07/03/2025
Oh, Violet!! 💜 She’s a Standard Australian Shepherd—beautiful, brilliant, high-energy, and fiercely loyal. She’s also cuddly, and she’ll greet you with classic Aussie bum wiggles. 🥰
Actually, “brilliant” and “high-energy” should’ve come first, which reminds me of a recent conversation I had. A lot of people think they want a smart dog, but that comes with a territory they probably don’t know about—unless they’ve had a smart dog! 😅
⭐️ Here’s something to consider when choosing your next dog: “Smart” doesn’t mean easier to train, and “dumb” doesn’t mean harder to train.
Smart dogs are thinkers. They anticipate your next move, test boundaries, and get bored easily. Training and living with them can require constant creativity and stimulation. 🧐
Dogs with lower drive or intensity are often happy with the basics: sit, stay, come, and not destroying your house. ✨ (That’s obviously not to say they don’t need exercise.)
➡️ There’s a saying about this: Get a dog you can live with. Most people wanting family pets as companions are plenty happy with “dumb and happy,” not “smart and bitchy.” (Some say this can also be equated to male vs female dogs, but that’s for another time.)
Smart working breeds—like Aussies—need more than a walk around the block and a snuffle mat. ‼️
They need novelty and challenges. 💫
They don’t thrive with passive owners and can easily become destructive and anxious. 😬
Of course this isn’t a black and white rule. Intelligence shows up in many forms, and it doesn’t always correlate with biddability (willingness to follow human direction). Every dog is different, but this is something to consider before getting a new dog.
What’s been your experience? 🐾🐕