We have an aussie, she is 5 years old and our second aussie. We are fortunate that she is pretty laid back, not high energy and not high herding drive - unless she is swimming and then she'll herd everything. We have two kids, two other dogs, two cats and a rabbit. While I love her to death and would get another aussie in a heartbeat, they are not for everyone. The previous poster brought up a lot of good points to consider.
We can't give our aussie an inch, she'll take it all and more very quickly. She has to earn everything every day. While she gets a lot of out time and running/wrestling with the other two she requires several extra walks/bike rides per day to really wear her out.
She is not an escape artist, she likes to be where her people are. THe more excitement and running around there is, the more amped up she gets. She's kind of like a pre-teen that doesn't know when to quit. She's great with our animals, she doesn't allow any other cats on her property. She's fine meeting other dogs, but again if they get all hyped up and crazy, she's going right there with them. She wrestles daily with our poodle mix and border collie mix puppy and has never hurt them, she's usually the one crying because they get too rough with her. She's very reserved with people she has never met before. Once she has met someone a few times, she is fine but not the most welcoming host to strangers.
To sum her up, she is an amazing dog. I love her dearly, but she has been an amazing amount of work and it's ongoing. My son is almost 13 and he is just getting to the point where he can work with her and she respects him and listens to him consistently. Before this she would "forget" to sit, "forget" that she isn't allowed to jump on people, etc with him. He was her playmate, not her leader and she would quickly take advantage of that with him and with anyone else that comes into the house and lets her get away with it.
Good luck with your decision.
We can't give our aussie an inch, she'll take it all and more very quickly. She has to earn everything every day. While she gets a lot of out time and running/wrestling with the other two she requires several extra walks/bike rides per day to really wear her out.
She is not an escape artist, she likes to be where her people are. THe more excitement and running around there is, the more amped up she gets. She's kind of like a pre-teen that doesn't know when to quit. She's great with our animals, she doesn't allow any other cats on her property. She's fine meeting other dogs, but again if they get all hyped up and crazy, she's going right there with them. She wrestles daily with our poodle mix and border collie mix puppy and has never hurt them, she's usually the one crying because they get too rough with her. She's very reserved with people she has never met before. Once she has met someone a few times, she is fine but not the most welcoming host to strangers.
To sum her up, she is an amazing dog. I love her dearly, but she has been an amazing amount of work and it's ongoing. My son is almost 13 and he is just getting to the point where he can work with her and she respects him and listens to him consistently. Before this she would "forget" to sit, "forget" that she isn't allowed to jump on people, etc with him. He was her playmate, not her leader and she would quickly take advantage of that with him and with anyone else that comes into the house and lets her get away with it.
Good luck with your decision.
