Ask me if I did any research on the Australian Shepherd breed before I decided I wanted THAT puppy. I mean if it counts for anything, I decided to research the breed AFTER i had already paid the $250 deposit...but even then I overlooked major personality traits that most Australian Shepherds have. You wanna know why? Because WHO could resist that FACE?!
(I mean, I might be bias by thinking that Kyzer is the cutest dog ever, but Google Australian Shepherds if you are unfamiliar with the breed and you too will fall in love with their cute, fluffiness.)
One of the main things about Australian Shepherds that any site or any individual familiar with the breed will say is that they are a VERY high energy breed; in order for their minds to be most at ease, they need "hours" of exercise a day. Typically they don't sleep much during the day. When you are watching TV or doing homework they don't entertain themselves. At least by my experience with Kyzer, he ALWAYS is seeking attention or something fun to do. If you aren't playing with him, he expects you to pet and cuddle him. If you stop petting him, he expects you to play with him and so on. You can play with him for hours, make him run outside, give him a bone to chew on, pet him until he seems to fall asleep--and the second you think he might be content he's sitting right next to you, begging for more. Kyzer is like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going...(Fun fact: when he was a puppy we had to put him in his cage in the afternoon so that he would actually take a nap and sleep!)
By researching the breed I was forewarned what I was getting myself into, but I denied the facts. I assumed that all dogs were different--regardless of what experts may say their breed-personality traits are--and that if this puppy ended up having an excessive amount of energy, I could handle it, despite my busy schedule.
After hitting one-year Kyzer did mellow out a bit, but during his first 10 months with us he was a terror. No matter what we tried to do in order to get his energy out and get him to relax, nothing seemed to work. As fun and energetic as Kyzer is, as a college student after a long day of class and work, sometimes you just want to relax and do homework. But Kyzer always seems to have other plans. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death and can't imagine my life without him. But I definitely learned how important it is to do research of a breed before committing to one.
No matter how much you might love a dog breed because they are so fluffy, so cute, so perky, etc., my biggest advice to you is to do your research. Make sure whatever dog you choose has a personality and lifestyle that matches your own. That's one fact I always read on websites that I always overlooked. Because at the end of the day, sure you want a dog that you think is the cutest thing ever, but you'll want a dog that you enjoy being with. And having a dog with a lovable personality that matches your own trumps any cute dog. Like the old saying says, "Looks may fade but personality lasts forever." Although dogs always remain cute...trust me. Sometimes their cuteness gets outweighed by their super-hyperactiveness. Again, I love Kyzer to death and I wouldn't want any other dog, but that's because I learned to love his energetic personality. Not matching up personalities ended up working for us, but I have heard of countless others who have to rehome their dog because their lifestyles don't meet the dog's needs.
I hope this post was helpful and will get you to do your research before buying the first cute puppy you come across! I know it can be tempting (trust me, I fell in that trap), but try to resist the temptation. :)
Till next time!
~Kathryn and Kyzer
P.S. Australian Shepherds are also known for being one of the smartest breeds of dogs you can get. Kyzer, on the contrary, isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Throughout this blog you'll soon understand why. Level of hyperactivity is pretty much guaranteed I guess, but smartness isn't as easy to estimate.
Hi Kathryn I am glad you concerned about this situation. I have seen a lot post during the graduation timing from Chinese students on Facebook. They would look for the next host for their pets (dog, cat or rabbit) because of all kinds of reason, like they are leaving this country, they are moving to another city and etc. They cannot move with this pet anymore, they have to leave them here. And, usually for the reason why they adopting or buying this pet, is because they felt lonely and they wanted company. To be honestly, the first time when I notice this kind of post, I was shock. However, during that period, this kind of post appears constantly. Actually I really mad about it. I am glad to see you are also caring about the topic "don't buy them only because their cute". I will follow your blog.
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