Raising a herding dog.
Kai is my red merle Aussie, born July 2024. Nipping, recall, the crate, and the adolescent brain were the four problems that actually ran our week. I don't have a certificate on the wall. I have a dog who can wait at a door without turning it into a herding drill — most days.
Two badges. Training is our life, not a product.
I don't Kai-test "positive reinforcement." That's just how we live. The badge is for gear and food. This hub is first-person: what Kai actually did, with this owner.
What he actually did.
Nipping, recall, crate, adolescence — those are stories from real days with Kai, not a curriculum I bought. When a tool made it easier, I say so on the gear hub. The leash clip still broke at about six months while it was clipped to his harness. Training did not fix cheap hardware.
Breed patterns, not a diploma.
Aussies settle later than people hope. Recall in an unfenced park is a different sport than recall at twelve feet. The older posts on this site are labeled older posts. I didn't go back and stamp certificates on them.
The park is not always open. Training still is.
A working breed will invent a job if I don't give him one — ankles, the door, or the next dog he sees.
Recall starts at 12 feet.
We practiced come at twelve feet with food from his actual bowl — the beef, not a mystery treat. Short, boring, paid well. The dog park is a final exam I don't take until twelve feet is easy.
Manners in tight spaces.
Sit before the door. Wait while people get off. No herding strangers into a corner. Some days we skip and take the stairs. That's still training.
Mental work fills the gap.
When the park is iced or it's pouring, we do food puzzles, short impulse-control games, and a sniff walk under the awnings. Longer "training sessions" made adolescence worse, not better.
Four problems. Honest notes.
I'm not going to write "mastered" on any of these. He's a young Aussie. This is the version that made our week survivable.
Nipping
Redirect to a toy. End the game when teeth hit skin — I actually stood up and walked away, which is rude and still worked. More physical outlet. An under-walked herding puppy will invent a job, and my ankles were convenient.
or skipping the walk and hoping a chew solved it.
Recall
High-value food from the bowl he already wants. Tiny distances first. Name, come, pay, done. I don't proof it in an unfenced field because I like having a dog. Recall starts short, then a fenced run.
He comes for the beef. That's enough for now.
Crate
Not as punishment. Covered, in a quiet corner, meals in there so it smells like the good part of the day. The crate is how Kai gets a door of his own and a real break in a long day. The older crate-training post is still useful; this is the short version.
or leaving him in there to "cry it out" for sport.
Adolescence
Sometime after the cute puppy phase, the brain falls out. Rules stay boring and consistent. More sniff walks, not longer obedience drills. He will look at me like we've never met. We have.
don't settle into adult energy until 2–3. Kai is still in it.
The training archive is big. This hub is the filter.
Half the site is training. That's the traffic. These posts went up before the two-badge voice. I didn't invent titles or certificates to dress them up. Use them, and come back here for the current version.
All training posts →The questions I get asked most.
When do Aussies calm down?
Later than people want. A lot of them find adult energy around two to three. Structured exercise and mental work from puppyhood onward shapes how ugly adolescence feels. Kai is not "done."
Do I have to crate train?
You can. I didn't. A settle spot with a door is how we both get a break. If the crate is a jail, it won't work. If it's a bed with dinner in it, it might.
Do I need a trainer?
A good one helps. I don't have a plaque from one on this site, and I'm not going to invent one. If your dog is over your head, hire a real person in your city. I'm a guy with one Aussie.
What gear made training easier?
The advice is free. The gear mistakes aren't. Read the gear hub for the leash clip that broke at about six months while clipped to the harness — the harness held. Don't buy a second plastic clip because a training post sounded optimistic.
The Aussie Owner's Kit. Free.
The four sheets I wish I'd had on day one: a feeding chart, a grooming schedule, a vet-visit checklist with MDR1 questions, and a first-year training timeline.
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