Pandora is two and a half years old now and I thought it was time for a puppy update.
Concern #1 – Aggression beyond the puppy stage
In high school, one of my friends had a blue heeler, Bess was the dog’s name. Bess hated everyone but her family. A family friend also had a blue heeler. I don’t recall the dog’s name, but Tex used to walk up to visit us and that pooch was always by his side. The dog would even say “I love you.” I mean it came out more of “I wuuuvvv oooo.”
When we got Pandora, I had no clue what kind of puppy we were going to be getting. All I knew is that my husband had a weak spot and I was going to take this pup if he didn’t say anything. And of course, once I held her, it was all over, she was ours.
While we waited a week for her to turn 8-weeks old, I did research on the blue heeler breed. And the number one thing I kept coming across was how they are friendly and then one day it’s a like a light switch is flipped and they are no longer a friendly puppy. I should be more specific, they still love their family, but others not so much.
Most people said it was somewhere around one year of age when this flip happened. So, I was terrified that we’d hit that dreaded mark and Pandora would no longer like people.
As of this point, I am happy to report that Pandora is still good with other people and other dogs.
Concern #2 – Biting
Blue heelers tend to bite, nip, chew. When Pandora was a puppy, she gave a whole new meaning to Land Shark. She wasn’t just a Land Shark, she would catch air and fly by with those teeth snapping away. At first, it was funny. But one day, as I sat on the floor tossing toys for her, she came running back and launched herself into the air. As she flew toward my face with teeth snapping, I leaned hard to the right. She flew by my head and I could hear those teeth snapping.
It was no longer funny. This needed to be curbed before I lost my nose.
And we spent a lot of time working on it.
And I’m happy to report, I and all the other members of my family still have our noses. As for my husband’s ankles, he still has them. But she will still nip him. However, this is due to him not setting boundaries with her. Pandora does not bite at my or the kids ankles because she knows I mean business. My husband, on the other hand, does not set the boundary. He likes to play with her and that’s where we struggle sometimes.
Concern #3 – I would never be able to train Pandora
After reading about the breed, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get her trained or be able to exercise her enough to keep her well-behaved.
Australian Cattle Dogs are incredibly intelligent. If they don’t get the exercise they need, they can be terrors.
Thankfully, I can report that if you invest the time, you can train and exercise your dog’s mind and body to the point that they will behave. This is what I’ve done, lots of time. We don’t have the money to spend on trainers, so I put in extra time searching out resources and weighing the advice with what I already know before adapting and applying the tip on Pandora.
Don’t get me wrong, I still can’t get her to walk near cars, but we are making progress. The steps are tiny, tiny, tiny. But we’re getting there.
And our home hasn’t suffered too much.
The Take-Away from Puppyhood
Hang in there. Pandora is now at a point where she listens more frequently, is calmer, and doesn’t feel the need to chomp my shoes anymore. She will still swipe a pair of shoes and take them to the yard, but she doesn’t chew them up anymore.
Once you make it through the puppy years, things start falling into place.
Also, never stop training.
