Dixie
Dixie is a mini Australian Shepherd and is 3 1/2 years old now. My Aunt Nanci had a standard Australian Shepherd named Shiloh that I absolutely loved- he was a black tri and before I even knew much about dogs, I knew I loved Shiloh. He was a black tri, had lots of energy and the sweetest temperament you've ever seen. Loved that dog. When my husband and I first got married we lived in a small house with a small yard, so our goal was to get a small to medium-sized dog to fit our small to medium-sized living arrangements. I loved aussies but knew a standard was a little too big for our situation, so I had resigned myself to the fact that we needed to find another breed. I was estate-saleing one day with my friend Hannah when we came upon the tiniest blue merle aussie puppy. I was, of course, gushing over the puppy since it was the cutest little furball I'd ever seen, but when the owner said the words "Mini Australian Shepherd" I about fell over! You mean, there's a small version of my favorite breed?! Genius!
The hunt was on for a mini aussie! My husband will tell you that I am a fairly motivated person in general, but when I have a mission... look out! I can border on OCD side at times. I scoured the internet for good breeders, the genetic abnormalities within the breed and what breeders should do to have their breeding stock certified. Long story short, I spent a loooong time trying to find the right puppy! I went from black tris to red merles- the whole gammut! Until one day I came across a breeder in Oklahoma who just had a litter of puppies from Buck and Macy (I still remember the parents' names). I saw this sweet face and I swear, time stood still....
Although I really saw us getting a black tri, she was JUST like the puppy I saw who had inspired me to get a mini aussie in the first place- I thought... it must be fate! I immediately called the breeder to feel them out, loved them and we set up a time to meet halfway. They were going to bring "Dink", as she was currently named and her brother Max who they said had a really sweet temperament. She cost more since she was a blue merle with blue eyes, so I prepared Charles for the fact that we might get her even though signs seemed to point elsewhere. When we got there the kids were telling us all about the two pups- their main description of Dink was that she REEEEALLY liked to play. When it came to Max... he was sweet, easy going, loveable... you get the picture. They were pretty much trying to persuade us to get Max since he was clearly the more amiable pup. HOWEVER once I looked into those sweet blue eyes, I had to have Dink.
Prior to meeting her, I had my heart set on naming her "Stella". She was going to be a sweet, smart, loyal girl, just like all the aussies I'd read about. On the way home, Charles mentioned that based on the breeders description of her, a sweet name like Stella may not fit the bill. He suggested "Dixie", which I said was cute, but we would feel her out over the next few days to see which one fit her best. She slept in my arms on the way home and slept for the next day or so, which I figured was totally her temperament, not the fact that she was in a totally new environment- pfffssshh!!
Low and behold, our sweet little furball turned into a spicy little puppy with more energy than I knew what to do with! She grew sharp little needle teeth and would nip at anything within reach. I would come home on my lunch break every day to take her for a walk, and she would nip at my feet to the point where they would bleed. One night I remember breaking down because I didn't know what to do with this little pirranha of a pup! Over time she grew out of the nippy-puppy stage and started to become trainable and sweet....
Fast forward 3 and a half years and we have a still-somewhat-spicy, but beautiful, sweet young lady! She loves to play but also loves a good cuddle. She is ridiculously smart- I often say she could probably speak other languages without ever having been taught! I know she is capable of much more training than I have given her, but luckily we have a huge yard where she can run to her heart's content to get rid of some of that energy! We love her to pieces and can't imagine our life without her! She has a big sister, Belle, who I will introduce in a later post- she is Dixie's cheese to her macaroni!
Stay tuned for Belle's introduction- I've written enough for now!!
Prior to meeting her, I had my heart set on naming her "Stella". She was going to be a sweet, smart, loyal girl, just like all the aussies I'd read about. On the way home, Charles mentioned that based on the breeders description of her, a sweet name like Stella may not fit the bill. He suggested "Dixie", which I said was cute, but we would feel her out over the next few days to see which one fit her best. She slept in my arms on the way home and slept for the next day or so, which I figured was totally her temperament, not the fact that she was in a totally new environment- pfffssshh!!
Low and behold, our sweet little furball turned into a spicy little puppy with more energy than I knew what to do with! She grew sharp little needle teeth and would nip at anything within reach. I would come home on my lunch break every day to take her for a walk, and she would nip at my feet to the point where they would bleed. One night I remember breaking down because I didn't know what to do with this little pirranha of a pup! Over time she grew out of the nippy-puppy stage and started to become trainable and sweet....
Fast forward 3 and a half years and we have a still-somewhat-spicy, but beautiful, sweet young lady! She loves to play but also loves a good cuddle. She is ridiculously smart- I often say she could probably speak other languages without ever having been taught! I know she is capable of much more training than I have given her, but luckily we have a huge yard where she can run to her heart's content to get rid of some of that energy! We love her to pieces and can't imagine our life without her! She has a big sister, Belle, who I will introduce in a later post- she is Dixie's cheese to her macaroni!
Stay tuned for Belle's introduction- I've written enough for now!!
Waiting for squirrels....
Among the grasses- see had a Dixie-sized spot worn into the bushes :)
Loves her daddy
Party pup!
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