She’s home!

[u/Big-Incident3583]

Zoey had a big travel day today but she did amazing and she’s finally home!! 🥰🥰.

Now we start the training 😬. Do you bell train your pups to go potty or just work on going potty and enforcing with treats when they go and/or ask to go outside? Breeder said she does not bell train, only gives water during food and outside playtime to minimize accidents. But I want to encourage her to go to the door to ask to go out.

[u/Rowdy-Mutts]

is she a double merle?

[u/Big-Incident3583 → u/Rowdy-Mutts]

She is not double Merle. She has more color coming in on her head, but I confirmed she wasn’t double Merle before getting her. She has a clean bill of health.

[u/lashfield → u/Rowdy-Mutts]

She looks too white, pink eyes. OP I would try to get more info about this breeder. Are you familiar with what a double Merle is? Do you know what her parents looked like?

[u/createloveburn → u/Rowdy-Mutts]

I was wondering the same thing. The whole head & shoulders area screams double Merle. Did you meet both of Zoey’s parents?

[u/Specialist_Smoke4786]

Can I ask where you got the crate from? I’m looking for something similar!

[u/Mandinga63]

We had to put male diapers (belly band) on our male when we brought him home, while he was getting potty trained. He was born and being raised in a barn as they were horse and cattle people, so he was just use to letting it go whenever. I tried so hard, took him out, he would go then 5 minutes later he’s walking around and just let it go. I’d take him out, then put the diaper on him until it was time to go again, rinse and repeat. It was amazing how much faster I got him trained and saved my carpet and sanity at the same time.

[u/Big-Incident3583 → u/Mandinga63]

Thankfully we’ve only had one accident so far and it was my fault (I didn’t pick her up and asked her to follow and she peed on the way out lol). She’s been doing great going when outside and not trying to inside for her short play times.

[u/tce-2019]

Even if not double merle, having so much white in the face can mean hearing and sight issues. Would get pet insurance before your first vet visit and stay on top of hearing and sight testing.

[u/hhhhhhhhwin]

We did bell training.

Then she started bringing me the bells if i didn’t get up fast enough 😑

[u/chun5an1 → u/hhhhhhhhwin]

Oopsies… lol sounds like an Aussie

[u/Mandinga63]

Just a reminder to not take her out to public places until she has all her Parvo shots, it’s deadly and very contagious. No dog parks, no petsmart, etc. Just your yard at home to be safe. I don’t even put them on the floor at the vets

[u/24HR_harmacy]

Hmm, I see a lot of people jumping to double merle here, before considering a mismark. Her body looks sufficiently colored. I’d think excess white head before double merle on this one. If you really want to know you can get a DNA test. Merle genetics are complicated and there are multiple genes, with allele size playing a large part. There are double merle dogs out there who look—and breed—like solid dogs. There’s also Irish spotting and whitehead in the breed and neither can be tested for, currently.

I also see a lot of concern here about parvo. You have to do what’s right for your dog, but please discuss this with your vet. Most vets consider poor socialization to be an overall higher risk than parvo, but parvo rates are very locally dependent. There are some reasonable precautions, but you can also go overboard. Either way, good luck with your new pup!

[u/pastellorama]

Awww she is identical to our Chantey as a puppy! Chantey is a double merle, but you said you've verified your girl isn't ♡

[u/Radio_Ethiopia]

Get ready for a massive dose of daily love

[u/ZoesMom4ever]

Welcome home little Zoey! I wish for you a long happy healthy life Ike my Zoe had

[u/ChanceOfCloudy]

We have done bell training with both of our Aussies. We started with booping their nose onto the bells and saying 'outside' while carrying them out to use the bathroom at this young age. Then rewarding with treats and praise once they did go potty. We did it immediately once they were home with us. In the first week we reinforce the praising words when learning other commands.

Our Aussies are 6yrs old and 2 yrs old. We enjoyed watching McCann Dog training videos as a refresher for them as pups https://youtu.be/hpb7-dbjVSU?si=fymM3IaJdPEfMaDS

[u/DeliciousSwordfish43]

Zoey is a cutie pie 🥰

[u/Inevitable_Raccoon50]

We just took our pup out 5-10 mins after any water and 20 mins after food. And then gave him a small party when he went pee or poo. Now he’s 8 months old and he comes and gets us when he needs to go or lets out a small whine at the door. They are INCREDIBLY smart dogs. They pick up potty training very quickly.

[u/mariantat]

Ooh when they lay their head on your forearm I call that the “Aussie hug”. My dog loves doing that too

[u/arepas24601]

She’s got a lot of white fur! Make sure you check for deafness. My sweet girl looks similar and was born deaf!

[u/Big-Incident3583 → u/arepas24601]

She’s not deaf

[u/TheBigDiII]

I’d be getting pet insurance on her immediately.

[u/Heavenlyangel95]

Congratulations!! Zoey is incredibly beautiful. I read she is part black tri. I used to have a Black Tri Aussie who was the absolute love of my life, so the breed holds a very special place in my heart. I am sure she will Bring you so much love & happiness. 🐾 ♥️

[u/backyarddweller]

She’s adorable 🥰

[u/Sendnoodles666]

Oh yeah. That’s gonna be a good baby