I hate this expression. If you get a dog from a breeder, it’s a purchase. Just like a horse.
I get that people don’t like to say they “bought” a dog, but “adopt” is the wrong word. My kids were adopted - that means that they were born to other people, but are mine now. Of course dogs are “born from” something other than the owner. Another species.
“Adoption” used to mean coming out of rescue. So annoying.
I said nothing about euthanasia. A liver shunt can produce a lot of behavior issues like irrational rage and stunted learning. If there is a physical reason behind an issue, why wouldn’t you want to know. Helps drive sensible decision making
100% agree. But many times these dogs are perfectly healthy but just neurotic messes.
There is enough good dogs that don’t bite that behavior should be a reason for euthanasia.
By any chance was that photo taken at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon?
Nope, that’s near the NC-TN border in the Appalachians (so very far away from Oregon)
Yes, I totally agree. They paid a good amount for him as well as he has one of the top Mini American Sheppard’s showing in Canada. They couldn’t afford a puppy from him so did get a reduced cost, but not a “rescue”.
With all of the extra $ they have had to put into him, a puppy (in my opinion, a different breed for 70+ year olds who live in a subdivision), would have been a lot cheaper (and so much easier for them).
@DMK - Yikes, I can only imagine!! And your Corgi is too cute for words!!! <3
I am sorry to read this about your parents’ dog. A herding breed dog must have an off switch…otherwise they are just neurotic messes. Aussies and MAS also have a tendency to be pretty bossy and rule the roost if they don’t have a human who is “the leader.”
But the real underlying issue is the breeders themselves…breeding for color, not character, breeding for the sake of a dollar not temperament, no genetic testing, no OFA on hips and elbows, no matching an owner with the right drive dog for that person.
I am 70 years old with a 12 week old Aussie puppy in the house. He walks on a lead, he sits, he knows Come,Wait, Leave It, Trade, Look, Off, he is 90% house trained. I’ve had him for 3 weeks. These pups need more mental stimulation than physical exertion. Games, puzzles, scent work.
I am shocked your parents’ dog can’t be leash-walked, and has no recall. It makes me sad for your parents and sad for the dog. The more skill these dogs have (I am not talking about herding stock or doing agility) the happier and better adjusted they are. It just sounds to me like the MAS in your parent’s home is running the show.
Yes, another breed of dog would have been more suitable for your parents’ age and lifestyle…personally you couldn’t give me a MAS…they are nothing like real Aussies.
I have no issue with the breed at all, and I’ve known quite a few standards at the farms I’ve worked at. They are too busy for me, but have always been great dogs. I’ve seen the MAS’s before, but I have never known one personally. My friend has one and just loves him to death. She has a standard and a MAS and wants to get another MAS when her standard one passes.
I also feel for my parents as they have the best of intentions, their last dog (a mini schnauzer) was horrendous as well (they used professional trainers for him as he was stubborn and ruled the roost as well, in a bad way!) and he was a notorious biter (bit them, bit my husband and bit my nephew in the face when he was crawling around on the floor). Was the most evil dog I’ve ever known, and I really do like all dogs, I swear!
I grew up with many dogs with my parents (Berner, labs, goldens) and they have all been really, really good. My parents have an idea of dogs and training, but they seem to be choosing the wrong breeds for them. They like the small size now, but are picking the high energy breeds. They don’t do enough research first, and my sister and I keep telling them this. I tried to get them to get a King Cavalier pup as my in laws breed them, but they don’t like the look of them so they went with the MAS instead.
They sound like they need a LWD (little white dog, my definition for all the Lhasa, Bichon, etc. type of dog). That used to be all you saw being walked in my neighborhood, now the doodles have replaced them. Shame too, while lwds are not my cup of tea, they are usually ideal for owners who make lack skills, time and ability in managing their dogs
Just want to clarify: Aussies and MAS are two different breeds. The term “standard” is what MAS breeders use to describe Aussies and make a comparison. It’s not a term Aussie breeders use to describe Aussies.
An Aussie by its very definitive breed rules should stand 18-21 inches tall (females) and 20-23 inches tall for males. There is no such thing in the parent club (ASCA) of a miniature Australian shepherd.
Clearly MAS just in height does not meet the breed rules, so cannot be an Aussie.
Sorry to be so prickly about this 
I call those “snickerdoodle” dogs. Don’t know why, but it describes them perfectly.
[quote=“Kemosabe, post:1092, topic:769326”]
I am sorry to read this about your parents’ dog. A herding breed dog must have an off switch…otherwise they are just neurotic messes. [/quote]
I honestly don’t know how my extended family has done so well with Shelties (there’s been at least one in the family since the late 70s). My aunt did a lot of work with hers, mine is in retirement but competed in rally, straight o, herding, etc, but my parents and my grandparents’ were just “family dogs” during the peak anxiety-overdrive era of the breed. Mine is a throwback (she’s probably a backyard product that was dumped) and it’s been better living through chemistry keeping her mind content despite having jobs.
I love this. Change it to cattle dogs and it fits as well.
The Shelties I have known have just been a little too high drive for me…but darn they are cute!
I grew up with Border Collies. I had two corgis and a blue heeler before I rescued my first Aussie from the SPCA. He was a blue merle with two blue eyes and prick ears ( a fault in the breed standard) and what a total character, such a sense of humor, got along famously with the corgis and the blue heeler and the cats. Although he did have a good bark in him, he preferred WooWooWoo in a melodious tenor.
In the mornings he would go with me to the barn to feed, and he’d walk down the shed row saying WooWooWoo to each horse, then he’d run to the feed room to check on my progress, and back to the horses to report how soon breakfast would be arriving.
So began my love affair with Aussies…
Had to resurrect this thread to tell about my co-worker.
My coworkers know that I’m a dog person and have purebred dogs that I show. But of course, I just love dogs too, so we all share their dog stories.
One coworker was in a breakout group with me on Zoom yesterday and said “Oh! You’ll appreciate this! We lost our dog last year, and my whole life I’ve had rescues…but this time (and I have nothing against rescue!) …we’re getting a purebred puppy!”
Big “awww” from the group and then I asked what breed?
“A mini Golden doodle.”
I wanted to ask him how much he was paying for it. But that just seemed mean. I said (as I always say)…“Aww, congratulations. All puppies are adorable.”
“And make sure you figure out the grooming straightaway.”
Why do people think “puppy” = “purebred”? I guess people don’t know what purebred really means. “Bred” doesn’t mean “purebred”. All puppies are “bred” somehow. Some intentionally, some not so much.
(Don’t get me started on my other coworker whose family has barely two nickels together (she is the grandmother of many young children, often providing free daycare on remote work days) who got their kids a surprise Dalmation in November.) It’s apparently eaten my coworker’s couch already. Shocker. Puppies chew and need crates and training.
Some years back, my in-laws bought what they call a “purebred mini Golden doodle.” The breeder told them because the pups were F3, they were basically “purebreds.” Their dog was supposed to only be about 20 pounds but she is somewhere around 30 pounds and would be heavier except my SIL is a runner and takes the dog with her for daily runs at a local park (they do at least 2 miles pretty much every day and up to 10 miles on Saturday).
That can happen in purebred breeding though. Having a purebred dog that doesn’t meet the written breed standard is very common. Sometimes that is even done deliberately.
But, F3 isn’t “purebred” when “mini Golden Doodle” isn’t actually a breed. It’s an F3 hybrid.
I was confused by this, too- so many people were claiming their poodle mix was a purebred- so I looked into it. Doodle breeders give people these official-looking certificates that are supposed to show registration for something or other. They are told by the breeders their dog is a purebred. It’s so dumb and (I think) perfectly reflects the amount of ignorance people have about a mutt they spent thousands of dollars to acquire.
I have two rescue doodles and have had people argue with me when I respond to inquiries about their breed with “mutt!” We call them shoodles. 
Exactly - there is more to being “purebred” than just a couple of generations of crossing two different breeds and issuing some kind of “papers” from a kitchen table registry.
But the average puppy-buying member of the public doesn’t know that and they unfortunately rely on the word of the seller who is only interested in the $$$ they get from foisting the products of their backyard breeding program onto an uneducated buyer.
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