Most of the Australian Shepherd are born with tails and as breed standards we cropped them at 3-4 days of age.  If you prefer to leave the tail on we can do that. We call then custom puppies 🙂  If you want us to keep the tail on your puppy, the puppy must be paid in full in the first couple of days.  This is non-refundable. If you have more questions about tails, please call Johanna at 541-213-5777.

Visit our Available Puppies page to see puppies that are currently available or Planned Litters page to see upcoming litters that are planned. If you see a puppy or litter that you like, fill out the form on the page and put a deposit on that puppy (or litter).

We will contact you by phone to learn a little bit more about your home situation. The remaining balance of the puppy you select must be paid by the time the puppy is six weeks old, unless otherwise agreed upon with the breeder. Otherwise, you will lose your hold on the puppy and your deposit will be retained for another selection. Deposits are either $200 for a litter, or $500 for an available puppy. All deposits are non-refundable.

We also can have the puppy delivered to you by a ground Transport for $300-700.

We also offers shipping with flight nanny for $600-$800

Please give us a call before placing a deposit if you have any questions or specific requests about the kind of dog that will be best for you. 

We are flexible with your deposit. You are welcome to choose another gender or color puppy from that litter, or we can move your deposit to another planned litter.

Puppies are priced between $1,600 and $3,000. We base our pricing on the  pedigree, genetics,  gender, color and conformation of the puppy, availability and demand. Any puppy placed to a breeding home is extra coast.

Raising quality puppies is more costly than one might imagine. Besides the obvious cost of quality food, vitamins, regular worming, flea control, grooming and vaccinations for the breeding dogs there are many other costs. Genetic testing, PennHip Cert. Eye Cert. is very costly. Quality breeders will pay for these tests on their breeding stock while many breeders will not.

It is very imported to us to bred a health, beautiful puppy with a correct conformation and wonderful disposition.

Additional expenses include registering a litter so a new owner can apply for papers, the multiple vet exams and health certificate, docking of tails and removal of dew claws, vaccinations and de-worming, microchipping, fecal exam and feeding the litter quality puppy food. A health guarantee must be factored in as well. When considering the cost, please remember:

Most breeders who charge less than we do probably do not do genetic testing or PennHip Cert. Breeders who do genetic testing often charge a lot more than we do. We try to provide quality puppies in a medium price range affordable to most buyers.

TIME...The time we spend with each puppy can only be measured by their disposition and early socialization skills. Each puppy get's his/her own tailor made program based upon their personal learning profile. Our puppies are raised in the middle of our house not in a shed outside or a kennel in the backyard. It's our responsibility to build the best foundation we can. The end results are priceless!

We make every attempt to be a responsible breeder. We believe responsible buyers will recognize and appreciate this effort!

Yes. We are licensed by The State of Oregon and have a Kennel License from Deschutes County. We are also registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) and The Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA).

No. We are ethically obligated to only sell our dogs to families and loving homes that treat their pet as part of the family. We will never sell to brokers or research facilities under any circumstances.

Aussies need a lot of space for play and exercise to be happy. If your Aussie does not get plenty of physical and mental stimulation during the day, it can become depressed and destructive, which will be a bad experience for you and the dog. We respectfully decline puppy deposits from apartment dwellers. We expect that the puppy will have a fenced yard and someone to spend time with during the day and be taken out regularly.

Please only make a deposit if you can commit to an active daily schedule with your dog, or have friends, family or hired help who can. Especially during the first year. If you make a deposit, we will call you make an introduction and learn more about your lifestyle and living situation.

For the sake of our dogs health and happiness, we reserve the right to return your deposit and refuse the sale of a puppy for any reason. We are the only voice our puppies have!

We might consider it on a very limited basis for a highly qualified professional breeder.

Yes. Your puppy will be microchipped and delivered with a clean bill of health from our veterinarian. We also provide you with genetic information on both of the puppy's parents.

Yes. We upload pictures and videos of each puppy after they are born and add new ones as they grow.  The web page assigned to your puppy will be updated regularly. We also post videos on our Facebook page.

If for any reason you cannot keep your puppy or adult dog, we would love to help you finding  a new home for your dog. You must agree in the contract of sale that you will not re-sell your dog or leave it at a rescue or shelter.

Although Aussies are traditionally herding and working dogs, we have not bred any  working bloodlines in our Aussies. We breed more from show bloodlines, and our dogs have a more quiet, gentle disposition than working Aussies. Here at High Desert Aussie we are very selective of our breeding stock.   For instance, our dogs excel in service and therapy work. They make amazing family pets and companions. Daily physical and mental stimulation is important to keep your High Desert Aussie happy.

Aussies love playing fetch, tug, frisbee and fly-ball. They love to hike and love the water. They love agility tunnels and fun things to climb on. Jogging is OK after the puppy is a year old, when its joints are strong. Adventures of all kinds will make your Aussie happy.

Avoid any rough play with your puppy that gets them overstimulated and really amped up: roughing the head, wrestling, pulling and pushing etc. Playing rough with your puppy can result in a jumping, nipping, obnoxious adult.

We recommend a raw diet and/or the highest quality kibble. Please visit our Recommended page.

Please visit our Recommended page. We love Kong Toys.

Yes. One of our favorite books for puppy training is Perfect Puppy In 7 days by Sophia Yin. We also recommend books by Pat Miller, Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson. Please see our recommended page.

We cover socialization in a document that you will receive when you pick up your puppy. The first sixteen weeks of the puppy's life are most critical for its development and lifelong behavior. It is important that you take every opportunity to take your puppy out into the world and expose it too as much as you can safely. People, different environments, cars, machines, kids, well-tempered dogs, other animals etc. We pre-socialize your puppy and expose it to many of these things before you take it home, but a good owner must keep it up, even when inconvenient.

Never force your puppy to do anything that makes him or her feel overwhelmed or afraid. There is a difference between ignoring general fear behavior (which we recommend) and forcing your puppy into a situation that it isn't ready to handle.

We think it is very beneficial for puppies to play with well-tempered adult dogs. Adult dogs can give puppies measured corrections which really helps with training.

However, you should be certain that the adult dog is well-tempered. Avoid dog-parks and strange dogs on the street as an aggressive dog can snap at your puppy and seriously alter his or her behavior, making them timid when approaching and playing with new dogs in the future.

Aussies are people dogs and love their family pack more than anything. They will become the best family dog that your children could ask for. However, some Aussie puppies have a tendency to nip lightly with their playmates, as their herding instinct is engaged. Playtime with your children should be supervised until the puppy has outgrown the teething phase.

We raise every puppy we sell in our own home with our own kids. They have a lot of exposure to children before they go home with you.

Your Aussie will be happy to have a playmate and training can actually be made easier by the presence of an older dog. It is important that you introduce the puppy gradually to the entire house, so your other dog (or cat) does not feel threatened by a new animal in their territory.

Playtime with cats especially should always be supervised in the first month, as a swipe from a cat's claw could seriously injure your puppy. Give your puppy a dedicated space in the house and keep him or her there when not supervised.

Every puppy we sell has been exposed to dogs, cats, chickens, horses and other animals on our farm.

Adult male Australian shepherds typically weigh between 55 and 65 lbs. Females between 45 and 55 lbs.

We recommend crate training your puppy because it gives your Aussie a safe den-like place to retreat, and it is especially helpful with potty training.

Your puppy should have an hour or so of play for every 2-3 hours it is alone in the crate during the day. When the puppy gets older and can hold itself longer for potty, it can stay in the crate for longer periods, but it should never exceed 5 hours at a time as a full adult. Your puppy should not live in the crate, it should live with you!

By the time you take your puppy home, we will have started their vaccination schedule and wormed them 2-3 times. They'll need at least two more shots, 3-4 weeks apart until they are 12-16 weeks old.  All puppies will come with Vaccination and worming schedule and records. Read more more about vaccines. 

Yes, we think that reward-based socialization classes are good. However, you should wait at least a few weeks after you bring your puppy home so he or she can get acclimated to her new environment.

Be sure to seek out a class with lots of good reviews and if possible, monitor a class before enrolling your dog. Never let a trainer use any methods with your dogs that makes you or dog uncomfortable.

It is never too early to start training your Aussie. They are a smart breed and will form bad habits if left to their own devices. Aussies are a breed that is extremely reward-driven, so training with food rewards is highly recommended. Training will be a lot more difficult and a lot less fun without treat-rewards.

We cannot stress enough the benefits of positive re-enforcement training with Australian Shepherds. We are decidedly against force-based training, because dogs learn better when they aren't afraid of making a mistake and getting a harsh correction. You can permanently damage your dog by yanking them around with a choke chain. Avoid trainers who do not use treat-rewards.

Make sure that everyone in your family is on the same page, and simply do not reward any bad behavior. When your puppy sits or comes to you, reward it! So long as you can be consistent with this, and not confuse the pup with mixed signals, you will go a long way to having a well-behaved puppy.

We think the best time to take your puppy home is at 7 or 8 weeks. We do not allow puppies to go home earlier than that. Read this article for more information.

We recommend getting your Aussie groomed by a professional every two months. It is important that your puppy is exposed to grooming, bathing, clipping and brushing before they are 16 weeks old, so they get used to it.

This is a common question without a definite answer. Aussies should eat between 2-4 cups of high quality food depending on their age, activity level and  the constitution of that particular dog.

Puppies need more food than adults. Typically we feed our dogs twice a day in the morning and evening, with additional treats and kibble given during the day while playing and training.

Keep in mind that food that is especially formulated for puppies is much richer than the all-life-stage food that we recommend. Look at the package and compare the amount of calories between brands and kinds. Read the suggested amount per weight, keeping in mind that many brands will overestimate slightly in order to sell more food.

Low-quality, supermarket brands will not give your dog the nourishment it needs, especially when they are a puppy, and can contain a lot of bad ingredients like animal fat, chicken meal and corn meal, including pesticide residues, animal drugs, ethoxyquin ( a known carcinogen) to prevent tallow from becoming rancid, and polyacrylamide used to coagulate slaughter house waste. Mercury compounds in fish products, and dioxins and PCBs in most animal byproducts are additional concerns, as is the lower nutritional value of conventionally grown crops compared to organically grown*.