Our Aussie History and Philosophy

My first introduction to Aussies was during my college days. A classmate of mine brought her little blue dog to class every day. It didn't take much for me to fall in love with the breed! It wasn't until 5 years later in 1983 that I got my own little blue dog, although he turned out to be not so little and was quite a handful!

One litter I checked out had several blues - a female and two males. I went with the idea of getting a female, but this girl was a bit too shy. The males however were not and they competed for my attention. One of them wouldn't take no for an answer. Each time I tried to play with the other male, this foward pup pushed his way into my lap. And so he pushed his way into my heart too and came home with me. Nickolas Nickleby became my constant companion and protector.

Nick was smart, active and very protective of me. Living alone in rural Vermont, I didn't see the protectiveness as a problem at the time. He did not socialize very well and at 75 lbs, he was intimidating to those who came to visit. Most strangers and especially strange men were met with a defensive aggressive posture. His eagerness to guard me didn't do much for my social life, but Nick was a very good judge of character. I never questioned his judgment. When I met my husband-to-be, Rich got Nick's approval immediately. With the people he did accept, he was loving and affectionate, never turning down a hug or a game of frisbee.

Unfortunately, Nick got more protective as he grew older. Being a novice owner, I was not equipped to handle this behavior. As his behavior worsened, living with him became more stressful and we had to manage him carefully when we had visitors. When he died at the age of 13, he left a huge void in our lives.

Learning from some of my mistakes with Nick - as novice owners generally do - I knew what to avoid when we got Penny in 1996. She received tons of socialization and ongoing training! In return, we have a wonderful Aussie, great with everyone at home or out in public. My son Taylor was 6 yrs old when we got Penny and she went to all of his soccer games and played with his friends. She is a "kid-dog" extraordinaire.

Over the years, I became interest in breeding Aussies and had been studying bloodlines. I loved the traditional Aussie with all the intensity, instinct and intelligence and was finding fewer and fewer breeders who wanted to perpetuate those traits. With her versatile pedigree and great temperament, Penny was a good choice for my first breeding prospect.

WELCOME TO SUNNY ACRES AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERDS!!

***Copyright Information: All text and photos through out this website are copyright Sunny Acres/Kate Viles unless otherwise stated. ***

"Aussie Companions For Family and Competition"

We hope that you will browse our website and get acquainted with our wonderful Aussies. If you have any questions about the breed or our upcoming litter, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Our first aussie, Nick

Nick's favorite sport