Exercise, Energy & Breed Realities

We receive a high volume of enquiries from families who are drawn to this breed for one main reason, they are visually stunning. The demand for Merle colouring & blue eyes is incredibly high.

However, this is also where we see the biggest disconnect.

It’s not uncommon for waitlist applications to look like:

• No prior experience with working or high energy breeds
• Living in an apartment or central city environment
• Working long hours, away from home
• Requesting a large, high energy, working/herding breed with extremely specific colouring

We also get a lot of families who might not understand that these guys require plenty of DAILY physical and mental stimulation, and don’t just have energy when you decide to go the beach on the weekend. 

While we completely understand the appeal of gorgeous colouring, these lifestyles do not align with the needs of this breed and what is required to keep them happy and healthy dogs.

Many people consider themselves “active”  but there is a big difference between:

• Occasional walks

• Weekend outings

vs

• Meeting a dog’s daily physical AND mental needs

Aussies and Aussiedoodles don’t just have energy when it suits your schedule.

They require:

• Daily structured exercise

• Daily mental stimulation

• Consistency & routine, not occasional effort

If these needs aren’t met, that energy doesn’t disappear, it shows up as:

• Barking

• Jumping

• Nipping

• Destructive behaviour

• Anxiety and restlessness

These breeds were developed to:

• Herd livestock

• Work long days

• Run long distances

That instinct still exists today.

Daily Physical Needs:

• 1-2+ hours of exercise (minimum, depending on the dog)

• A combination of:

• Structured walks

• Off lead running

• Play

• Training based movement

They thrive in homes that offer:

• Running

• Swimming

• Hiking

• Agility

• Scent Work

• Space to move and explore

A quick walk around the block is not sufficient.

You cannot “walk out” a working dog.

Mental stimulation isn’t optional for Aussies and Aussiedoodles, it’s essential for preventing boredom, anxiety, and behavioural issues.

Variety is key. Rotating activities keeps your dog engaged and prevents them from becoming desensitised.

Without mental engagement, even a physically exercised dog will remain unsatisfied.

These breeds are:

• Highly intelligent

• Problem solvers

• Extremely trainable

• Often very food driven

🍽️ Food Based Enrichment

Turning meals into an activity instead of a quick feed:

• Snuffle mats

• Scatter feeding in grass

• Puzzle feeders (beginner → advanced)

• Frozen enrichment bowls (kibble + yoghurt + treats)

• Stuffed Kongs or enrichment toys

• Lick mats (great for calming)

• Muffin tin games (tennis balls covering treats)

• Towel roll ups with hidden food

• Toilet paper roll (fold in the two open ends and stuff with high value treats!)

• Cardboard box “destruction” games (safe, supervised)

🐾 Scent Work & Nose Games

One of the most underrated forms of enrichment, and incredibly tiring mentally.

• “Find it” games (hide treats around the house or yard)

• Scent trails in the grass 

• Hiding toys and asking them to locate them

• Introducing different scents (herbs, objects, materials)

• Beginner scent detection training

• Tracking games outdoors

🎓 Training & Learning

Training is one of the best ways to mentally exhaust these breeds.

• Basic obedience (ongoing, not just puppy stage)

• Trick training (spin, weave, roll over, etc.)

• Impulse control exercises

• Place training

• Recall games

• Loose lead walking practice

• Shaping games (letting the dog figure things out)

• Clicker training

Short, consistent sessions are far more effective than long, occasional ones.

🧩 Problem Solving Activities

Encouraging your dog to think and work things out:

• Interactive puzzle toys (increasing difficulty over time)

• DIY obstacle courses

• “Which hand?” guessing games

• Cup games (find the treat under the cup)

• Opening boxes, drawers, or containers (safe setups)

• Barrier challenges (figure out how to reach a toy)

🐕‍🦺 Job Based Activities

These dogs thrive when they feel like they have a job.

• Carrying items (toys, small bags)

• Helping tidy up toys

• Fetch with purpose (not just repetitive throwing)

• Agility or backyard obstacle work

• Herding style games (e.g. controlled ball movement)

• Learning routines or tasks

🌏 Environmental Enrichment

Changing their environment and exposure:

• Walks in new locations

• Different surfaces (sand, grass, gravel, water)

• Pet friendly outings

• Watching the world (structured, calm observation)

• Car rides to new environments

• Safe interaction with new objects

🧘 Calm Enrichment (Underrated but Important)

Not all enrichment should hype your dog up.

Teaching calmness is just as important:

• Lick mats

• Long lasting chews

• Settle/place training

• Mat training in busy environments

• Calm observation sessions

🔄 Rotation & Balance

One of the biggest mistakes owners make is:

Doing the same enrichment every day.

These dogs learn quickly and get bored just as fast.

Instead:

• Rotate activities

• Mix high energy and calm tasks

• Adjust difficulty as your dog learns

⚠️ Important Reminder

Mental enrichment does not replace physical exercise, it works with it.

A well balanced dog receives:

• Physical exercise

• Mental stimulation

• Training

• Structure

If you don’t provide it, they will create their own stimulation and it often becomes behavioural problems.

Also remember:

20 minutes of Mental Stimulation is equivalent to 1 hour of walking! So use that to your advantage!🐾

Socialisation is not just meeting other dogs.

It is about creating a confident, stable, adaptable dog.

This should include exposure to:

• People of all ages (children, adults, elderly)

• Different appearances (hats, sunglasses, uniforms, etc.)

• Dogs of varying sizes, breeds, and temperaments

• Busy environments (streets, cafes, parks)

• Quiet environments

• Different surfaces (grass, concrete, gravel, water)

• Household noises (vacuums, appliances, doors)

• Sudden or unpredictable sounds

Proper socialisation helps prevent:

• Fear based behaviours

• Reactivity toward people or dogs

• Overstimulation in public environments

• Anxiety in new situations

Without it, these dogs can become:

• Nervous or unsure

• Reactive

• Difficult to handle outside the home

• Overwhelmed in everyday situations

This is something that must be done early, intentionally, and consistently.

Australian Shepherds and Aussiedoodles are, at their core, herding dogs.

They were bred to:

• Control movement

• Anticipate behaviour

• Make quick decisions

• Work closely with their handler while managing livestock

These instincts are genetic, automatic, and deeply ingrained, not something a dog “chooses” to do.

Even in companion homes, and even with breeding for specifically calmer lines, these behaviours can still appear.

How Herding Instincts Commonly Present

In a pet home, herding doesn’t look like working sheep, it shows up in everyday life:

• Nipping or heeling

• Targeting ankles, feet, hands (especially with children)

• Often happens during excitement, play, or fast movement

• Chasing behaviour

• Bikes, scooters, runners

• Cars or moving vehicles

• Other animals (dogs, cats, livestock)

• Controlling movement

• Trying to “round up” children or other pets

• Blocking pathways or circling people

• Becoming fixated on where everyone is

• Fixation and intensity

• Locking onto movement and struggling to disengage

• Hyper focus that can look like stubbornness

• Sensitivity to motion and environment

• Reacting quickly to sudden changes

• Becoming overstimulated in busy environments

Why This Becomes a Problem

Without guidance, these instincts don’t disappear, they escalate.

What starts as:

• Playful chasing

• Light nipping

Can develop into:

• Persistent nipping

• Obsessive chasing behaviours

• Reactivity toward movement

• Difficulty settling or switching off

This is especially important in homes with:

• Young children

• High levels of activity

• Smaller animals

Redirecting Herding Behaviour

You cannot punish instinct out of a dog and you cannot use punishment (hitting, yelling scolding ect.) as effective training for any dog of any breed, you need to redirect it appropriately.

This includes:

• Structured training from a young age

• Teaching impulse control

• Reinforcing calm behaviour

• Building engagement with the handler

• Clear, consistent boundaries

• Nipping is never allowed to become a game

• Chasing behaviours are interrupted early

• Providing appropriate outlets

• Fetch and structured play

• Agility or obstacle work

• Task based activities

• Advanced training (obedience, tricks, scent work)

• Teaching an “off switch”

• Settling on a mat

• Calm behaviour inside the home

• Learning when it’s time to relax

The Reality

Herding instinct is not a flaw, it’s what makes these dogs so intelligent, trainable, and incredible to work with.

But without direction or knowledge of the breeds history, it can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to manage.

Aussiedoodle puppies are not typically calm or easy.

They are:

• Highly intelligent and curious

• Fast moving

• Driven to interact with everything in their environment

Many families underestimate just how full on these puppies can be.

Common (Normal) Puppy Behaviours

You should expect:

Nipping and mouthing

• Hands, arms, feet, clothing

• Often increases with excitement or fatigue

• Can feel constant without proper management

Jumping up

• On people, furniture, visitors

• Often paired with excitement and lack of impulse control

Chewing and destruction

• Furniture, shoes, walls, outdoor items

• Not out of “bad behaviour” but teething, boredom, or lack of stimulation

Barking and vocalising

• Alert barking

• Demand barking

• Frustration or attention seeking

Zoomies and overstimulation

• Sudden bursts of energy

• Loss of focus

• Difficulty calming down

Short attention spans

• Quickly moving from one activity to the next

• Needing structured, engaging training

Boundary testing

• Ignoring commands

• Repeating behaviours after correction

• Pushing limits to see what they can get away with

Herding behaviours from a young age

• Chasing and nipping

• Fixating on movement

Why These Behaviours Happen

These puppies are:

• Genetically driven to work and think

• Learning how to interact with the world

• Lacking impulse control and emotional regulation

They are not being “naughty” they simply don’t know any better yet.

Where Many Owners Go Wrong

The biggest issue isn’t the behaviour itself, it’s how inconsistently it’s handled.

Common mistakes include:

• Allowing behaviours sometimes but correcting them other times

• Laughing off nipping or jumping because it’s “cute”

• Not providing enough structure or routine

• Expecting the puppy to “grow out of it”

They won’t grow out of it, they grow into it.

What These Puppies Need

To develop into well balanced adults, they require:

• Consistency from day one (from everyone in the household)

• Clear communication and boundaries

• Structured training (not just correction)

• Daily mental and physical outlets

• Guidance through overstimulation

• Patience and realistic expectations

Remember you’re Raising an Adult Dog

Every interaction is shaping the dog they will become as an adult and for the majority of their lives. 

If you allow:

• Jumping → it becomes a habit

• Nipping → it becomes their default behaviour

• Barking → it becomes excessive

• Chewing → it becomes destructive

These behaviours don’t stay small, they grow with the dog.

The Reward for Consistency

Aussies and Aussiedoodles are truly exceptional breeds: intelligent, loyal, and full of personality. They form deep bonds with their families, thrive on challenges, and love to be part of everything you do.

But they are not for every household. Their energy, drive, and instincts demand time, attention, and knowledge.

Before bringing one home, you must be fully aware and prepared:

• Understand the breed’s exercise and mental stimulation needs

• Be ready to provide consistent training and guidance

• Know how to redirect herding instincts, nipping, chewing, and jumping

With patience, consistency, and commitment, you are not just training a puppy, you are shaping a confident, well balanced adult dog. 

The effort you put in now pays off in spades later:

• A dog that listens because it wants to, not just because it must

• A companion who thrives mentally, physically, and emotionally

• A friend who channels their instincts positively

• A lifelong partner who is eager to please and engage

Raising a puppy of this breed is a serious commitment, but for the prepared owner, it is an extraordinary opportunity to bring home one of the most remarkable, intelligent, and loving dogs you will ever meet.

A common misconception is that smaller dogs are easier.

In reality:

• Smaller Aussiedoodles and Mini Aussies often have more consistent, higher energy
• Larger dogs can sometimes be more relaxed

Regardless of size:

• The exercise needs remain
• The mental stimulation needs remain
• The instincts remain

There is no “low energy version” of this breed, though we have recently introduced our gorgeous Aussie Mountain Doodles into our program. Our AMD’s have a higher percentage of Poodle & Bernese Mountain Dog than Australian Shepherd in their genetics to bring out a calmer overall temperament.

We prioritise:

• Stable, sound temperaments
• Lower drive where possible
• Dogs that can settle

As well as incorporate these Early Learning Techniques:

• Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) From 3-16 days old
• Early Scent Introduction (ESI) From 3-16 days old 
• Foundational Toilet Training from 2 weeks of age
• Open Door Crate Training from 2 weeks of age
• Early Socialisation & Desensitisation Training 
• Grooming Desensitisation 
• Individual Crate Training from 6 weeks of age 

However:

We cannot remove genetics entirely.

These dogs are still:

• Herding breeds
• Working dogs
• Instinct driven

Even calmer puppies still carry these traits.

The Reality:

Breeding sets the foundation, but training and lifestyle determine the outcome.

A well bred dog without guidance can still develop:

• Nipping
• Reactivity
•  Destructive behaviour

If you are considering adopting a herding/working breed dog, these are traits you need to be mental prepared for your puppy to possibly display. Ultimately it’s about being knowledgeable on these traits and the training required to help redirect a puppy to more favourable behaviours.