Breed trainability
Are Australian Shepherds easy to train?
Ask an Aussie owner and the answer often splits in two. The skills side is usually the easy part: sit, down, place and a tidy heel tend to come without much fuss. The demanding side shows up on a Calgary pathway, when a cyclist passes or a child runs and the herding instinct many Aussies carry wakes up. Here is our honest read on trainability, and what the training actually involves.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
Herding brain
Quick studies, in our experience, and slow to stand down.
The easy side is the herding brain. Many Aussies watch hands, feet and faces closely, and in our experience they connect a marker to a reward with little trouble. The breed is often biddable in the old sense: it seems to want direction and to find satisfaction in following it. Sit, down, place, a tidy heel, a spin, a retrieve: these are usually the least of an Aussie owner's problems. If skills were the whole of dog training, this would be a short page.
The demanding side is that the same brain rarely clocks off on its own. Many Aussies bark at motion: a cat, a car door, a runner across the street. Some nip at heels, an old herding habit, and children on a pathway move in ways that can trigger it. Boredom is one common reason, but not the only one; arousal, habit and a missing off switch can all play a part. Teaching an Aussie to do nothing is usually the harder work.
- Often quick to pick up cues
- Many bark at moving things
- Heel-nipping in some Aussies
- An off switch worth teaching
Off switch work
Impulse control is the curriculum, not tricks.
With an Aussie, much of what we work on is stillness. A place command practised while the family eats, while a ball rolls past, while someone jogs by the window. Walks where the goal is a heel held as cyclists and runners pass on the pathway, built up gradually. We pair that with real daily work, because in our experience a herding dog with an outlet is easier to reach. Then we treat off-duty as a skill in its own right.
The dog decides the program, not the breed. Day Training is $650 + GST per week, Monday to Friday, with a weekly one-hour go-home lesson, built for dogs that need consistent work and owners who want them home every night. Functional Off-Leash is a three-week board and train at $3,030 + GST with an Educator remote collar included, built for dogs with decent manners working toward a reliable recall around distractions. We recommend one at the consultation, and the smaller one when it is enough.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Are Aussies hard to train?
Not usually the skills; in our experience those tend to come readily. The harder part is teaching an Aussie to be calm, because a herding dog with nothing to do may invent work, whether that is barking at the window or herding the kids. Impulse control generally takes longer than obedience and matters at least as much.
Are Australian Shepherds stubborn?
In our experience, rarely stubborn and often over-aroused. An Aussie that ignores a cue is frequently locked onto something moving and struggling to hear anything over its own drive. We work on impulse control before we judge willingness, because the two are easy to confuse in this breed.
Are Aussies good first dogs?
For an active first owner willing to train daily, they can be. For a household hoping for a companion that naps through the workday, the fit is often poor. Many Aussies want a daily job in every season, including a Calgary January, and Puppy Fundamentals ($2,775 + GST) is built for that early learning window.
Do Australian Shepherds bark a lot?
Many do, and motion is a common trigger: cyclists, runners, a dog across the street. Boredom is one frequent reason, but not the only one; arousal and habit can keep barking going in a well-exercised dog too. We treat it as something to work on with daily outlets and a taught off switch, rather than as a personality flaw.
What is the best training for an Australian Shepherd?
It depends on the individual dog. Worth weighing before choosing: what sets the dog off, how it settles afterward, and how much daily work the household can realistically give. The consultation is where we recommend a program, including a smaller one when it is enough.
Keep reading
Work on the off switch
Bring us the barking, the nipping and a typical week. Book a consultation and we will recommend the program that fits your Aussie.
From real owners
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