Where to get Australian Shepards.
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RD-Sam
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You could go to the AKC website and look for breeders there. I would look for a breeder that competes in performance events vs. conformation events, you will have a better chance at getting a good dog. Also you want to make sure the breeder is health testing for the common health problems associated with the breed, and has certifications from the OFA. You can always go to the OFA site and verify the claims of the breeder also, you just need the sire and dams names, or registration numbers. Good Luck.
It really depends on what you want out of your pup. If you want a companion animal, AKC website is fine. If you want one that competes in like agility, look for agility clubs in your area. They are all over. They would have a contact number for you, someone who is competing with an Aussie.
If you want a cattle dog, talk to cattle people. I found mine in the newspaper, came off a farm, said parents were working dogs. I assumed that because they said their dogs worked livestock, that their dogs worked live stock. Based on the poor performance of mine with cattle, I will next time ask to SEE the parents work cattle. Anybody who has working dogs will be more than happy to show them at work. It is something to be proud of. If they won;t show you their dogs at work, don;t buy their pups.
Now we have neighbors that work their cattle with Aussies ~ its a wonderful thing to watch those dogs working. They can really get the job done. AKC has done little or nothing to promote the purpose of these dogs, has in fact been detrimental. I don;t care at all about papers, the dog needs to work. Mine works horses and goats like nobodies business, but is leery of the cattle despite early and frequent exposure (I will say she is getting better). Figure out what you want to do with it and go from there. I'd never have a different dog.
If you want a cattle dog, talk to cattle people. I found mine in the newspaper, came off a farm, said parents were working dogs. I assumed that because they said their dogs worked livestock, that their dogs worked live stock. Based on the poor performance of mine with cattle, I will next time ask to SEE the parents work cattle. Anybody who has working dogs will be more than happy to show them at work. It is something to be proud of. If they won;t show you their dogs at work, don;t buy their pups.
Now we have neighbors that work their cattle with Aussies ~ its a wonderful thing to watch those dogs working. They can really get the job done. AKC has done little or nothing to promote the purpose of these dogs, has in fact been detrimental. I don;t care at all about papers, the dog needs to work. Mine works horses and goats like nobodies business, but is leery of the cattle despite early and frequent exposure (I will say she is getting better). Figure out what you want to do with it and go from there. I'd never have a different dog.
bigbull338
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look for aussie breeders in your area.an talk to them.an see what their dogs are bred for.if you want 1 for cattle.get it from a breeder that breds for those traits.pups will cost you from $150 to $400.
pdfangus
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I have had aussie fo near 25 years and things have changed over that time.
I agree that if you watn a cattle dog then buy from someone who uses theirs.
I disagree about the amount of money required as around here a good working dog is worth more than the prices I see quoted here.
I would not buy an AKC dog as the show ring ruins everything and the Wonderful aussie breed is no exception.
My last two dogs came from Aussie Rescue. I would recommend that venue if you just want a good companion dog. Not a lot of background is always avaialable.
I agree that if you watn a cattle dog then buy from someone who uses theirs.
I disagree about the amount of money required as around here a good working dog is worth more than the prices I see quoted here.
I would not buy an AKC dog as the show ring ruins everything and the Wonderful aussie breed is no exception.
My last two dogs came from Aussie Rescue. I would recommend that venue if you just want a good companion dog. Not a lot of background is always avaialable.
bigbull338
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i quated him prices for weaned pups.now the prices for trained dogs is $1000 to $2500.
RD-Sam
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I disagree with your logic that the AKC has ruined everything, yet I do think they have made a mess of alot of things. I stated that you should look for AKC performance dogs instead of conformation dogs, conformation events are part of the problem with all the breeds. Performance minded breeders bred dogs that can easily be trained to compete and they have to be healthy, otherwise they won't cut it. You won't find a dog from any of these breeders for 300-400 dollars, it just won't happen. It cost me close to $700 per dog to run all of the health checks on my Chow Chows before breeding, stud fees can easily go $1000 or more if needed. A quality dog cost money, if you want to take your chances go to the shelter and adopt one, you stand just as good of a chance of getting a good dog that way as buying from someone who doesn't do the required screening and know how to breed.
My pups come with a 3 year genetic health guarantee, shots and vet cert. You don't have to pay through the nose for a working dog. You're not buying papers ~ you're buying a pup. The male I used to breed my female was an awesome cattle dog. If you want that pup trained, it is going to cost some money. That being said, a free pup from working lines can work just as well if not better than something you are paying through the nose for.
What is it that you think these pups are lacking?
What is it that you think these pups are lacking?
RD-Sam
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Certs from a vet are useless, they can be biased and from what I have seen, half the vets in this country don't know their rears from a hole in the ground.
An independant certification through the OFA and CERF would be required to have any validation. I am not familiar with all the health issues of the Aus. Sherpard, but I would want to make sure the parents could pass their hip and elbow x-rays, a patella exam, a cardiac exam, and an eye exam. A working dog would at least require all of those to function properly to do their work. People that do it right also have background health checks available on the relatives in the pedigree, without a pedigree and a registration number that can't happen, so there is at least one use for the AKC.
You can guarantee a dog all you want, but when someone invested the money to start with, then did training only to have the dogs hips to be bad or have a problem tearing ACL's, it's all for nothing. Sure, you can replace the dog, but what says the next one will be any better if there are no background health checks to back up the lines from which the dog came from. We aren't talking pets here, we are talking working dog.
An independant certification through the OFA and CERF would be required to have any validation. I am not familiar with all the health issues of the Aus. Sherpard, but I would want to make sure the parents could pass their hip and elbow x-rays, a patella exam, a cardiac exam, and an eye exam. A working dog would at least require all of those to function properly to do their work. People that do it right also have background health checks available on the relatives in the pedigree, without a pedigree and a registration number that can't happen, so there is at least one use for the AKC.
You can guarantee a dog all you want, but when someone invested the money to start with, then did training only to have the dogs hips to be bad or have a problem tearing ACL's, it's all for nothing. Sure, you can replace the dog, but what says the next one will be any better if there are no background health checks to back up the lines from which the dog came from. We aren't talking pets here, we are talking working dog.
RD-Sam
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Registry Rank Evaluations Percent Abnormal Percent Normal
BAER HEARING TEST N/A 1 0.0 100.0
CARDIAC 23 178 0.6 99.4
ELBOW 47 2974 4.3 95.4
HIPS 120 25620 5.8 93.5
PATELLA 59 242 1.7 98.3
PROGRESSIVE RETINAL ATROPHY N/A 3 0.0 100.0
THYROID 55 115 2.6 93.0
This didn't come through so great, but these are the stats from the OFA on this breed, you will notice there are over 25,000 of these dogs in the database for the hip scores, that is a bunch. The weakness of this breed seems to be hips, elbows, and thyroid. This breed is alot better than most in the health department, but if you buy from breeders that don't check, you get what you pay for. I was on a farm recently where the person had been breeding these dogs and quit, there were about 15 dogs, and about half were lame, some elbows, some hips, some patella. This person did no health checks and had bred for about 20 years, the results were a bunch of lame dogs.
BAER HEARING TEST N/A 1 0.0 100.0
CARDIAC 23 178 0.6 99.4
ELBOW 47 2974 4.3 95.4
HIPS 120 25620 5.8 93.5
PATELLA 59 242 1.7 98.3
PROGRESSIVE RETINAL ATROPHY N/A 3 0.0 100.0
THYROID 55 115 2.6 93.0
This didn't come through so great, but these are the stats from the OFA on this breed, you will notice there are over 25,000 of these dogs in the database for the hip scores, that is a bunch. The weakness of this breed seems to be hips, elbows, and thyroid. This breed is alot better than most in the health department, but if you buy from breeders that don't check, you get what you pay for. I was on a farm recently where the person had been breeding these dogs and quit, there were about 15 dogs, and about half were lame, some elbows, some hips, some patella. This person did no health checks and had bred for about 20 years, the results were a bunch of lame dogs.
RD-Sam
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You might contact these two breeders and see if they can help you. They appear to be only breeding for conformation, but they have way more CHIC entries than any of the other breeders by a long shot, and to get those CHIC#'s they have to do the required health testing on the dogs. I am in no way endorsing them, because I do not know them, but I think it would be a good place to start. They way be able to steer you in the direction of a working dog breeder that health tests.
http://www.thornappleaussies.com
http://www.briarbrookaussies.com
http://www.thornappleaussies.com
http://www.briarbrookaussies.com
Copeman ~ I stand behind my original statement. Pick a pup that has parents working in the area of your interest. Watch the parents work. You should not expect to have to pay more than $400 for a weaned pup. The vast majority of cattle dogs out there in the pasture were free, did not come with papers, let alone all the bells and whistles; and they do their job year after year after year.
RD-Sam
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This may be helpful too.
http://www.asca.org/Programs+/Stockdog
This will also be helpful.
http://www.asca.org/Education/Health
http://www.asca.org/Programs+/Stockdog
This will also be helpful.
http://www.asca.org/Education/Health
RD-Sam
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This breeder was recommended by a trainer of working dogs that I know, she said these people had excellent dogs. They don't have anything available at the moment, but they may be able to help or put you on a waiting list.
http://www.stoneridgeaussies.com
http://www.stoneridgeaussies.com
