# Australian Shepherd information



## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

My boyfriend have been talking, and he wants to get another dog. We decided not right now, but we want to look for a reputable breeder who does all the proper health testing and preferably feeds raw and limitited vaccination. We are not planning to get another dog for 3-5 years, so we are more looking to find some one we like for later. I've had so many problems with my boxers health. I never want to get another dog that is not from a reputable breeder. It's alot of heart ache.

What do you look for in an Aussie breeder?
What tests should Aussies have?
Is it unreasonable to want to find a breeder that feeds raw and is limited with vaccinations?

I'm sure I will have many more questions to come. But was hopeing that i could get some good advice on here. 
We are interested in an Aussie, because we have always loved them. I had one as a child that was a retiered show dog and lived her life out with us. I am interested in agility, fly ball, dock diving, herding and all which I can not do with my boxers beacue they both have hip issues and it would only make it worse. We think and Aussie will make a perfect fit to our family when the time is right because we are very active with hikeing, camping, fishing and I love dog sports. 

Any suggestions?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I don't know these two personally but have heard good things about them and their dogs. The are NR breeders you might want to check out. Cotton Hill Farm Australian Shepherds Mini Horses Shetland Sheepdog and outfoxaussies.com


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Mossycreekaussies raises raw fed aussies with limited vaccs. They are in north Georgia.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Well you'll need to decide if you want a breeder who does more than showing, and if so do you want herding dogs or sport type dogs. Or some combo. I think there will be a bit of a difference in looks and temperament. I'm making a "breeder directory" (scouring the internet for good breeders and making a list...it's taking a lot longer than expected) and am on the Aussie right now and have over a page of breeders already and I'm not very far in lol. Off the top of my head I can't recall any that did natural rearing (or at least didn't mention it) but there might have been a couple who fed raw. I'll look. How far are you willing to travel (what states)? 

Health tests would be hips and eyes, some do elbows as well (and it's needed for a CHIC number) so if I were personally looking I'd want elbows done. I've also seen some test for multi drug sensitivity issues but I don't know much about that.


I definitely think you'll be able to find a raw feeding breeder who is also good as far as temperament, health testing, etc. but not sure about the limited vax, I suppose it depends what you consider limited.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Maxy24 said:


> How far are you willing to travel (what states)?


 I don't have a major preferecne on how far, but I would like to stay decently close (14 hours of so) to Ohio, or else I would have to have a puppy shipped, which i dont really want to do  I'm willing to travel for the most part.

I'm interested in show lines, but more interested in the health testing and sports.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

What I've got so far...

These people do BARF and say they do limited vaccines. They appear to be mainly show breeders. Located in GA
Blue Note Aussies - Welcome

These people only feed raw for one meal (raw meaty bones) they do kibble (high quality) for the other meal, didn't see vaccinations mentioned. Primarily show breeders by the looks of it. They are in MD.
Stonehaven Aussies

Feed part raw, part high quality kibble, and are given limited vaccines. Another show breeder. Located in MA. 
Terra-Blue Australian & Pyrenean Shepherds |

That's all I've got right now, probably not exactly what you wanted. I'll continue looking for raw feeders as I keep putting the directory together. There seem to be a lot of good Aussie breeders out there so I'm hopeful I'll find some more raw feeding, minimal vax ones too.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Can't help you at all with breeders but did want to say I had a blue merle show Aussie many years ago. He still holds a very special place in my heart. He was absolutely the smartest dog of all the breeds I've had: cocker, sheltie, golden and lab.

Even though he was from show lines and had a gorgeous coat, his herding abilities were still phenomenal. It's good to hear how active you are and have had experience with the breed. On some days I swear our Aussie was smarter than we were at the end of the day and ready for non-stop activity.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Here are a couple more you might want to check out.

Feeds raw (looks like BARF), minimal vaccines, homeopathy. Does showing and it looks like some obedience and maybe therapy work. Located in MN.
Wedgewood Aussies | Home

Feeds raw (seems more like PMR), very minimal vaccines, no heartworm, flea/tick stuff. Seems more strict about the puppy buyers doing the same. Dogs are shown, some have CGCs as well. Located in VA.
Kyanite Acres est.2007 - Home


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Here are a couple more

Doesn't talk about natural rearing and raw but I'm assuming that's what they do based on the links they have in their link section. Primarily show breeders, located in OR.
Goldcrest Australian Shepherds Home


These next ones say they feed raw and do natural rearing, don't go into a ton of detail that I saw. They do BARF. They show, do agility, obedience, herding, perhaps some other stuff I didn't go through all of the titles. Located in WA unfortunately, so quite a drive. 
Home Page


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Found a few more:
Feed raw, do limited vaccinations, no chemicals. Their main focus is agility. Couldn't find a list of their dogs but based on the dogs they do have posted, the parents of their upcoming litter, and what they've written I'd say they do all the necessary health screenings and put a lot of work into their dogs. These guys are far away too, located in OR.
Home Page

These ones feed raw, limited or no vaccinations, natural rearing. Homes that feel the same way are preferred. Focus on agility and herding. Also far away, located in NV.
Crystal Peak Australian Shepherds

These guys feed raw and minimal vaccinations. Primarily show breeders, not as much titling as I'd like to see but seem involved enough. Located in Minnesota, another long haul
Crystal Winds Australian Shepherds in Minnesota,
Crystal Winds Australian Shepherds in Minnesota

(I don't know why they have two websites, but just in case one is more up to date I wanted to post both)


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## Kristin (Mar 4, 2012)

My friend got one from here:
Aliyah Australian Shepherds - Home

He is a dual purpose conformation/performance dog. My friend shows him and is going to be competing in obedience, agility, and schutzhund with him. He got his CGC when he was under a year old. He went for his herding instinct test when he had never seen sheep before and did amazing. He did better than all of the dogs who were in his group and had been working privately with a trainer. He is a amazing dog.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Here's a few more I've come across

Robin Hill Aussies, located in Arizona. Say they feed raw but doesn't elaborate or mention vaccines (that I could find). Shows, titles in obedience and a little herding and agility.
Robin Hill Farm Australian Shepherds

Pinecrest Aussies, located in Colorado. Feeds raw (prey model) and naturally rears-no chemicals or vaccines. Titles in obedience. Website doesn't have litter information though so I can't be sure they health test all breeding dogs.
Pinecrest Aussies

Pinnacle Aussies, located in New York. Says they feed raw and dry food and does limited vaccinations. I wasn't terribly impressed with them because their breeder dogs aren't titled...but they also don't have any litters right now so maybe they are waiting for their dogs to achieve more.
Pinnacle Australian Shepherds - HOME

Katahdin Aussies, located in Puerto Rico but regularly travels to new england states. Feeds raw, does minimal vaccines, uses holistic remedies. Shows the dogs and titles in obedience, agility...and maybe some other things (didn't look up all the titles). Some therapy dogs too.
Katahdin_Australian_Shepherds

Rip Roarin' Aussies, not sure where they are located. They say they feed raw, that's all they mention. Show their dogs and have some titles in obedience and agility.
Home - Rip Roarin' Aussies


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Not sure if you are still looking at Aussie breeders but I've finished with them in my directory (and boy are there a lot of Aussie breeders, and good ones!) and found two more you might like:

Talisman Farm, Located in NH. Say they feed raw, not prey model, but not entirely BARF either. Follow Dr. Dodd's vaccination protocol. Title in various sports, mostly agility but they also have sheep and goats that I'm sure they use the dogs on. Also breed Border Collies.
Welcome to Talisman Farm

Cha Har's, Also in NH. Say they feed raw but that it is something new they are doing not sure when that was written. Also say they do minimal vaccines. Don't have as many titles as I'd like to see, but they also don't have any litters so perhaps they are waiting for their dogs to accomplish more first.
ChaHar's Australian Shepherds || Welcome


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## SonyaBullyDog (Jun 6, 2011)

Wow, you put so much work into this! I'm sure that this is very helpful for people looking for breeders! When you get to bull terriers, would you mind sharing?  It's always fun to see passionate people! (Not looking to buy a puppy, just curious  )


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Makovach said:


> Is it unreasonable to want to find a breeder that feeds raw and is limited with vaccinations?


Of course not! We are looking for a naturally rearing Cardigan Welsh Corgi breeder. I have found one but Nick is adamant about a blue merle (this will be "his" dog) so this breeder is helping me find another naturally rearing breeder who DOES breed blue merles. I am willing to accept a BARF breeder or a limited vaccine breeder too, however. If I find the right breeder then I am willing to be a bit flexible since the pup will be a limited vaccine pup as well (We vaccinate for rabies) but I know that I want a dog from someone who doesn't feed Purina and doesn't vaccinate their dogs just because their vet told them to. 

Our xolo is KIND OF a limited vaccine dog. The breeder doesn't vaccinate for everything but they do vaccinate for more than I'd like. They also feed kibble. But it is a pretty good kibble which is more than a lot of breeders. Unfortunately, there are so few xolo breeders that you can't be quite as picky as you can be with many other breeds. Man, if I could find well bred, naturally reared xolos... You can bet I would jump on that one! Hahaha.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

> Wow, you put so much work into this! I'm sure that this is very helpful for people looking for breeders! When you get to bull terriers, would you mind sharing?  It's always fun to see passionate people! (Not looking to buy a puppy, just curious  )


Of course! I'm on Basenji right now, and considering how long Aussies took me it might be a while lol. I'm thinking Border Collies and Boxers are going to hang me up pretty badly. The thing is when I finish the directory it'll be about time to go looking again to see if there are anymore! It'll be a continuous thing. I'm mainly doing it for people in "real life" who I'm afraid will just get a puppy from whoever if I can't give them some leads quickly.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I'd be very interested in the finished list when you get there. I have friends always asking where to get a pup and I don't really have answers for them because they are typically looking for a breed I have never really looked into breeders for.

A friend of mine recently asked me to help her find a yorkie breeder... Then it was "a small dog under 25 lbs". Ok... Well, there are many breeds under 25 lbs but I need to know what kinds YOU are interested in and what kind of life this pup is going to live so I know what breeds to direct you towards based on energy level. It can be maddening. Hahaha


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