Australian Shepherds are widely known for their energy and their outdoorsy tendency. However, many people still don’t know if these cute creatures can live outside. To answer your question, I did a lot of research to find out whether Australian Shepherds can live outside or not.
Australian Shepherds should not live outside your home, although they love to go outdoors to play. A dog from this breed needs to stay close to his owners. Otherwise, he can feel very lonely and bored. In some cases, however, it may be acceptable to let him sleep in the yard.
I know you may be puzzled now. Since Australian Shepherds are known for being very active outdoors and for their great temperature resistance, how come they can’t live in the yard? Well, of course, there are good motives for that.
Why Aussies Should Not Be Left Outside?
Now, I’m going to show you some of the main reasons not to leave your Aussie outside.
Boredom
This point is fairly easy to understand. Just put yourself on your Aussie’s spot. Would you like to be locked outside the home for several hours until someone invites you inside again? I bet you would not!
The same thing happens with Australian Shepherds and a lot of other dog breeds. It is so boring to stay long periods with no company and without anything to do. The same boring feeling you have, your Aussie has too.
Loneliness
If you leave your dog away from you, he will miss your presence. Aussies are devoted to their owners. If you don’t give attention to him, he will miss it.
Australian Shepherds need to be kept busy with their favorite activities. Since they are incredibly energetic, you need to stay at his side to play and do some exercises.
If you turn your back to him, it will generate harmful effects. He can get anxious and start to bark a lot and even get very depressed.
Messiness
Due to boredom and loneliness, your friend will become messy as well. He likely will start to make scandals to call your attention and be set free.
I assume you don’t want this behavior from him. Being messy when they are bored is their natural reaction. Not only is he suffering, but you are also going to get very stressed as well.
You should not expect your Australian Shepherd to do anything your way, anytime. Don’t treat him like a dummy. He is part of your family as well!
How to Exercise an Australian Shepherd Outdoors?
Although Australian Shepherds don’t like to live outside, they get pleased when you call him to go outdoors with you. They are a breed well-known for having plenty of energy and for always being keen to exercise outside.
Australian Shepherds were originally bred to herd livestock. They have an energetic and playful spirit and ease to work well with humans. They are also highly intelligent and agile. In summary, all these features can prove their vitality outside the home.
Your dog needs a couple of hours of vigorous exercise every day to maintain good health. One of the best ways to do this is by practicing with him activities he likes. Provide him with interesting tasks or games you think will really make him happy.
Physical tasks are extremely good for his body. Doing things like frisbee throwing or running in a park will be really beneficial to exercise his muscles and other parts of his body. Those are tasks that can’t be skipped. They need to be done regularly to keep his fitness.
Besides that, there are also mental tasks. Those are things that will require him to think more to find the solution.
As an example, you can play hide and seek with a strong-smelling object. Hide it with obstacles while he is not looking. Then, let him search the designed area to find it. He will need to follow the object’s smell to resolve this problem and will exercise his brain.
Also, this kind of task can be done more easily. You do not specifically need to go to a park to practice. Since these tasks generally don’t involve running and don’t require a big space, they may be doable in your own yard.
Australian Shepherds’ Adaptation to Temperature Changes
If you want to go for a walk with your pet, the weather might not be a big concern. Australian Shepherd can adapt to different climates quickly. For this reason, you should not cancel his daily activities. Temperature definitely won’t be a problem for him.
As mentioned before, Australian Shepherds have a double-coat skin. As you can imagine, this really helps them to maintain a warm body temperature. This cold resistance can be seen in those images of them playing in the snow. Aussies really enjoy cold weather.
However, because of this extra layer of protection, you may think they would struggle with warmer temperatures. Actually, I have good news: they don’t!
As a very adaptive dog breed, Australian Shepherds can easily deal with hot climates as well. Be it snowy or sunny, your furry mate will always get excited about outdoors activities.
Letting Your Australian Shepherd Sleep Outside
Although Aussies shouldn’t be kept isolated from you for too long, you can still let him sleep outside. Depending on the conditions, he will not miss you. Australian Shepherds rarely show separation anxiety and they are fine being left alone just before going to bed.
If the climate is pretty cold, definitely provide him with a doghouse. Even though they have thick fur, it isn’t enough for him while sleeping. Also, at night, the temperature lowers a lot.
Due to that, you need to leave him in a cozy and warm place. Doghouses are excellent for that. They will provide your dog with the cold isolation he needs.
However, if the temperature is high, let him sleep in a basket. That will prevent his body from overheating. Open baskets are usually the best ones as they are the easiest ones to clean.
Besides that, fabric beds, for example, can become infested with parasites, which are hard to remove.
In this case, make sure the weather isn’t rainy or snowy. If, in the middle of the night, you realize the climate suddenly changed, rescue your dog immediately. He may also bark to ask you to let him inside. Obviously, a situation like that is very uncomfortable for him.
If you have a doghouse, you don’t need to worry about this. If precipitation starts when your Aussie is sleeping, he will find the path to safety.
Australian Shepherds’ Habits During the Night
Australian Shepherds’ sleep is very light. They will often wake up many times at night and roam around. However, they are not scandalous. Your Aussie will not start to bark randomly at the moon or at any car passing by.
Dogs from this breed get along well in society. If you have more than one Australian Shepherd, this means there will be no disturbances among them. Having two or more dogs is equally simple as having only one.
You should only let your pet sleep in the yard only when he reaches adolescence. Before that, he is too young. In this situation, it’s better to let him sleep inside until he grows up.
My Final Thoughts
Australian Shepherds are fantastic dogs to bring with you to the park or to even bigger adventures. Some people bring for activities such as trekking. This kind of exercise is extremely healthy for them and they fit perfectly on the Australian Shepherd’s profile.
Even being an incredibly outdoorsy breed, they can’t live outside. It is acceptable that your Australian Shepherd sleeps in the yard, but never let him alone for a long time during the day. He will really miss you!
Also, practice with him every day. Going on a journey and having fun at the park is fantastic for his health. Practice different tasks so he can develop multiple abilities. Also, don’t forget to allow both of you to have a good break when getting home!
People Also Ask
What can happen if I don’t play with my Aussie?
Due to his energetic spirit, he might always want to exercise his body. Not providing him with enough activities will certainly result in bad things. He may feel very sad and frustrated and start to bark more to ask you to walk around with him. Never let him with a lack of exercise.
Will my Australian Shepherd learn new things fast?
Probably yes! As I said many times before, Aussies are one of the most intelligent dog breeds. If you try to teach a new trick for him, he won’t have much trouble learning it.
Will too much exercise in a day harm my Aussie?
I think you will be the first one to discover what is too much for him! That’s because these dogs have an insane amount of energy. Some people bring them to even more hardcore adventures, like climbing mountains. I bet you will get tired faster than him, so don’t worry about it.
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