Now that you have decided on a puppy, lets focus on what you need to bring your puppy home!
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Food: All of our Minis and Standards are on Diamond Puppy
Tiny toys will be on Purina Pro Plan Toy Breed
We do NOT Recommend trying to change their food for the first month. Too many changes can cause tummy upsets.
We free our puppies- this allows them to eat whenever they want and we never have food aggression or hoarding tendencys. However, at your house, during potty training, you may want to feed 2x a day (3x is also ok if you want). Remember, when puppies eat, they poop! So if they nibble on food all day, they poo-poo all day! 


Kennel Training 
YES PLEASE! Kennels are not punishment, they are a safe place for your puppy. If you have kids, this is where the puppy can go to get always from your kids - kids are not allowed in the kennel!
Kennels are great for potty training, keeping your puppy safe and more. 
We recommend your puppy is kenneled at night, when you are gone, and when you are not actively watching them. 

Kenneling at night - Its soooo easy for your puppy to get off their bed, go potty and go back to bed without you ever knowing! By being in a kennel, they will (most of the time) whine and alert you that they need to go potty!
When we start, we always get a bigger kennel, put a potty pad in the back and a small bed in the front. This give the puppy a safe spot if YOU fail to let the puppy out. They can potty on the pad without soiling their bed. 

Kenneling when you are gone- YES!  Your puppy is just that - a puppy. They are curious and into everything. Besides the naughty chewing on your favorite chair or table leg, potty accidents, and chewing your dry wall, lets talk about that tv cord thats peeking out from the stand - ohhh it looks like so much fun to chew on! Or how about your laptop/cell phone charger... nothing like getting zapped with some electric current. 

When your not actively watching them - YES! If you are not watching them, what's the difference between being gone and not watching them? NOTHING. They will be into everything. Give them a safe place to relax - give them some toys, a bone, something to keep them occupied, while not being naughty. Remember, I have 3 kids and lots of puppies... we have tons of naughty things here. 

We get a kennel they will grow into - This allows for a potty pad in the back and a bed in the front. the 2 door makes it easier for you to change and clean potty pads. 
Kennel: Amazon Link Here
S 24" 20-30 lbs.
M 30" 30-40 lbs.
L 36" 40-70 lbs.


Kennel Matt - These Kennel matts are great! They are easily washable and not very fluffy - so your puppy will be less likely to try to chew their bed up.
 


Potty Training

 1- Get on a schedule 
2- Take your puppy out often
3- Watch your puppy

I leave a kennel by the door. If I take my puppy out, and they don't potty, but want to come in, I put them into thier kennel. This is not punishment. This is 'thinking time'... Your puppy is going to come in, remember they have to potty, and potty right infront of you! This just leads to frustration, anger, and will take longer to potty train. By putting them into a kennel aka thinking time, this will give your puppy time to remember that they had to potty. We only leave the puppy in the kennel for a few minutes to remember they have to potty - then back outside. 

POTTY BEFORE PLAY! 

Want your puppy to potty in one area? Put 2-3 days worth of poop in the area you want them to poop at. Why are we cleaning it up immediately outside when we want them to potty outside? We clean it up immediately inside because that's a no potty zone.. so why clean it up asap outside?  Once your puppy get use to pottying in the area, then yes, please clean up your puppys poop. 

Your puppy will be able to hold their bladder for their age in months plus 1. 
2 months old - 2+1= 3 hours
3 months old     3+1=4 hours

Be proactive - don't feed your puppy right before bed! 
If your puppy drinks alot before bed time, they are going to have to wake up more to potty. 

The last one to bed takes the puppy out last. The first one up takes the puppy out in the morning. 



General Training 
* Get enrolled into a puppy training class. Your puppy can start learning new things immediatly. 

*LEASH YOUR PUPPY 100% of the time. Yes, you heard me! Keep a leash on your puppy 100% of the time! Or in a kennel*

Everyone has that stinking coffee table in their living room - lets say you are in the kitchen and your puppy goes to the living room to be naughty (potty, chew, etc). You see the behavior and yell to startle the puppy and stop the behavior.... Then you go to the living room and now you and the puppy are playing catch me if you can around the coffee table. You are gettin madder and madder and your puppy thinks your playing. By the time you catch the little rascle, he has completly forgot why you were playing and you are so upset that nothing good is about to come. If you had a 6ft leash on your puppy, you could easily step on the leash, correct the behavior and move on. 

Outside - they can still run with a leash... and if they go through a naughty toddler phase where they don't want to 'come' you can often get within that 6ft range to step on a leash. 

Start teaching your puppy NOW. Your puppy will soak up new things. The first week at home, you will teach them thier name, sit, down, potty, dinner time, kennel up, etc. 
Keep that going. Teach your puppy a minimun of 3 new things a week. Google some ideas and make a list. Each week teach them something new. Youtube will help you learn how to teach a trick if you have questions. 


Exercise 
STOP - Yes, you heard me right STOP using walks as the only form of exercise. 
If you take your puppy to the end of the block and back, by the time they are 3 months, you are going down twice a day, then by the time they are 4 months old, you are going around the block, at 5 months you are going a half a mile, at 6 months you are going a mile and by 9 months your going a mile twice a day! I hear tons of 'My Aussie goes 2+ miles a day and still has energy'...... STOP! You are training them for a marathon!  TEACH THEM SOMETHING!


Think about this- Take a server or a construction worker - They come home from being physically active at work all day long, sit down, get a 2nd wind and are back up and going. They are physically going all day long!  Now, lets take those two workers and stick them in an OSHA or educational class - they come home and they are exhausted. They didn't physically do anything but sit there, but they are exhaused.  Use this on your aussie! Mentally teach them something new! Its not only fun for them, but it will create a well behaived dog. 



GROOMING
Get ready for hair... or just get the proper tools to do the job! 

I constantly get asked 'Do Aussies Shed?' Short answer - YES! 
The best way to describe this is that they will blow ALL of thier undercoat 2x a year. Of course some shedding on the 'off months' is expected, but 90% of the hair will come out duing the seasonal changes- mostly spring and fall. Being pro active will help minimize the shedding. You will rarely see Aussie hair in my home - its mostly the 'short' coated dogs that shed 24/7. 

Once you master the Aussie grooming, you will love this shedding pattern more than a short coated dog (I swear, those shed all year long nomatter what! Labs, boxers, heelers, etc)

As soon as I notice one of my Aussies are shedding, I start the grooming process - CORRECTLY. 
People with long hair think of it this way - you can use a pick brush and pick your hair out - but then try to use a brush and brush it. You will get 10x more hair out! How is this possible, you just brushed your hair?! Using the correct tools is the key! People always say 'I brush my aussie all the time'.... but are you using the correct tools to get the hair out? 
I always start with a good rake. Take them outside and let the rake pull 90% of that undercoat out of them. 
Take them the to tub. Get them wet, lather the shampoo in. BRUSH THEM AGAIN with the rake in the tub with shampoo. 
Rinse, and condition. Don't skimp on conditioner. Brush them again with the rake. This will not only get the conditioner all through the coat, it will help get any matts, stragling hairs and extra undercoat missed in the first few brushed out.  
Rinse.  I always use a spray leave in conditioner. 

BLOW THEM DRY! This is not just to dry them. This is sooo important! While most of the hair is gone, there is still a ton of hair that is 'static clinged' to the coat. The hair will blow out like crazy once the coat is 80 plus % dry. This will help blow any coat out that was missed in the first few steps. If you don't want to purchase a dryer, take them to a DIY dog wash and use their tools! 

Finish the job- Scissors - Trim thier paw pads - get the bottom of thier feet - this will help thier pads grip any hardfloors you have in your house. You can trim around thier anus so no dingle berrys get stuck. 
*I will work on a video and pictures to add to this page*



BRUSHES 

The undercoate RAKE is amazing for getting out most of the undercoat hair. 

Scissors - Help keep their feet hair trimmed, their butt curtains, or ever the mats behind their ears away. 

Shampoo - I love the Chris Christensen Shampoo and conditioner line.

Dog Dryer - This is CRUCIAL in grooming. It will help blow out the undercoat. This is a inexpensive option to help your suceede in grooming your aussie correctly and help get rid of that undercoat! Want a better option? Check out the K9 dryers or a cattle dryer. While pricy, it will cut your grooming time in half!
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