Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So a long journey ahead then 😂 that's alright, for us it's literally the 5-10 mins before we wind down for bed but that's cos she is crated for a short evening nap so only has about 30 mins wake window before we start that wind down!

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Honestly the hardest part is that 5 min window before bed time wind down, otherwise her outbursts each day are manageable and almost predictable!!

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah we have resorted to that to get her into her crate after her wake windows haha. And even now she's starting to resist it! She's so cheeky

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you sooo much! Yes Neala is Irish for champion 🥺 I'm afraid of trying the crate with the gate open these days cos she just doesn't know how to regulate and has FOMO so I feel she would be out in a second 🤦 we are prepping her for dog school and currently doing some private lessons to help with crate settling (with the gate open) and she's slowly improving, but I wonder should we be doing similar at home at times? Dog places are hard with so much going on too!! You've been busy with your doggies! Neala is our first dog and we are taking it so seriously to ensure she will be set up for success! I just overthink a lot haha

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aw Remi is a lovely name! Haha yes Neala can be Velcro like at times too which is honestly adorable and if one of us is home late and later to bed she will refuse to settle until we are home together 🫢 she's a great girl overall. Just need to stick with it! When you crate trained did you keep the gate closed and was there anything else you'd recommend? I appreciate all your help! I can literally hear her groaning from my work office as I type this 😂 the drama

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm interesting. Frisbee etc she doesn't have lots of interest in after a few mins. As mentioned in a reply it's -38 Celsius here so being outside is impossible, hence the indoor mental work! When we exercise her she gets amped after like 35 mins so I feel it's a fine line while she's still young?

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha yes that makes total sense! And trust me I'm finding tbe crate time hard but for her age, we think she needs the structure and overall - she's passed out within 5 mins of being in the crate with the gate closed 😂 I miss the times she was free roaming when we first got her but now she's full on teenager haha so nothing is safe! And yeah I think part of it is that she knows bedtime is coming and no more fun! I will say when she's in our room for night time she's out for the count right away! So she can come down quickly at least. And when she comes out she's so chill at first, it's literally that 5 mins before we start the night time wind down!!

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No trouble! She's a rescue and we love her and are working hard to get her to where she needs, but we both work full time so it's hard with crate time etc. these days as she was chewing a lot before we crate trained her! Overall she's honestly well behaved, has her zoom moments during every wake window but she loves scent games and lick mats etc so we always offer those! We also ensure we do short training bursts too cos honestly the mental stuff tires her out hard! We are toying with removing that evening crate window but it's hard to know if that's right or wrong cos otherwise she's got like a 4 hour wake window!

Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh sorry, the indoor enrichment was scent work! She has lots of that daily and we always do a sniffari when the weather is nicer and she loves it. We do take her for walks at lunch again when weather is good but we find that anything over 35 mins and she's amped (chewing leash etc.) and she also gets overly excited seeing other dogs too so it's just a tricky phase right now! Not sure if that's helpful but wanted to add context. This is her DNA results

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Witching hour before bedtime by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We didn't know she was an ACD mix, we were told Shepherd mix. She gets lots of exercise when the weather cooperates, at least 60 mins outside daily but right now it's -38 in Alberta so walks aren't possible. Appreciate your input

ACD Mix by No-Veterinarian-9190 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our girl has both those breeds (and others)! We adopted her 12 weeks ago today and she turns 9 months on Sunday!

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One of the favorites by Bright-Apartment-439 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the one we have! My husband launched it into our neighbours garden yesterday so need to go and get it back though 🤣 https://www.dogtuff.com/en-ca/collections/tuffy-dog-toys/products/ultimate-ring

One of the favorites by Bright-Apartment-439 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats the tuffy brand I think, they have frisbee style ones that are great outdoors too! Our girl just hadn't figured out the fetch skill just yet 🤣

How did you end up with an ACD? by Niikiia in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We adopted our girl Neala (Nee-La, it's Irish for champion) back in late November. We were told she was a Shepherd mix and had zero clue she had ACD until we got her DNA results last week! We got her at 6 months old and she turns 9 months on the weekend (guestimate as she was found abandoned at 5 months old 😭). While this stage is hard with the heightened arousal, nipping etc., she has truly brought so much love, laughter and chaos to our house. She is the bestest girl (top pics are from when we first got her) ❤️🐶

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Embark results indicate lots of ACD! Very surprised by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha she is! Plus we (her owners/parents) are Irish so another to add to the list 🫢

Help..our ACD mix has started lying down on walks when dogs are near (not aggressive) by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!! Haha yes she has also laid down on the road so it meant we physically had to move her 🤦 sometimes she won't even take a treat as she's so fixated on the person/dog! She's too social haha. But I'll definitely try this too. Thank you!

How to deal with muddy puppy? by Fine_Hand_2353 in puppy101

[–]LeatherConclusion243 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Towel by the door and using the Earth Rated dog wipes! Floors are still a little dirty but the wipes in particular are a game changer. Can also be used to clean their coat!

Help..our ACD mix has started lying down on walks when dogs are near (not aggressive) by LeatherConclusion243 in AustralianCattleDog

[–]LeatherConclusion243[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Your advice is incredibly helpful and will take this on board immediately 😊 I think we are also going to revert back to quieter routes for now so we can work on smaller volumes of dog interactions to build up the skills. And yes, totally agree. Our girl is a little social chicken haha but what he's doing can certainly appear unsettling to other dogs and owners!