He is soo cool we picked him up Saturday for $275 and he is a red merle. I ever never house broken a dog or puppy for that matter before. How do you do it? Any hints or advice. Thanks.
I’ve always prefered to train them by not letting them make mistakes in the first place. It’s annoying as hell and takes a lot of work, but it saves you having to scrub the carpet, and you don’t have to correct the dog.
At first, take the dog out almost every hour. Praise him lavishly and give him a treat when he pees outside. At night, put him in a crate just large enough for him to stand up and turn around. (Dogs won’t eliminate where they sleep.) Get up once or twice during the night to let him out. (Carry him, don’t let him walk, or he might squat as soon as you open the door to the crate.)
Gradually extend the time between potty breaks. Take him out after he eats or drinks , 'cause that often brings on the urge to urinate.
Don’t punish him if he pees on the rug. Just say, “No!” and grab him up and take him out. (Dogs don’t understand why they’re being punished for something that’s completely natural.) When he pees outside, praise him.
Take him out the same door every time. You may want to hang a bell on your doorknob, because he may go there and sit to go out and you won’t see it. If you teach him to ring the bell, you’ll always know when he needs to go,
Keep him in the crate while you’re gone during the day, or, better yet, put him in doggy day care. They’ll help potty train him.
Mental image–baby in a Crocadile Dundee hat, widdling all over slowpee’s domicile.
Must…go…lay down…
Lissa’s nailed most of the times. Take him out WAY more often than you think you should. Take him out 1) right after he wakes up; 2) right after he eats; 3) after he’s been playing or chewing on something for a while.
Designate a spot in your yard (or wherever) as the Potty Spot. Take him there consistently. Praise lavishly when he does his business there. You can start using a phrase as a cue. (Barbara Woodhouse suggested using “hurry up.” I have no shame, so I walk out with mine and chant “Pee-pee. Let’s go peee-peeeeee!”)
Another bit of advice: find a puppy class you can take him to as soon as he’s had all his shots. Aussies can be a bit protective and territorial, and it’s really important to socialize them well when they’re young. They need to meet lots of other people and lots of other dogs and learn how to get along with them.
I love Australian Shepherds! I have 3 purebred Aussies and one Aussie-mix. They’re not a breed for everyone. They have LOTS of energy, and need lots of exercise. They’re smart and love to have things to do. Teach him lots of things and exercise the heck out of him. My youngest, Jasper, is 9 months old now, and he’s a hoot. He’s a handful too, but we love him.
I’m not going to add to the already great advice you’ve been given - just wanted to say “You got a great puppy!” Aussies are so smart - they will constantly suprise you with just how intelligent they are. They do need lots of things to do - or they will get bored - then you’ll really see how smart they are!
Amen to that! A bored Aussie can get into more things in 10 unattended minutes than you can even imagine.
And remember: a tired puppy is a good puppy.
When I got an aussie pup a couple of years ago, she more or less housetrained herself. My theory is that when she’d start to pee indoors, the sight of me panicking while shouting “Oh hell! WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?!” was enough to convince her that I was mentally unstable and that peeing inside was the trigger.
Thanks for all the advice I appreciate it very much. When ya’ll say give him lots to do like what for instance? Is there puppy games or something? Also how long would you leave him in your house if you want it to be an outside dog? He is 9 weeks now and I just don’t have the heart to put him outside yet and I think he could fit under too many places in the fence now.
Aussies should not be mostly outside dogs. They’re very people-oriented (in our house we say “Having an Aussie means never going to the bathroom alone again”), and they’re smart enough to get in bad trouble if left to their own devices. Many Aussies are very velcro (they like to stick close to you), and they’re unhappy if they’re left alone too long. Did you do any research on Aussies before you bought the puppy? They’re often not recommended for first-time dog owners.
Puppy games: chasing toys (throwing the toy for the puppy to chase), running and letting the puppy run with you, playing tug (but make sure the puppy will give up the tug toy when you request it). If you have another person in the house, you can play the recall game: both of you get some treats or dog cookies and put them in your pocket. Stand a ways apart in a secure area (e.g., a fenced yard.) One person calls the puppy; when the puppy comes, he gets a treat. Then the other person calls the puppy; the puppy comes, he gets a treat. You can end up being fairly far apart (if you have the room.) The puppy learns to come to his name, and he gets exercised running back and forth. It’s a win-win situation.
One warning: Aussie puppies tend to be mouthy/nippy. It’s a normal part of herding dog behavior. You’ll need to teach your pup not to chew on you. The thing that works best for me is to cry “Yipe!” in a high-pitched voice and stop playing for a moment if your pup gets nippy. Do this and BE CONSISTENT about it. It will still probably take a while for him to get the message.
And seriously, if you’re not familiar with puppy games, find a dog trainer in your area ASAP. I don’t know what part of the world you’re in, but you could Google on dog trainers in your area.
For more Aussie info, try or ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) or About Aussies
Training is a great way to play with your puppy. You just have to make it fun.
I used the “clicker method” to train my new puppy, and it worked like a charm. (You can use a bottle lid with a pop-up top as your clicker if you don’t want to buy one. You can also find loads of information about this method on the net.) It’s a better method for dogs who are smart like aussies, because it makes the dog think a bit.
Basically, the way it works is that you click when the dog does something you want, and give him a treat. You start by saying “Look!” and when the dog looks at you, click and treat. This teaches the dog to pay attention to you, and gets him used to the idea that the clicking noise means a treat.
Then, you “trick” him into doing the behavior you want. For example, teach him to sit by holding a treat above his head, then slowly (without lowering it) move it towards his back, so that it goes back over his head. He should naturally lose his balance trying to keep an eye on it and sit down. Click and treat when he does this. Do it a couple of times, then start saying “sit” before you click and reward. Finally, just say the command and wait until he does so. When he obeys, go nuts, and praise him lavishly.
This is the way you train for everything. To teach him to lie down, you put a treat in front of his nose, and lower it towards the ground, pulling it slightly forward at the same time. To follow it, he should lie down naturally. (You may have to do this a few times before he’ll lie down-- some dogs are a little touchy about it.) Click and treat when he does. Repeat a few times, then start saying, “Down” before you use the treat to lure him to the floor. Then start doing it without a treat in your hands. Go nuts when he obeys you for the first time without being lured.
I seriously urge you not to make him an “outside dog.” Aussies are too social and intelligent for this-- it’s cruel to leave them alone for more than a few hours at a time.
If you put enough time and effort into training, he’ll be a joy to have in your house. I’ve often said that there are no “bad dogs” just bad owners. (Unless, of course, your dog has mental problems.)
Raising a puppy properly takes almost as much effort as raising a child, but once you’ve accomplished your goal, you have a wonderful companion who will bring you much enjoyment. Not only will they guard your property, and keep your feet warm on cold evenings, but they can also be put to work. You can train him to find and fetch the remote, get beers from the fridge . . . . whatever makes him a valuable member of your family.
An “outside dog” is a bored, unhappy, destructive and potentially aggressive dog. They don’t get enough attention. Playing with them for a few minutes in the evening, and filling up their bowls isn’t enough.
Slowpee - email me. (piratedawg at gmail dot com)
I have and train aussies. I can also put you in contact with aussie people who can help you. Aussies are… a difficult breed sometimes. They are NOT meant to be outside dogs. They WILL be destructive if understimulated. They need a job. Badly.
Bwahahaha! Say hello to your new indoor dog my friend. I though the same thing when I got my Labs.
If you can swing it, have a doggie door put in to your back yard. (assuming you have a house.) If given a choice, dogs much prefer to pee outside rather than inside.
I didn’t have to train my labs but at the time I also had another dog there that was already house broken. So they may have just taken clues of of him. I’m not sure really.
Hmm, I wonder if that would be a good idea. Borrow some one elses dog thats already house broken for like a couple of weeks and see if that would do the trick.
Never thought of that.
slowpee, listen to Elenfair. She knows whereof she speaks!
Archergal, fan of Pirate
I have no shame either. " Go potty! "
Also, you can probably train your dog to piss and poop in the same designated area so as to avoid the dreaded squashed poop bomb in the future. We did with our dog, but to tell you how to do this, you have to paypal me $500.
Muhahahahahahahahahahaha
Say hello to your new friend Your rotator cuff will thank you.
I suck. Pirate’s email address actually is pirate.dawg at gmail dot com.
Oy.
And say hello to your next best friend. Your Aussie will thank you. 
I think posting a picture of the puppy and giving us a link would help
I wanna see the puppy!
Ino that is simply awesome!
The engineers who created these devices clearly have dogs.