Bright Hope Mini Aussies & MAS

12/20/2024

Mom and Dad taking it easy.❤️
About 4 weeks to go.😃🥰

12/16/2024

We all know how to pat a dog....right❓ Pat, pat, rub, rub...right on top of the head.
What if they are giving signs they don't like it?
Would that make us stop or would we continue because WE like to pat our dogs?
Yup, we all know how, but do we know the signals shown when dogs are not appreciating it, or when it has gone on too long for their comfort?
So many dogs do not like being patted on the head.
We may have difficulty seeing they are uncomfortable because we are way up there ⬆️sometimes 4-5 feet or more above them, it can be tricky to see the changes in their posture and face....but when we do take notice and appreciate that dogs can consent and even take away that consent, there can be amazing changes.
Some anxious dogs will become LESS anxious.
Some dogs will seek out comfort WHEN they want and need it.
It can give some dogs MORE confidence around people because when someone asks we can say "no thanks, please no pats" or "sure, but not on the head".
If you are in doubt...look at an old video or two, they can be very enlightening.
Yep, this graphic is available abcdogsnz.com

11/27/2024

11/25/2024

my.gooddog.com/bright-hope-aussies-kentucky

11/25/2024

11/17/2024

A farmer had some puppies to sell, so he made a sign advertising the four pups and went to nail it to a post at the edge of his yard. As he was hammering the last nail, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down to see a little boy.
"Mister," the boy said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
The farmer wiped the sweat from his brow and replied, "Well, these puppies come from good stock and cost quite a bit."
The boy lowered his head for a moment. Then, digging into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.
"I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
The farmer smiled and said, "Sure." He whistled, calling out, "Here, Dolly!"
Dolly came running out of the doghouse, followed by four little puppies. The boy pressed his face to the fence, eyes gleaming with excitement. As the puppies approached the fence, he noticed something else moving inside the doghouse.
A smaller puppy slowly emerged, sliding down the ramp awkwardly, trying its best to catch up with the others.
"I want that one," the boy said, pointing to the smaller pup.
The farmer knelt beside him and said, "Son, you don’t want that puppy. He won’t be able to run and play like the others."
The boy stepped back, rolled up one leg of his trousers, and revealed a steel brace on his leg, attached to a special shoe. Looking up at the farmer, he said, "I don’t run so well either, and he’ll need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, the farmer picked up the little pup and gently handed it to the boy.
"How much?" the boy asked.
"No charge," the farmer said softly. "Love doesn’t cost a thing."
Credit to Louis Morley.

10/11/2024

This page maybe shut down. I don’t know why.
Please see my Julie Kibbe page if this page is lost.

09/10/2024

❣️We would love to be someone’s devoted companion❣️
11 weeks old and ready to roll.
Litter box trained & doing well with leash and crate training.
Vet checked and vaccinated.
To learn more visit brighthopeaussies.com

09/05/2024

AROUSAL VS DRIVE

Permission to share as long as Jill Porter/Faithwalk Mini American Shepherds is credited. Written September 4, 2022. The dog in the photo shows an example of arousal, though she also had drive, seen in other situations.

I wrote this after being inspired by a recent conversation with a dog trainer inquiring about my MAS. We talked a lot about various temperament traits in the breeds (MAS, Aussies, dogs in general) and especially about what many call "drive". We both agreed that for many dogs, it's "arousal" vs what some people think of as drive. Let me break that down a bit more.

To me, DRIVE is calm determination, tenacity, grit to get the job done even when it's not exciting or the dog is tired. A dog working out of drive can focus, turn it on and off, and is in "thinking" brain. And by that I mean they are in a mental state you can still reach and guide them with verbal cues, and they can also make appropriate decisions, calm themselves or turn it off depending on environmental factors. Pulling a definition of drive off the internet, it goes like this: It is a focused intensity, a desire to work, that makes dogs overcome all obstacles in pursuit of the goal.

AROUSAL is just that, the dog is wound up, often with dilated pupils, panting, often vocalizing, hyper focus but no impulse control, is reactive, experiencing a heightened emotional state. The issue with arousal is that the dog is more in reactive brain than thinking brain, so it can be VERY hard to "reach" the dog verbally, especially to turn it off, and hard to direct it. They can't think rationally when highly aroused. Dogs who work out of arousal have a harder time with impulse control and turning it off in an instant, where dogs with drive can focus, be directed, and stopped much more easily.

Drive is a conscious decision to complete a task no matter what. Arousal is road rage.

I remember nearly 20 years ago, shortly after I got into Aussies, an Aussie breeder who prided herself on having "drivey" dogs brought them to visit. She unloaded them and it was like a bomb went off in my yard. Dogs were bouncing and zooming all over like balls in a pin ball machine. It was chaos. I thought "wow, if this is drive, it sucks because these dogs are out of control". Having lived with quite a number of Aussies and later MAS, I really began to see the difference between the two. Some of these dogs are truly frenetic and some people call that "high drive." Before Aussies I ran sled dogs and saw the difference between drive and arousal though most mushers didn't use those terms.

Years ago I was sold a show prospect Aussie pup and she was what I called truly frenetic. Much of her waking hours, her pupils were dilated, she was "gone" in the sense she was just frantically reacting to any an all movement and waited for it to happen. She couldn't relax. She was hard mouthed and chased and bit any other dog that moved. She tore the ear of a friend's dog when she was at her house. Her breeder said she'd be "a great stock dog" and nothing is further from the truth. This dog was not thinking, she was reacting and was highly aroused. She couldn't turn it off and short of physically restraining her or removing her from the situation, a human couldn't make her stop either. (And that is NOTHING I would EVER breed!) I have seen other Aussie and MAS like this too.
I know breeders mean well and no dog is perfect, but if we can see the difference and see these dogs tend to be born with this predisposition, we can select away from it. These dogs that get this highly aroused so easily are not easy dogs to live with, are not happy dogs, and can hurt other dogs or humans.

I have heard it said many times that drive can be built, but I have to wonder if it's more arousal that is built. I tend to see drive as something they are born with - a character trait. Yes, maybe we can move it up or down the scale a bit, but like all traits, how we raise them seldom profoundly changes it. If so we wouldn't need dog breeds, we could just raise any dog to be what we want or need. I had truly drivey sled dogs, they were calm but would power on once the initial rush of getting to run was past. They'd pull up hills, pull when it was boring and on the same trail we ran every day. They were not screaming harness bangers.

Another example of high arousal dogs are the ones that go nuts at a fence or window when they see something they can't get. That is not drive, that's pure arousal.

I also think if an individual dog is really easily aroused, but is also anxious or fearful, it's going to be one of the hardest kinds of dogs to live with, and will take a very dedicated, experienced owner and/or professional intervention. Dogs are highly prone to redirected aggression when aroused too. It's why I think it's so important for breeders to truly understand this topic.

I hope we can change the narrative about these two traits and help breeders and owners be able to tell the difference. I can't imagine dogs who live in a constant state of arousal like some do are happy, and it may take a toll on their health having stress hormones (cortisol) pumping through their bodies full time. And that may be another topic for an article, since many novice owners think for a dog to be "happy" it has to be aroused - meaning bouncing around, tongue out, very "up". That's not happiness.

For further reading on arousal here is a good link:
https://positively.com/.../what-is-arousal-in-dogs-and.../
Permission to share as long as Jill Porter/Faithwalk Mini American Shepherds is credited. Written September 4, 2022. www.faithwalkaussiesmas.com

09/01/2024

THIS IS A PSA

Puppies bite. They bite a lot. They bite hard. Their teeth are sharp. You might bleed. It might seem relentless.

Scaring the pants off them by yelling, pinning, shoving or shouting will not only do precisely zero, it will potentially create a fearful adult dog.

Puppies bite more when;
They are tired
They are hungry
They are bored
They are overstimulated
They are teething

Read that again. They bite MORE when they are the above. They will also bite when they are absolutely fine. They are dogs not dolls.

Be compassionate not scary. They will grow out of it but only if you teach them a good alternative. Trade for toys. Use a pen or a crate. Teach calmness. Reward gentle interactions. Grit your own teeth and ride it out while reinforcing good stuff and proactively managing bad stuff.

Be proactive when you know biting happens like after some play, when excitement goes up, when they are overtired (7-9pm witching hour anyone?) and give them a good chew or help them settle, or channel that energy into some training.

It does get better basically. Don’t panic. Most puppy biting isn’t aggression. Be CONSISTENT and PROACTIVE and expect more than a few bites along the way.

Signed,
Brushy Creek Mini Aussies
and Baby Raptor

08/31/2024

FACING THE FEAR
There is a common disbelief that comforting a dog that is feeling scared, anxious or stressed will only reinforce, encourage the feeling and make it worse.

This belief is incorrect. Fear is an emotional response and one that a dog does not choose or decides to feel.

An emotion is an involuntary, uncontrolled response that cannot be reinforced.

Punishing fear-based behaviour is even worse than not providing comfort as it creates even more negative associations with whatever the “scary thing" is.

Behaviour and emotions are intrinsically linked in important ways, but they are still not the same thing and require different approaches when they become a problem.

Imagine an intruder broke into your home, tied you up and took off with your belongings. After being freed and getting help, a friend arrives to see how you are.

Your friend tells you that she can see that you’re really anxious and scared but she’s just going to completely ignore you, is not going to attempt to comfort you, sit with you or support you because by doing so she will make you even more afraid and upset. Does that reaction make any sense?

Why should it be any different for dogs that also experience a range of emotions? Why then is it still believed that we should ignore our dogs?

Probably because there is confusion and misunderstanding about the difference between an emotional response - which is an involuntary response and a learned response - which has varying degrees of conscious control.

If we acknowledge that providing comfort and support to a dog that is experiencing these emotions will not reinforce them, do we know if providing comfort will reduce these emotions?

Research on this subject is showing evidence that providing comfort and support in stressful situations decreases a dog’s heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, reduces stress responses and increases calm behaviour.

Ignoring a dog’s emotions because of misinformed advice in the belief that this will change the behaviour is more damaging than helpful.

We need to accept and acknowledge that our dogs are having an emotional response and not a behavioural problem.

We need to show compassion, understanding, be a secure base, a safe haven and provide the appropriate comfort when our dogs need it.

08/31/2024

EBONY is a black tri male born 6/22/24. He has 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye.
Parents are registered with AKC & ASDR and are fully genetic health tested.
To learn more visit brighthopeaussies.com.

08/31/2024

INDIGO is a black tri male. His right eye is blue, his left eye is brown.
He is a small mini born 6/22/24.
Parents are fully genetic health tested and registered with AKC & ASDR.
To learn more visit brighthopeaussies.com.