Australian Shepherds tend to whine for all sorts of reasons, such as to get your attention or if they're sick or injured. If you can rule out a medical condition, then the next step to quiet your Aussie is to train them not to whine. Failing to indulge in their bad behavior will clue them in to stop. Good luck!
Loyal. Aussies are very smart, loyal, and love having someone to be with at all times. Loyalty is a necessary trait for any service dog. Besides being extremely friendly and energetic, Aussies are usually very easy to train and can make great emotional support animals or service dogs.
Your Aussie may require time to adjust to a new life and learn to trust you before he feels comfortable enough to cuddle with you. To cuddle means to be vulnerable, and your dog may just need patience and time to understand that his vulnerability won't put him in a position to be hurt.
Despite their high energy, Aussies are usually quiet. They may bark to alert their owners of a stranger or an unfamiliar situation but other than that, you won't hear much from them. This fits the self-controlled personality that Aussies possess.
Aussies can be very clingy. They crave human companionship and love being included in pretty much everything you do, including being involved in all family activity. Since they require an active lifestyle, they will want to join in everything and anything that is going on around them.
A lot of this behavior can come from boredom. They may sit on you or your head simply because they like the way you react to it and they simply have nothing better to do. If this is the case then supplying them with some toys or other things to occupy their time may find you the relief you are seeking.
Australian Shepherds are known for their fierce loyalty with one person, that doesn't mean every Shepherd will act like that. Some Shepherds might not build a particularly strong bond with any one family member. Others might like one of you more than another, but they don't sit on you to show it.
The Aussie accent started with kids
The Aussie accent, as we know it today, started more than 200 years ago with the children of the convicts, soldiers and other European arrivals. The parents spoke with all different kinds of English accents because they came from many places in England.
Again, this is because of the Australian shepherd's protective nature. Remember: These herding dogs were bred to protect the livestock under their purview, and they could feel the need to protect their humans in the same way when they encounter another dog or pet they see as a threat.
Early European settlers to Australia — many of whom were convicts — were from all over Great Britain and Ireland, and their speech patterns blended to form the new Australian accent.
Licking is a natural and instinctive behaviour to dogs. For them it's a way of grooming, bonding, and expressing themselves. Your dog may lick you to say they love you, to get your attention, to help soothe themselves if they're stressed, to show empathy or because you taste good to them!
Splooting is a great stretch for the animals' hips. Splooting also allows the animal to cool themselves by pressing their belly into the ground or against tile floors. Owners may notice that their pets sploot more often when they are younger.
Australians are very friendly and easy-going people. In fact, Australians are renowned for their laid-back nature and unique sense of humour. Another thing Australians are known for is their love of sport, recreation and the great outdoors.
The breed is considered highly intelligent and easy to train. Aussies are known for being especially eager to please their owners. True to their herding instincts, Aussies are very protective of their families and territory and will let you know if strangers approach, but they are not considered aggressive.
They're a very devoted breed and highly intelligent. Australian shepherds bond with their owners and family and take their role as guardians seriously. This can cause them to be protective, but also aggressive toward things they perceive as a threat if they're not properly socialized and trained.
If undirected they can feel a sense of anxiety and try to do things on their own, which to them is not ideal. An Aussie puppy wants and needs to be shown boundaries and feel there is a clear leader, someone whom he can look up to and take direction from.
Australian Shepherds will bark at strangers, loud noises, and other animals as a way of getting rid of all that excess energy. More so, they can display the same type of behavior towards squirrels, thunderstorms, or even a passing car.
Female Australian Shepherds
It is suggested that females are also more sensitive and laid back. Because of this, they are said to have an easier personality to deal with. They've often got their agendas and will let you know what they want.
Besides what's associated with the breed, your Aussie can bark for the same reasons almost any dog does. For example, maybe they vocalize to say hello (like to other dogs at the park), as a warning (if a stranger comes over or someone knocks on the door), or even out of fear (like during a thunderstorm).
The most widely accepted theory to why Australians have the accent they do is that the first Australian born children (of the colonizers, not the natives obviously) simply created the first trace of the recognizable accent amongst themselves naturally.
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
There's two types of english speaking accents, rhotic and non-rhotic. One reason the Australian accent is so hard to imitate is because it's a combination of these. An example are the words “can” and “can't”. We say can the rhotic way “caan” and can't the non-rhotic way “cahnt”.
Laying on their back while getting some shut-eye helps dogs cool off. Unlike people who sweat to control their body temperature, dogs perspire through the pads of their feet.
Australian Shepherds will act very protectively around their owners and immediate family. Outsiders may make the Aussie cautious and guarded and sometimes even aggressive depending on whether you've socialized your dog.
In most cases, people do not realize that to a dog, a hug does not mean affection at all. They will generally grab things between their front legs when they are play-fighting, actually fighting or humping something. Not exactly a sign of affection, but rather a symbol of dominance.