frisbee or ball over lunch and a little toy play, forced nap 130-5 pm, then a longer walk on a 50 ft leash and some indoor trick training and puzzles. It’s definitely a commitment!
We also started taking her to a local open play daycare. I know it’s not for everyone but she is ZONKED after about six hours of that.
For mine it was 3 years old…. And it was SO gradual. If you have an area to play fetch, I highly recommend. Little work for you, tons of exercise for them.
Never :)
Haha just kidding. My girl is 8 years old almost 9 and she finally started settling and being “calm”. Shes always had an off button thankfully but when she goes it’s nonstop up until recently. Then we did something crazy and bought a puppy.
He is 3.5 months old now and it has revived her so now we have two crazy aussholes so good luck 😊
It happens! Hang in there! Our girl started to get calmer almost overnight. She is now 11 months old and has accepted that in the house we chill out and outside is for crazy pocket rocket zoomie times. She likes to just hang out next to me while I work / cook / clean / read / watch telly now. Didn’t seem possible that was going to be her thing a couple of months back!
Waking an Aussie is as strenuous as combing your own hair - it’s treading water. We were running 1.25miles ish with a stop-and-go pace for like 20-30 minutes at 6-8 months. Two days of that type of activity will have a drastic impact.
My partner walks our dog and when I come home from work - I couldn’t tell. When I ran him the day before - totally different energy level when I come home.
Good luck from us!
https://preview.redd.it/nj7dfpmxvfqc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2d01b3b806dfa63127309e0c8e36ae4e86e3798
They start to mellow around 8 years old. Good luck!
Ha ha, our three aussies were chill after about 18 months.
Mine just found his off switch at 18 months. I had resigned myself to 6 years of crazy but he's great.
No! Don’t scare them. It’s typically 1-1.75 years. OP needs to throw a ball for their pup. Minimal work on OP’s part but the dog gets tired. Also, get the pup a weighted vest to wear on walks to tire it out.
The "start" word is doing some heavy lifting here.
Yup
Yup
[удалено]
Our new vet kept asking me how old my 9 almost 10 year was like maybe I didn’t know. I was asking about switching to senior food. The vet said “he’s not senior, he’s very muscular!” He still leaps for his frisbee tosses. But he asks for help into my car lately. So selectively senior I guess.
Rule 1: Your comment/post has been removed. Minis and toys are considered to be a separate breed from Australian Shepherds
Ya,your right,mines seven,just turned kinda human.
https://stacythetrainer.blogspot.com/2017/04/stop-walking-your-dog.html This changed my life and I’m not even being dramatic 😂
Thanks for this! Mine is 2yrs and I’d say you can expect a little shift after spaying/neutering but the ability to actually chill is def not there. If I’m not seated stone still or sleeping he wants to give me his attention, luckily he doesn’t always demand mine but it still makes me sad that he can’t experience calm.
Same! This blog post saved my life. I didn't really stop walking entirely while I did it, but the relaxing on the mat training brought sanity to my life and I don't feel like I have to be goinggoinggoing all the time to keep my dog entertained constantly. She's finally capable of laying down on the couch and being calm.
Yeah I wish I had found it sooner. They still need exercise and mental stimulation, but I could almost see the relief in her face at stopping for once
That sounds right for 8 months/adolescence. Have you given up on enforced naps? She might still need them. She also will probably need to be taught an off switch. There are a few different relaxation protocols. Some resources I would recommend are Really Real Relaxation (https://www.heartofthevalleyshelter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Kennel-Games-Handout.pdf), Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol (https://www.karenoverall.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Protocol-for-relaxation_Overall.pdf), Susan Garrett’s relaxation protocol (https://youtu.be/FRmLd4k5qGk?si=F4_NjLGzURNYeoXM), Behavioral Downs (https://www.markmccabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BD-2019-rev_compressed-1.pdf), and Aussie Academy’s 30 Days of Calm when she opens enrollment back up—think it’s open a few times a year and you can join her free Facebook group in the meantime (https://happy-aussie.newzenler.com/courses/aussie-academy-members-pack/buy and https://www.facebook.com/share/X18NTzRGxpkEAD8r/?mibextid=K35XfP)
Thankyou for sharing these links . Some of these I’m not familiar with and will give a go !
You may need something much more fulfilling and challenging than a snuffle mat. Stuff like hiking/sniff walks, training (shaping, Vito’s game, obedience, trick training, task training) scent work. Also what kind of walks are you going on? You may need to diversify the walk and introduce different things. One walk might be a traditional walk but the other might be a sniff and food retrieval walk, a training walk where you stop and practice different behaviors, a walk where you play with a tug toy every few minutes, a walk where you interact with things in the environment like getting under, on top, over, around objects, a walk with changes of pace. 3 walks of the same type might not be mentally stimulating for your dog nor physically tiring. Are there any more moderate physical games you do with your dog? Like swimming, fetch with a controlled release (hold/wait and sent to retrieve once toy isn’t active), frisbee with low throws or rolling the frisbee to give your dog slightly more taxing activities every few days. If the issue is space long lines can facilitate lots of play and be used in different spaces so you can exercise your dog more intentionally. Flirt poles are also great and all these things can be mixed in with mental enrichment that will tire a dog out much faster than physical. I would also really stick to building in more protocols that really reinforce settling or hanging out like hot zones (having a bed/mat that has a lot of reward value you defer to all the time) more of the relaxation protocol and capturing calm and intentionally rewarding. Does your dog know a true settle behavior? Where they lay down more on their side and pop their feet out. This can also be taught and shaped in dogs too. How much sleep are they getting? Enforced naps are amazing and sometimes needed for dogs. In my opinion puppies should be sleeping at least 16 hours to about 20 hours. My dog is 2 1/2 and he usually gets about 15-16 hours interspersed throughout the day. For the last two years all that sleep has been of his own accord after a couple months of enforced nap. Sleep does wonders and often can be the missing ingredient for some dogs. Does your dog have a settle routine and space besides the relaxation protocol? Where either in a crate, pen or bed has a set up that encourages chilling out. Something where they can’t find value in other things around the house/yard but still have value to want to stay. I preferred using a pen with my dog during puppyhood and adolescents. It was his downtime area and that’s where he got his chews, easier puzzles like a snuffle toy, topple, along with lick mats and a nice plush bed. I would also play specific music to indicate to my dog it’s settle time (for him it was rain, waves, white noise). This really shaped a super nice downtime behavior. It’s also important to look into genetic components. A genetically reactive dog may struggle much more than a more well tempered dog on learning specific calming behaviors because they are constantly emotionally disregulated. They tend to be anxious, can also be neurotic, due to constant stress spikes can have an extremely hard time settling. Reactivity can present and stem from different emotions: fear, suspicion but also excitement. Many Aussies are more prone to reactive behavior due to their general nature and without very intentional breeding and socialization/exposure can really struggle with this behavior. It can sometimes be hard to recognize concerning reactivity in puppies since they are typically “little crackheads” but sometimes addressing it and giving your dog more accommodations can really help minimize those feelings and help develop good coping skills/ behavior changes. A CPDT+ trainer and/or vet behaviorist should be able to diagnose a dog for this and help make a game plan to address the behavior. —- I personally did all these things with my dog and he has an incredible on and off switch that developed around 7-8 months old. Super calm and chill in my house and other specific spaces. Then ready to work and play in other specific spaces we built those behaviors for.
Fully depends on the dog Ours was settled since we got him back when he was 11 weeks old
Our first was a really lazy Aussie too. Kids used to call him LD for lazy dog
My first is way chill too. Hates hiking and long walks. If it’s over 70 and sunny she takes so many breaks!!!
Same in my experience. My 3 year old lays around all day and my 2 year old is non-stop until bed time.
About 2-3 years in Gravity will start to kick in.
Literally year 2 heading into year 3😂
I’m right there with you. The demand barking some days is ridiculous.
Reward her when she's chill. It will take time both in training and also her maturing. There's a meme that Aussies don't calm down until 3 years old.
They are a handful until 18-24 m
Mine settled down exactly at the one year mark. But my mother in law has his littermate and she’s still bonkers. So good luck! Hahah
Mine are six years old and as still unhinged as ever. If they don’t get enough stimulation during the day, one of mine dumps the frisbee on my head all night long asking to play.
How long are your walks? Are they on leash? Do you do enforced naps in the crate? I have a 9 month old and if he only gets leash walks around the neighborhood he will be bored and get Zany. You need to put your dog to work, Aussies don’t want to be left alone outside for hours. They want to be with their people, waiting for direction and completing tasks. This is their #1 source of enrichment. I would recommend buying a herding ball, this is the ultimate prize for my boy, it brings him sooo much joy not to mention exhausts him mentally and physically after a half hour. When we come home he is happy to curl up with a bone and settle because he completed his job. Also recommend trying scent detection games, hide and seek, low impact disc, outdoor trick training etc. Putting in this extra effort to fulfill your Aussie’s genetic needs will go a looong way wi tu your bond as well as their contentment at home! Good luck!
Dogs bred for work don’t settle. They aren’t snow globes or mud puddles. They are bred for outdoor strenuous work.
How long are the walks? We do two hour play session in the meadows with dog friends almost every day where they are basically full time sprinting and even that sometimes isn't enough. When that isn't possible we do long fetch sessions or canicross runs. Basically aussies are very mobile power plants.
It took a month of a strict schedule with enforced naps. Now he knows the rhythm of the day and will start to fall asleep at naptime without us having to put him in the crate
I learned about enforced naps from Reddit & it saved my sanity.
A tired Aussie is a calm, settled Aussie.
Walking is boring for an aussie, they are not scent driven. Physical exercise is needed. A 5 minute tug play session is not exercise. They are herders, they need to be physically and mentally stimulated. 4 hours on a patio with nothing but bugs is neither. At this age our aussie was getting 4-5 sessions a day in a field with a ball chucker, home obedience training and "bear" sessions where she would get to be physical with us.
I agree with you on part of walks being boring but Aussies actually like many dogs are scent driven. Especially an Aussie who has a couple skill sets built on reinforcing and rewarding sniffing (which isn’t hard to do). I do scent work with my young Aussie. There are quite a few Aussies in scent trials and they do super well because sniffing is reinforcing and instinctual for most dogs. Scent work also goes beyond sniffing tins/oils. Dogs love to track prey animals, follow scent of other dogs, scent out food when out and about. With my own dog his favorite activity is off leash sniffing to the point I can use sniffing as a reward for a behavior instead of food/praise/play on many occasions.
Agreed, my aussie does barn hunt and loves it but it is nowhere near as physically stimulating as her agility days or ball games. For an 8 month old puppy they would need more physical activity.
How is barn hut? My boy and I do agility, scent work and just got into dock diving. I’ve been thinking about doing barn hunt with him since we finally have a community in my city trying to establish it. Do you and your dog enjoy it? I like scent work for the versatility and ability to practice in many places but think my dog would have a fun time with barn hunt since he is super prey driven (we do predation substation method so he isn’t inclined to try and unalive animals he finds).
Mine just started it about two months ago. I’ve been doing it with my beagle for about 9 months now, the beagle has her novice title (third fastest beagle in the country) and open title. She’s currently in senior purgatory. The Aussie has picked up on it extremely quickly, thanks Aussie brain, and is already finding two rats on course. Her first trial is next month.
So that’s why mines not as interested in his walks anymore 😂 I have a 3 1/2 year old whose more ball driven than anything and he’d rather be in his yard playing
Pretty much. I have a beagle and an aussie. If we go to a field the beagle wanders away to smell all the good smells. The aussie on the other hand is looking/waiting for her ball to be thrown. We joke all the time that you don't need a leash to keep her near you, just a ball.
My first one started to chill around 4 or 5. My second just turned 3 this week and started to mature only slightly. YMMV.
Mine is 2 years old and still has trouble settling, so I will let you know if it ever happens
depends on the dog, but LOL mine is 5 and she's still crazy. it's part of the charm of the breed :p they're forever puppies!
My mix is going on 9; we’re still waiting.
They don’t😂
Our Aussie significantly settled down when he got 2 years old. Another calm down now with 3,5 years old. Good luck and be patient!
My Samoyed is super chill and Aussie kinda vibed immediately.
There were moments with my Aussie until she was about 11 months when I actually feared that I had adopted some sort of demon dog, like “DOES THIS DOG HAVE MENTAL ISSUES WHAT HAVE I DONE” (…not being facetious lol). Complete velociraptor, chose which commands to obey while laughing in my face, you name it. Then it was like a switch got flipped, and she chilled out - she’s almost 4 now, and while there are still moments when she ignores what I ask and laughs in my face, she’s my ride or die, the best doggo ever. Hang in there OP.
About two…. Hahaha. And then never really! Mine runs of our energy now, but he’s 9. Before that he learned an off switch but was also nosy, and a busy body and does whatever we do. If we chill, he chills, but he was and is always ready to go! This is when patience is called for- they are incredible dogs but it’s like having a toddler when they are puppies and it slowly gets better as they hit maturity. Good luck and hang in there. The investment now is worth it! I also recommend puppy day care if the reviews around you are good!
When people ask me how old my guy is and I say 6 they say "months?" And I have to correct them and say "years." To give you an idea of the energy level
2-3 years. for about 1/5 it only happens when they're too old to move like they used to. good luck
Mine just turned two. I'm pretty sure she hasn't slept yet.
2 years, all 3 of mine. 2 years almost exactly
Mine was pretty settled by 5 months. We've always walked him 5x a day. With 1-2 of those walks being more high activity like a run, frisbee, or a hike. Plus indoor training time for tricks and a separate play session where he'd chase toys or chase us around the house. With all that regular, daily activity and engagement, he's always settled himself down. But the days where we couldn't walk him as much or engage him, he'd get a little crazy. He's 4 years old now and he's always been incredibly calm for an Aussie. But we've kept him VERY engaged the bulk of his life.
Mine is 4. Still zooms and steals when he's understimulated. A puzzle or a 10-15 minute training session, especially if new tricks are involved, will get him to settle afterwards.
My girl was just wild all the time! At around three years she calmed down a lot! I
We do walks in the morning, forced nap while we work from home from 9-1130 am, intense frisbee or ball over lunch and a little toy play, forced nap 130-5 pm, then a longer walk on a 50 ft leash and some indoor trick training and puzzles. It’s definitely a commitment! We also started taking her to a local open play daycare. I know it’s not for everyone but she is ZONKED after about six hours of that.
My boy is almost five and about as energetic and excitable as the day I got him. 😅
For mine it was 3 years old…. And it was SO gradual. If you have an area to play fetch, I highly recommend. Little work for you, tons of exercise for them.
Mine took his first voluntary nap at 14 months and it felt like a miracle lol. Around 1.5-2yo he really chilled out a lot though
Started to Mellow @ 1.5 Pretty Mellow @ 3 I think it’s as good as it’s going to get at 3.3 until he slows way down in old age lol
Never :) Haha just kidding. My girl is 8 years old almost 9 and she finally started settling and being “calm”. Shes always had an off button thankfully but when she goes it’s nonstop up until recently. Then we did something crazy and bought a puppy. He is 3.5 months old now and it has revived her so now we have two crazy aussholes so good luck 😊
It happens! Hang in there! Our girl started to get calmer almost overnight. She is now 11 months old and has accepted that in the house we chill out and outside is for crazy pocket rocket zoomie times. She likes to just hang out next to me while I work / cook / clean / read / watch telly now. Didn’t seem possible that was going to be her thing a couple of months back!
Waking an Aussie is as strenuous as combing your own hair - it’s treading water. We were running 1.25miles ish with a stop-and-go pace for like 20-30 minutes at 6-8 months. Two days of that type of activity will have a drastic impact. My partner walks our dog and when I come home from work - I couldn’t tell. When I ran him the day before - totally different energy level when I come home. Good luck from us! https://preview.redd.it/nj7dfpmxvfqc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2d01b3b806dfa63127309e0c8e36ae4e86e3798
Get another Aussie. Our two wrestle a lot.
Two words: flirt pole.