Border-Aussie (Australian Shepherd x Border Collie)
A legitimate contender for the most high-energy mixed breed around, the Border-Aussie is not a dog to adopt on a whim.
Created by combining two of the highest-energy hounds in the world, these little guys and gals are only happy when provided with a ton of opportunities to exercise. This means they’re great at canine sports, and they make awesome running or jogging companions.
But if you want a dog to lounge with your on the couch all day, you’d be better served by looking elsewhere.
Behavior: Australian Shepherds vs Border Collies
Their appearance might be similar, but in their behavior Border Collies and Australian Shepherds can differ quite a bit! Carefully consider which breed’s temperament is best suited to your needs when you are deciding for one breed or the other.
As herding dogs, both love to learn, can show motion sensitivity and are likely to be a bit nervy at times. They won’t be laid-back couch potatoes. With the right training however, they can absolutely learn to relax when it is time to. In fact, when raising either breed you want to take care to teach them to have a co-called “off-switch”.
Every owner of an Aussie will tell you how much his dog loves food! This can make training both easy and hard – on the one hand an Aussie is likely to try his hardest for the smallest piece of kibble, on the other he might lose his mind trying to earn it. Aussies like to throw all behaviors they have learned at you at once when there is the possibility of getting a treat.
Aussies can steal and ingest surprising amounts of food if unsupervised. You might need to out up baby gates to your kitchen forever or be very diligent about putting away food. One of my own friends’ Aussies once ate a 1 lbs jar of garlic supplements, resulting in a multi-day stay at the doggy ICU.
Teaching self control skills around food will be crucial, and a big part of your training. The great thing about this high food drive is that it allows you to train around a lot of distractions, and without your Aussie getting tired of training any time soon – as long as a treat can be earned, he will be game!
Border Collies herd by using the “eye”, meaning making intense, unbroken eye contact and at times moving seemingly in “slow motion”. They have a tendency to react this way to many forms of motion, not just livestock.
If your dog is anticipating that you will throw a ball or frisbee or he watches other dogs run around, he might go into the typical Border Collie stalk pose.
Border Collies should not be allowed to stalk kids or smaller pets of the household of course. Stalking and watching motion can become an excessive behavior, so keep an eye on your dog and intervene if necessary.
A bit of stalking will always be a part of living with a Border Collie, but it can get out of hand. Some dogs for example start to stare at reflections or dust particles in the sun for hours a day. If this is the case you should restrict your dog’s access to those areas and consider working with a local dog trainer to address it.
Aussies love to let you know what they think – and they are not shy about being loud!
Australian Shepherds bark when they are excited, when they are having fun, when they see something suspicious, when they want to alert you … and just for plain fun as well!
If you are a person who does not like a barking dog, an Australian Shepherd is not for you.
There is no way to get them to completely stop barking – it is ingrained in their genes and part of who they are. This makes them less than ideal apartment dogs as well – close neighbors might not appreciate their desire to be heard!
Both breeds have a high energy level and work ethic, but the Border Collie is especially tireless and will work himself (and you!) to the ground if not stopped.
On the one hand, this makes him a perfect companion for highly active people. If you are are looking for a dog to take on long backpacking trips or to teach a thousand tricks, there is no better fit than the Border Collie.
On the other hand, your Border Collie will require mental and physical exercise every day of his life – also when you don’t feel like it, when the weather is bad or when you had a long day at work. If this sounds overwhelming, it is probably not the right breed for you.
A bored Border Collie will not be pleasant to have around. They are likely to engage in destructive behaviors such as chewing, obsessive light chasing, licking their own paws until they’re bleeding, or chasing their own tail relentlessly.
Both breeds can show reactive behavior if they are not properly socialized. Being bred to work as herding dogs in vast pastures with their livestock, they are not made to be social butterflies like Golden Retrievers.
Some dogs will be more suspicious of strangers than others. This can be due to their genetics to some extend. However, if you do not expose your young Aussie or Border Collie to a variety of different people and situations in which they can make positive experiences, it is likely that they will show reactivity.
In fact, the most prevalent dog breed in our Tackling Reactivity Online Class is – the Aussie. This is in part due to the fact that they are not known to become reactive, so many puppy owners put socialization and exposure on the backburer.
14 Awesome Australian Shepherd Mixes: High-Octane Hounds!
Now that you understand a little more about the Australian shepherd, it’s time to check out some of the most jaw-dropping Australian shepherd mixes! Some of these beauties are simply unbelievable!
10 Things Only Australian Shepherd Dog Owners Understand
Australian shepherds (sometimes called Aussie shepherds) are fantastic-looking four-footers who often turn heads wherever they go.
Fluffy, friendly, and full of energy, these ready-to-rock Rovers are a pretty popular breed (they ranked 15th in the U.S. as of 2018), so most four-footer aficionados have seen them around the dog park.
But Aussie shepherds aren’t only common in purebred form — they also occur as mixed-breed mutts, who each vary in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
We’ll share some of our favorite Australian shepherd mixes below and explain some of their characteristics, so you can decide if one would work well with your family. But first, let’s take a moment to examine the Aussie and dig into their doggy details.