The Australian Shepherd is an intelligent dog, but not the best choice for first time owners because they need to be correctly trained and handled from a young age to ensure they know their place in a pack. If Aussies are not given the right sort of direction, they can quickly become unruly, dominant and hard to manage dogs.
If this happens, it's important to seek help because the longer a dog displays this type of behaviour, the harder and longer it can be to correct. Enrolling a dog into training class is one solution that tends to work well because there's nothing Aussies like more than when they have something to do. With the right training and handling, the Aussie is a wonderful, loyal and obedient dog that is a pleasure to be around and own.
