So true. I have a mini Aussie that my grandson obtained from a friend who was moving and needed to rehome him. My grandson has his litter mate brother. I am retired and home most of the time, but have a large fenced yard. All of the points you mention, I can see in my pup. He is so smart that he has stopped barking at the neighbors, the mailman, or any family who comes to the house. All others are “announced.” He does follow me from room to room and thankfully because he wants to herd me, he stays behind me. He is very sweet and gentle. He loves car rides and visiting our family. All in all, I am very happy to have him in my life.
A big YES on all your questions as to NOT get one. I have seen so many at off leash park that the owner said they got them from a shelter. It's so sad that the original owner had to do this to this wonderful breed. For me and my wife, the pack leader. I try to be the velcro leader to him. My wife does agility classes once a week, not to do what you do we just want to work his brain. I have a yard set up with an agility track. 😊 I use a super long rope for the down/stay for Retriever of his toys. If I get out of the truck to just go in store for 5 minutes ( YES, he starts barking loudly), Daddy's pack leader doesn't leave me. I use the puzzles for him getting treats. He loves the puzzles. My baby boy name is Blaze. He is the owner of a 1989 Spartan Gladiator pumper fire engine. He loves riding between me and my wife in the officers seat. He stands on the engine cover and just takes the world in front of him, always looking out the big cab windows 😊 all your background of videos you showed my Blaze is the same. Especially the nights in bed. He does favor the mommy pack leader for sleeping because of our forever home cat ( Joeybear). She sleeps curled up in my armpit area on me. He doesn't like the cat giving me lovydovy curly ups. Your cat and dogs do better than mine, Blaze toys to hump poor joeybear. Yes, that is a big hard training issue with our cat. I am working on them being bed buddys. I really am working hard on being the velcro to him, me being the Australian Shepherd person, sticking to him. If he has a toy in his mouth, I will just follow him around the house. I always go right to him first thing coming in the door and just get him as close to me as possible. I love it outside playing, and when I Neal down, he comes and stands on my legs with front paws and his head acting like a swivel, taking in everything that's going on around him. I would love to see him HEARD some sheep, like you showed.
Thank you. I appreciate your matter-of-fact discussion of the MAS’s characteristics, including things one might consider a negative, like (for me) the potential for separation anxiety and excessive barking. To me this is a valuable reminder to select our breeder carefully, and to begin early work on training in these areas with my future puppy. There is a couple in France who have developed a fairly new and comprehensive method for addressing (or better, preventing) separation anxiety. They named it after their rescue dog Frida. Another potentially negative consideration is the MAS’s double coat-with such a luxuriant undercoat there will always be floating hairs on furniture, clothes, floor, etc. With my BC-AuCaD0-Aussie mix, his shedding is managed by regular professional grooming (blowing undercoat out); daily slicker brushing at home; and using a shedding comb during shedding season. Finally, the difficulty of finding a MAS WITH its beautiful tail intact in the U.S. is another potential drawback (that is not at all a fault of the breed). The tail’s usefulness for communication; balance during physical activity; somewhere to tuck a nose when it’s cold out; something to clamp down when feeling threatened, etc. make it clear to me that my dog highly values his beautiful tail-and I do too! Our next dog will most likely be a MAS, but our challenge now is to find a well-bred and well-raised puppy whose tail is intact. 🙁 Again, many thanks for your highly informative videos!! 😊❤
Thank you❤️! You make some great comments of things people should consider when getting a MAS. And I also get your point about the tails. I love their tails and in most countries in Europe it is actually forbidden to dock tails. Also with other breeds such as the doberman and more. I do think there is a Facebook group called "Aussies WITH tails! -Breeders- Australian Shepherd & Mini American Shepherd" who make a list with breeders who breed with tails in the USA, but I don't know how well-bred and well-raised they are. But you can always take a look there. Also, I know a breeder friend who bought a dog for her program in Europe and the breeder left the tail on for her because docked dogs are also not officially allowed at dog shows here etc.. So you could ask that as well. Good luck with finding a good breeder and thank you for your really great comment!
[EDIT Just to be clear, my series of comments-i.e. this one and all the others (except the initial one to which Bibi responded)-were *not* to Bibi, but to another commenter who’s since apparently deleted all her pro-tail cropping comments. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone reading, thanks.] @ You make many good arguments from a well-informed perspective and I appreciate your contribution to the discussion. You sound as if you may even be one of the thoughtful, conscientious breeders I’m considering! I just want to point out to anyone reading this that I did not say anything disparaging about breeders who dock tails, only that my challenge was to find a good, conscientious breeder who does not, or is at least is willing to give a natural tail option (tho it means making a choice based on sex/color at birth, rather than temperament, which is not ideal). Also, tho I agree with most of the rest of your points, I would be careful about appearing to argue for or against tail docking by ranking it among other surgical or husbandry practices as it’s not a choice between two things (that’s a false equivalency fallacy). Each one of the practices mentioned has its own merits or negatives. That said you do bring up many excellent points about the other health choices to be considered. I was a vet tech as well and attended many tail docking procedures. Whether it’s more or less stressful than other things you can do to a puppy is not my concern-again, that’s a false equivalency. (To clarify for readers who need this, I can’t justify doing something disagreeable to you by saying, “well, it’s no worse than this other thing that you tolerated or survived just fine.”) In any case I only brought up observations about my own dog and how he uses his tail, and gave my own opinion. Thanks for adding to the discussion with so many excellent considerations!
The AVMA has a very informative page on the topic of tail docking with numerous sources cited. They also have a page of FAQs for a quick overview-it too cites numerous sources. I’m curious as to how MAS breeders who tout their practice of Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) square this with the practice of tail docking. The first, ENS, uses mild 3-5 second long, non-painful modes of stimulation on the puppy during its first days and weeks, all the while monitoring constantly for signs of stress-any of which would indicate the need to immediately stop ENS procedures. The second, tail docking, is a lengthier procedure done without anesthesia that causes acute pain with potentially negative long-term consequences (see AVMA tail docking discussion). It seems like the practice of tail docking would negate any potential positive/desirable effects from ENS (which are still not conclusively proven-see the literature)-? To me the two would be incompatible. I would question the understanding of ENS and the seriousness of purpose with which it is applied by a dog breeder if they also engage in the practice of tail docking.
@@wisdomsleuth77777 Again, I appreciate reading your insights and opinion as I am learning from them. I appreciate that we’re discussing politely, with passion, and with respect. Kudos to you for that. To answer your questions, I was not able to post links because AI would instantly delete my comment from RUclips. It is very easy to google the AVMA’s cosmetic cropping position and FAQ, and I think it’s crucial to read them first in any discussion of this topic, or you will not know what is informing my position, while you’ve-truly helpfully-provided that background for your position. I had to rewrite my whole comment to get it to stick. This is good because I like to be as brief, clear and to-the-point as possible. My second effort better achieved that, I think. Again, relativism or false equivalencies won’t convince me, even if what you say about changes in thinking surrounding spay/neuter practices does jibe with what I’ve read. But “this is much less painful than that, which everybody does” will never justify inducing pain for cosmetic purposes. Pain is also difficult to quantify on observation alone. Many animals hide their pain for survival purposes. Please note I did clearly describe the way cropping was practiced by the one veterinary practice where I worked in the 1990s. I observed clear signs of stress during tail cropping, which I described above. I’m swayed by my own observations as well as by the widely adopted standards surrounding tail cropping across Europe, as well as by the US AVMA, more than by what appears to be a/your highly-informed argument based on your training and experiences, as convincing as it is. I would definitely not rule anyone out as a breeder because they practice tail cropping, as that would eliminate way too many well-bred and Puppy Culture-reared dogs. I’m just saying my preference is for a natural tail, both for aesthetic and ethical reasons, and that is what I’ll seek. You even sound like the type of breeder I may seek out. I love tris too, as much or more than merles, probably because my two English shepherd heart dogs were black and tan or tri, and my favorite basenji was tri-all stunning dogs with delightful, loving temperaments. :-) Thanks again, W.
@@wisdomsleuth77777 If you’re willing, would you share the name of your kennel? Thank you… [It is 16h later and I’m still waiting for an answer to this question.]
Then you do not know the breed. They are Miniature American Shepherds so they have a different breed standard then Australian Shepherd. Although I do agree that there are bad breeders out there who do not breed to the breed standard and go smaller and smaller and loose a lot of their breed qualities.
So true. I have a mini Aussie that my grandson obtained from a friend who was moving and needed to rehome him. My grandson has his litter mate brother. I am retired and home most of the time, but have a large fenced yard. All of the points you mention, I can see in my pup. He is so smart that he has stopped barking at the neighbors, the mailman, or any family who comes to the house. All others are “announced.” He does follow me from room to room and thankfully because he wants to herd me, he stays behind me. He is very sweet and gentle. He loves car rides and visiting our family. All in all, I am very happy to have him in my life.
A big YES on all your questions as to NOT get one. I have seen so many at off leash park that the owner said they got them from a shelter. It's so sad that the original owner had to do this to this wonderful breed. For me and my wife, the pack leader. I try to be the velcro leader to him. My wife does agility classes once a week, not to do what you do we just want to work his brain. I have a yard set up with an agility track. 😊 I use a super long rope for the down/stay for Retriever of his toys. If I get out of the truck to just go in store for 5 minutes ( YES, he starts barking loudly), Daddy's pack leader doesn't leave me. I use the puzzles for him getting treats. He loves the puzzles. My baby boy name is Blaze. He is the owner of a 1989 Spartan Gladiator pumper fire engine. He loves riding between me and my wife in the officers seat. He stands on the engine cover and just takes the world in front of him, always looking out the big cab windows 😊 all your background of videos you showed my Blaze is the same. Especially the nights in bed. He does favor the mommy pack leader for sleeping because of our forever home cat ( Joeybear). She sleeps curled up in my armpit area on me. He doesn't like the cat giving me lovydovy curly ups. Your cat and dogs do better than mine, Blaze toys to hump poor joeybear. Yes, that is a big hard training issue with our cat. I am working on them being bed buddys. I really am working hard on being the velcro to him, me being the Australian Shepherd person, sticking to him. If he has a toy in his mouth, I will just follow him around the house. I always go right to him first thing coming in the door and just get him as close to me as possible. I love it outside playing, and when I Neal down, he comes and stands on my legs with front paws and his head acting like a swivel, taking in everything that's going on around him. I would love to see him HEARD some sheep, like you showed.
Thank you. I appreciate your matter-of-fact discussion of the MAS’s characteristics, including things one might consider a negative, like (for me) the potential for separation anxiety and excessive barking. To me this is a valuable reminder to select our breeder carefully, and to begin early work on training in these areas with my future puppy. There is a couple in France who have developed a fairly new and comprehensive method for addressing (or better, preventing) separation anxiety. They named it after their rescue dog Frida. Another potentially negative consideration is the MAS’s double coat-with such a luxuriant undercoat there will always be floating hairs on furniture, clothes, floor, etc. With my BC-AuCaD0-Aussie mix, his shedding is managed by regular professional grooming (blowing undercoat out); daily slicker brushing at home; and using a shedding comb during shedding season. Finally, the difficulty of finding a MAS WITH its beautiful tail intact in the U.S. is another potential drawback (that is not at all a fault of the breed). The tail’s usefulness for communication; balance during physical activity; somewhere to tuck a nose when it’s cold out; something to clamp down when feeling threatened, etc. make it clear to me that my dog highly values his beautiful tail-and I do too! Our next dog will most likely be a MAS, but our challenge now is to find a well-bred and well-raised puppy whose tail is intact. 🙁
Again, many thanks for your highly informative videos!! 😊❤
Thank you❤️! You make some great comments of things people should consider when getting a MAS. And I also get your point about the tails. I love their tails and in most countries in Europe it is actually forbidden to dock tails. Also with other breeds such as the doberman and more. I do think there is a Facebook group called "Aussies WITH tails! -Breeders- Australian Shepherd & Mini American Shepherd" who make a list with breeders who breed with tails in the USA, but I don't know how well-bred and well-raised they are. But you can always take a look there. Also, I know a breeder friend who bought a dog for her program in Europe and the breeder left the tail on for her because docked dogs are also not officially allowed at dog shows here etc.. So you could ask that as well. Good luck with finding a good breeder and thank you for your really great comment!
[EDIT Just to be clear, my series of comments-i.e. this one and all the others (except the initial one to which Bibi responded)-were *not* to Bibi, but to another commenter who’s since apparently deleted all her pro-tail cropping comments. Just wanted to clarify that for anyone reading, thanks.]
@ You make many good arguments from a well-informed perspective and I appreciate your contribution to the discussion. You sound as if you may even be one of the thoughtful, conscientious breeders I’m considering! I just want to point out to anyone reading this that I did not say anything disparaging about breeders who dock tails, only that my challenge was to find a good, conscientious breeder who does not, or is at least is willing to give a natural tail option (tho it means making a choice based on sex/color at birth, rather than temperament, which is not ideal). Also, tho I agree with most of the rest of your points, I would be careful about appearing to argue for or against tail docking by ranking it among other surgical or husbandry practices as it’s not a choice between two things (that’s a false equivalency fallacy). Each one of the practices mentioned has its own merits or negatives. That said you do bring up many excellent points about the other health choices to be considered. I was a vet tech as well and attended many tail docking procedures. Whether it’s more or less stressful than other things you can do to a puppy is not my concern-again, that’s a false equivalency. (To clarify for readers who need this, I can’t justify doing something disagreeable to you by saying, “well, it’s no worse than this other thing that you tolerated or survived just fine.”) In any case I only brought up observations about my own dog and how he uses his tail, and gave my own opinion. Thanks for adding to the discussion with so many excellent considerations!
The AVMA has a very informative page on the topic of tail docking with numerous sources cited. They also have a page of FAQs for a quick overview-it too cites numerous sources.
I’m curious as to how MAS breeders who tout their practice of Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) square this with the practice of tail docking. The first, ENS, uses mild 3-5 second long, non-painful modes of stimulation on the puppy during its first days and weeks, all the while monitoring constantly for signs of stress-any of which would indicate the need to immediately stop ENS procedures. The second, tail docking, is a lengthier procedure done without anesthesia that causes acute pain with potentially negative long-term consequences (see AVMA tail docking discussion). It seems like the practice of tail docking would negate any potential positive/desirable effects from ENS (which are still not conclusively proven-see the literature)-? To me the two would be incompatible. I would question the understanding of ENS and the seriousness of purpose with which it is applied by a dog breeder if they also engage in the practice of tail docking.
@@wisdomsleuth77777 Again, I appreciate reading your insights and opinion as I am learning from them. I appreciate that we’re discussing politely, with passion, and with respect. Kudos to you for that.
To answer your questions, I was not able to post links because AI would instantly delete my comment from RUclips. It is very easy to google the AVMA’s cosmetic cropping position and FAQ, and I think it’s crucial to read them first in any discussion of this topic, or you will not know what is informing my position, while you’ve-truly helpfully-provided that background for your position. I had to rewrite my whole comment to get it to stick. This is good because I like to be as brief, clear and to-the-point as possible. My second effort better achieved that, I think.
Again, relativism or false equivalencies won’t convince me, even if what you say about changes in thinking surrounding spay/neuter practices does jibe with what I’ve read. But “this is much less painful than that, which everybody does” will never justify inducing pain for cosmetic purposes. Pain is also difficult to quantify on observation alone. Many animals hide their pain for survival purposes.
Please note I did clearly describe the way cropping was practiced by the one veterinary practice where I worked in the 1990s. I observed clear signs of stress during tail cropping, which I described above.
I’m swayed by my own observations as well as by the widely adopted standards surrounding tail cropping across Europe, as well as by the US AVMA, more than by what appears to be a/your highly-informed argument based on your training and experiences, as convincing as it is.
I would definitely not rule anyone out as a breeder because they practice tail cropping, as that would eliminate way too many well-bred and Puppy Culture-reared dogs. I’m just saying my preference is for a natural tail, both for aesthetic and ethical reasons, and that is what I’ll seek. You even sound like the type of breeder I may seek out. I love tris too, as much or more than merles, probably because my two English shepherd heart dogs were black and tan or tri, and my favorite basenji was tri-all stunning dogs with delightful, loving temperaments. :-)
Thanks again, W.
@@wisdomsleuth77777 If you’re willing, would you share the name of your kennel? Thank you… [It is 16h later and I’m still waiting for an answer to this question.]
❤❤❤yes I have trained I love them so smart I've been looking in my area for a female puppy right off the teeth nip,❤
I have a full aussie.
He’s 6 months
He’s insane af
Haha they can be😂😂
MAS heads not like real aussie... bad breeding.
Then you do not know the breed. They are Miniature American Shepherds so they have a different breed standard then Australian Shepherd.
Although I do agree that there are bad breeders out there who do not breed to the breed standard and go smaller and smaller and loose a lot of their breed qualities.