The Australian Shepherd or Aussie is a very active dog that needs a lot of exercise and challenges to their intelligence to keep them happy. He is not an indoor dog and won't do well if he has to stay inside. You need a large yard at a minimum to keep this pet content. If you live on a farm or ranch this is where the Aussie will do the best especially if he has some animals to herd or some other work.

Competitive dog sports are a good way to keep your Aussie happy if he doesn't have regular work to keep him busy. This breed is one of the top types for this kind of activity.

One of the first things to do when acquiring your new Australian Shepherd is find a veterinarian. Preferably this will be one that practises holistic or natural medicine. This is when you will get its puppy shots if it doesn't already have them. If it has already had those shots he can tell you when the next ones will be due along with other preventative care suggestions.

As well as maintaining a healthy and safe immune system on your dog, you want to also make sure that you keep yours dogs teeth clean. If you do not keep your dogs teeth brushed on a regular basis, you will find that your dog has a foul breath as well as having gum disease over time.

Make sure that you keep your pet Aussie up to date on all flea and tick control methods that you might be using. Check with your vet to find out what natural flea and tick medications are available. You can also make ones from household products that work good. Be sure to check your pet for pests on a regular basis, especially if they are dogs that have a large area to roam in such as a ranch.

Even if your pet Australian Shepherd is strictly an outside dog make sure he has a sheltered place to sleep and something comfortable to sleep on. A bed with cedar shavings or something similar will repel fleas and to further get rid of them wash the bed weekly.

Since the Australian Shepherd has such a large amount of fur, you want to bathe it regularly and brush it daily. The dog will shed and by brushing it on a daily basis, you will help to avoid knots as well as helping to them from shedding in your home if you allow it to come inside.

Your pet Australian Shepherd is normally very active especially if it is a working dog and therefore needs good food to maintain its health. If you have time to fix the food yourself would be the ideal situation as you would know exactly what it was eating and how it was prepared. The best diet for your pet is as natural food diet as possible. Feeding them raw meat is a good thing to do if you can afford it. If you do buy their food make sure protein is high with smaller amounts of grain. Feed them twice a day at the same time and in their own bowl. Pick up their bowl after 20 minutes. With lots of exercise you should not have to worry about them getting overweight.

As you can see, it takes a lot to own a pet Australian Shepherd and to make sure that they are well taken care of. Exercise and work is probably to key ingredients to a happy pet. You want to be sure that you are feeding the dog all the proper foods and that in caring for your dog, you are making it as comfortable as possible. All of these things will help to guarantee that you have a healthy and well- adjusted pet.

If you are a pet owner or thinking about becoming one you should visit Natural Pets Health to get more information on natural pets health foods, products & cures. You will also find general information such as the pros & cons of owning along with the caring for & feeding of all types of pets from dogs to snakes to fish to exotics.