Picking out your Puppy
Information about picking out your Toy or Miniature Australian Shepherd puppy.
Picking the right puppy for your family
Registration Papers and what they mean to you
USDA Inspected Kennels or Hobby Breeders
Picking the right Toy or Miniature Australian Shepherd puppy:
As responsible breeders, one of our most important jobs is to match the puppies personality to a new home. By telling us a bit about yourselves and your families wants and needs, we will be able to help you adopt your new best friend. Don't let the color or markings of a puppy be your only guiding factor. Our goal is to have dogs loving their family and families loving their dog.
Male or Female; Both males and females are extremely intelligent, easy to train and loyal. We have noticed that the males seem to be more loyal to the human they decide is theirs than the females. The females tend to be more protective of what they view as theirs, like the house, yard and car. Males tend to have the frill or collar; females are generally less striking as adults. Both sexes are better pets spayed or neutered. Spaying or neutering your dog will also extend their lifespan.
Letting the puppy choose you; plan to spend time with the litter, sit on the floor and play with them. The puppy that chooses you will me more likely to be responsive and willing. This is the beginning of a bond that will last 12 to 16 years. If that is not possible, let us help you by telling us what you expect from a puppy.
Mild:
These puppies make the best choice for someone looking for a less herding, less active companion dog. They are still very intelligent and can be working stock dogs if you so choose. They just are not as aggressive with stock or play. They are not as apt to herd your children, you or your cats. Even the mild temperament type puppies will need mental stimulation to keep them from being destructive (chewing on the wrong things) until they have matured and understand the rules in their new home. We consider these the couch potato type.
Medium:
These puppies will mature to be the best of both worlds. They are generally content to just hang out with you, but are always up for hiking, fetch, and herding. As working dogs, they tend to call off easier as they aren't so zoned in on the task at hand.
Strong:
They are very busy even at 8 weeks old. They require daily activity of some sort that includes mental stimulation and physical exercise. Games of fetch or going for a walk will generally do the trick however, they need room to run. These dogs tend to make the best agility dogs. They do settle down with you to watch TV or just hang out, they just require more exercise than the mild or medium tempered types. Toy Aussie and Mini Aussie puppies with a strong working personality can be a challenge for first time dog owner.
Registration Papers for your Toy or Miniature Australian Shepherd and what they mean to you:
Most people are not interested in showing or breeding their new family member. While there are people who are not honest, with most registered dogs you can be certain that the puppy you pick out is a purebred if it comes with registration papers. There are several different registries that a Toy or Miniature Aussie can be registered in. You might even find some that are AKC. However if you get an AKC registered Toy or Mini Australian Shepherd you more than likely wouldn't be able to show in the AKC as they have a minimum height requirement and only recognize the Standard Australian Shepherd, so if you have a Toy or Mini you will be disqualified on size. The AKC has accepted our breed but has forced us to change the name to American Miniature Shepherd.
Shade Tree Aussies uses America's Pet Registry, Inc. as a primary registry. APRI has a great reputation of getting papers back to the breeder in time for them to go with the babies to their new homes. Not all registries can do that. We always order a pedigree to go with each puppy. With the APRI papers and pedigree you can register your puppy with several registries and associations. We do encourage you to register your puppy with APRI for several reasons, the biggest one is it is a legal document like the title to your car.
Should you want to breed or show your new puppy, APRI (America's Pet Registry, Inc.) offers bench shows, ASDR (American Stock Dog Registry) is geared at herding and agility events, but they do have conformation classes, IBCA (International All Breed Canine Association) also offers bench shows where you can earn International titles without leaving the United States. For Toy Australian Shepherds there is TASAA (Toy Australian Shepherd Association of America) while not a registry, they are an association of members. There is also ARBA (American Rare Breed Association), they offer shows all over the United States.[Top of Page]
USDA Inspected Kennels or hobby breeders of Toy or Miniature Australian Shepherds?
This section is solely the opinion of Shade Tree Aussies - We feel that the USDA rules and regulations are aimed at larger breeders and have been forced upon the small family or hobby breeder. When you purchase a puppy from a USDA Kennel, you are assured that you will get a healthy puppy. The regulations they require a kennel to meet are set in place to make sure those dogs are well cared for. Please do not allow the size of the kennel or the license that kennel holds to make you not look at the puppy of your choice.
However it makes it difficult at best to to raise your puppies in the house. I personally believe that it is important to an Aussies mental development to be a part of the family from day one. Most Hobby Breeders are small enough not to be effected by those regulations at this time.
With the crushing laws that are being passed from state to state, brought on by HSUS and Peta, it will soon be impossible to raise our dogs the way we want to. At the point that comes to pass I will no longer be a breeder. You may want to visit the Pet Breeders and Owners site to learn more about the changing laws and how they effect you.
If you are interested in wading through all the pages of the Animal Welfare Act and the Animal Welfare Regulations I have provided the link here. [Click Here]
