u/RoseCartel

Koda is a pretty high-drive Aussie, and one thing I've learned is that getting a behavior 100% in a quiet environment doesn't mean much if I haven't proofed it around the things that actually matter to him.

He can recall beautifully when we're training.

Then a rabbit moves and suddenly I'm competing with a biological event.

So I've stopped thinking of recall as one behavior.

For us, it's more like:

From name response to disengage to turn toward me to recall to come all the way in to settle.

And I train those pieces separately before expecting the whole chain around serious distractions.

The other thing I've changed is that I don't keep increasing the difficulty just because he succeeded once.

If he nails 9/10 recalls around moderate distraction, I'm not automatically moving somewhere harder. I want the behavior boringly reliable before I raise the stakes.

Curious how other people handle this with high-drive dogs:

Do you build the recall first and then proof it against distractions, or do you deliberately introduce the distraction early and train the disengagement itself?

I'm especially interested in what people have found works with prey/movement triggers rather than just food or other dogs.

Koda is an Aussie, so if I let him decide, we'd just keep moving.

A few years ago I thought the answer to every bit of extra energy was a longer hike or another mile.

The weird part?

The fitter he became, the more exercise he seemed to need. I realized I wasn't tiring him out, I was building an endurance athlete.

Teaching him how to settle on command ended up being just as valuable as adding another trail run.

Curious if anyone else has had the same realization, or if you think I'm completely wrong.

I noticed something interesting with my Aussie over the past few months.

Every time I grabbed the hiking pack, leash, or truck keys, Koda would immediately go into overdrive. Spinning, whining, pacing, barking... basically burning energy before we even left the driveway.

At first I figured, "He's an Aussie. That's just excitement."

Then I realized I was accidentally rewarding that state by getting ready faster and heading out while he was amped up.

So I changed one thing.

Now I don't clip the leash on or open the door until he offers calm behavior. Doesn't have to be a perfect down or anything formal. Just four feet on the ground, quiet, breathing normally.

The first week took forever.

Now most mornings he settles himself within 20-30 seconds because that's what actually gets the hike started.

What's interesting is he also seems much more mentally focused during the first mile instead of acting like his brain is exploding.

Curious if anyone else has found that managing arousal before the activity made a bigger difference than anything you did during the activity.

Not looking for a "right" answer just interested in hearing what changes had the biggest payoff for you.

My dog has somehow trained us into a routine that none of us ever agreed to.

If I grab my hiking boots, he has to inspect them before I can put them on.

If I ignore him, he'll quietly bring me his leash and stare until I acknowledge him.

Nobody taught him this, but now it's just part of life.

It got me wondering what ridiculous rules everyone else's dogs have created that the humans just accepted.

Not commands they know.

I mean rules they made for you.

I've been making a spreadsheet of upgrades instead of impulse buying everything.

A lot of RV gear seems ridiculously expensive until someone who's actually used it says, "Nope, worth every dollar."

I'm more interested in things that improved day-to-day life than flashy gadgets.

What's one purchase you thought was overpriced but would immediately buy again?

And what purchase turned out to be a complete waste?

People tell you about potty training, chewing, and puppy energy.

What surprised me most was learning that it's actually easy to overdo things with a dog that never wants to quit.

My dog would happily keep hiking long after I should've called it a day if I let him.

That wasn't something I appreciated when he was younger.

I'm curious what caught everyone else off guard.

Not necessarily something bad, just one lesson you wish someone had told you years earlier.

I've been thinking more about the small habits that help dogs stay healthy and active over the long term.

I have an Australian Shepherd who's always been a high-energy dog, and it's made me realize that consistency probably matters more than waiting until something becomes a problem.

I'm not really talking about buying new gear or products.

I'm more interested in things like:

• Training habits
• Exercise routines
• Recovery after long hikes or runs
• Nail or paw care
• Mental enrichment
• Weight management
• Anything else that made a noticeable difference over the years

Looking back, what's one thing you wish you'd started earlier with your dog, and why?

I'd love to hear what experience has taught you.

Hey everyone, I have a 7yo Aussie, and he's been active from the start. But we are exercising a lot, go on the long hikes, run, etc. But I have never seen signs of tiredness during the activity itself. Sure, he's is a bit stiff and needs rest once we are home, but aside from that, nothing seems to get to him.

Is your dog like that? Do Aussies ever get tired?

Hi everyone, I am about to go to a vacation, and I was thinking about taking my dog with me. It would be quite a long flight 12 hours, and the dog never flight before. Do you think it's worth it?
Before I never had a long vacation, so he was staying at friends maximum 5 days in a row. But now I will be away for 14 days, and my friends are great sitters, they just don't exercise with him as much as we usually do.
Any advice would be highly appreciated!

Hey, I have been doing some research online, and as I see my aussi getting older I start to think about doing supplementation. Among the most popular ones, I see that probiotics are the top choice if we compare benefits for overall health.
So I wanted to check with reddit here. Do you use probiotics? why and when did you start? Any recs / suggestions ?