Australian Shepherds (Aussies)

[maroongrad]

Anybody here have Australian Shepherds? I love them and am considering getting one or another herding breed but would like opinions on them and what they are like to live with and stuff like that. I have done research and understand that they are usually pretty high energy and often somewhat high drive too and that they can be protective but they seem like amazing dogs. My brother's fiancé had one growing up and says he was a great dog and very intelligent and my cousin had one that they just put down last week at 14 and he was a great dog. They have 3 little kids and he taught all of them how to walk. They would grab his fur and pull up. He was a bit over protective though. One time they brought him to my aunt's house and my mom made the mistake of going in or near my cousin's old room and he freaked out and lunged but we shut the door on him. I think a lot of that is probably training (or lack of) and/or poor breeding. They are not exactly dog people. But despite that he was a great dog. I would be paranoid of an overprotective, aggressive dog though so that is one aspect of the breed that worries me. I guess if I find a reputable breeder and do extensive socialization and training they may be good? But they are still typically one person dogs, correct? And how are they with other dogs? From what I have read, herding breeds have a different play style than, say, retrievers, and can sometimes come across as bossy, rude, or aggressive even if they are not? We have only ever had retrievers or retriever mixes so I know it may be an adjustment but I love how smart/intelligent and handler focused the herding breeds are. But I also love the goofy, playful, love everybody nature of retrievers. That is why I am torn between a retriever such as a Lab or Golden and a herding breed such as an Australian Shepherd or an English Shepherd (lesser known breed). I do not mind if the dog does not want to be friends with anyone and everything it meets like a retriever and in fact it might be better if it wasn't but I just worry about it bordering fear or aggression. Maybe I am completely off base though and Aussies are actually friendly dogs? I mostly just care about a dog that wants to please and is fairly easy to train. Our current dog is Black Lab/Great Pyrenees and my brother's puppy is Lab, Great Pyrenees, Boxer and a little bit of something else, and they both have a stubborn streak and laziness. Hers is less so because she also has the boxer and she loves playing and training (I walk her 3 times a week and usually always play and train too) and she loves pleasing but the stubborness shows where she has to think about it sometimes and if she doesn't want to or there is nothing in it for her, she won't always do it. My dog is the same but worse lol they are working on it with theirs but anyway, very long story short, I want my next dog to want to listen and do what I want without having to question every single little thing. That's not to say I want a robot dog or perfect dog or one that's never allowed to have fun. It just would be nice for simple things like come to not be a chore LOL

Anyway, we also have almost 3 acres amd are set back in the woods. Not all of that is yard of course but the yard is very very large. It's not fenced but it is, again, set back in the woods and we are hopefully going to be fencing at least part of it soon. My brother also lives 2 miles down the road and they just fenced their yard so we can go over there too possibly or even walk there. Could also play with their dog. We also live in a great area that has lots of quiet, safe roads for walking as well as cranberry bogs across the street and all over the area, a pond, and a large field that connects to the ocean on one end and has a little beach. Plus town and state forests. So plenty of opportunities for exercise whether fetch or long walks or whatever. I am also planning on hiking and biking with it if it wants to and possibly doing a dog sport even if it's just for fun to burn energy and not competitive. I love dogs and dog training and try to very involved with my dogs if they want to be (mine is lazy) so I am pretty confident I could handle one and meet their needs. I just have concerns about their interactions with strangers and other dogs.

Please share any info you would and if anyone has any pictures or stories that would be great.

And apologies this somewhat turned to specifically my situation but we can share stories, pictures, information, etc. too.

We've got two collie-type dogs. Baxter is our Chicken Pro. He's probably an aussie/border/lab mix (we say lab because of the Tail of Death). If we need to get flighty pullets put up and it's not dark out, he's our bring-'em-in dog. Very mellow dog otherwise. If we didn't know better, we'd say he was a Black-and-Tan English Shepherd, because he looks almost exactly like one and he's got 90% of the behavior. Much "softer" dog personality-wise and not quite as smart as an ES.
Our other dog is, I think, the perfect poultry dog. A Scotch Collie. We haven't lost a bird since we brought him home a year ago. He wants to spend his days out in the yard keeping an eye on everything, is super nurturing with babies, and extremely non-aggressive with our tiny duck that HATES HIM. He spent today stressing because we had two-week-old ducklings out in the yard for the first time, and if they got more than a few feet from their pen, he'd move them back into it. He also breaks up hen fights.
Both of them kill rats and would LOVE to get ahold of a fox! They're both very mellow with major "off" switches. Sure, they could work all day...but if not working, they're couch potatoes.
In the future, I'll likely stick with English Shepherd or Scotch Collies for an in-town dog that needs to be pretty chill most of the time, while still being super useful. Great with kids, low-maintenance coat, very healthy and long-lived, very intuitive, freakin' brilliant (the scotch is the breed the border got its brains from), fabulous with kids, extremely obedient, and overall what we wanted. Downside, lots of coat and shedding, and they can be barky. Our Scotch was easy to train not to bark at specific things, like people on the other side of the fence, but he'll still bark when other dogs bark, he sees anything he's not familiar with, etc. And, they do like to herd. Neighbor's little toddler was on a balance bike and got too far away, according to the Scotch...so the scotch moved out and moved the kid back to his grandma.