9 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Pace + 4 Helpful Tips

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When you bring an australian shepherd into your home you’re bound to see plenty of unusual behavior. Pacing around your house is definitely one of the more peculiar things they can do and it can be for harmless reasons as well as more serious ones.

Why Do Australian Shepherds Pace:

Australian shepherds need a lot of physical as well as mental stimulation or else they’ll become bored. Pacing is one of the ways australian shepherds show their boredom. This behavior can also come from their natural instincts to herd, tracking or because they have anxiety.

In this post you’ll discover:

9 real reasons why australian shepherds pace
When an australian shepherd pacing becomes something to worry about
4 tips to help australian shepherds pace less (Tip #3 can help in many ways!)
And much, much more

Let’s jump right in.

Table of Contents

9 Real Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Pace

1) Instincts

Your australian shepherd’s ancestral background is being on a farm and working all day herding cattle and other livestock.

This means without being given a job or task, not only will your pup be bored, but they might take it upon themselves to create a job for them to do.

Which could be why your australian shepherd is pacing.

Their strong working background and desire for a job could make them pace often because they’ve created a task for themselves.

Which in this case would be keeping you, your kids or other animals grouped together by pacing and blocking their path.

You may also notice them nipping at peoples ankles in your home which is another sign of them taking it upon themselves to herd.

2) High Levels of Anxiety

When an australian shepherd is experiencing high levels of anxiety, pacing is one of the behaviors they may start to do more often.

While many people think a dog having high levels of anxiety mostly comes from a traumatic past, there are quite a few other ways anxiety can develop in your pup.

In some cases, even severe separation anxiety.

Things that can cause your aussie to develop high levels of anxiety are:

A change in owner
A change in home (whole family has moved)
A change in schedule
A change in people living in your home (someone passing away or moving in full time)

Big changes to your australian shepherd’s environment can cause them to become very anxious and stressed out which makes them pace.

Dogs are at their best when they have structure and routine, and when this changes all of the sudden, it can be very difficult for them to adapt.

If any of these major changes to their environment have happened recently your pup could be showing their anxiousness by pacing.

3) Not Enough Exercise

Australian shepherds are high energy dogs that need plenty of exercise each day.

Without at least 30-60 minutes of fast paced physical activity everyday it’s not unusual for them to behave oddly when their exercise needs aren’t being met.

For many australian shepherds, a couple slow paced 15 minute walks simply isn’t enough to get rid of their pent up energy.

They need time to run at their top speed by playing fetch or going somewhere where it’s safe to run off leash.

Because of their herding background their DNA is hard wired to be completely okay with walking, running, being hyper aware of their surroundings, all day.

Which means if your australian shepherd isn’t getting very much exercise each day it’s not uncommon to see them pace from having too much pent up energy.

Related Reading: 12 Best Harnesses for Australian Shepherds

4) Lack Of Stimulation

Again, going back to your australian shepherds herding background, their breed is used to getting lots of mental stimulation throughout their day.

While they were on the job, which was everyday, they would need to be paying attention to each member of their livestock as well as look out for potential threats.

This would of course give them lots of mental stimulation over the course of their day and keep them from ever having down time and being bored (for the most part).

Which is why if your aussie pup isn’t getting a good amount of mental stimulation in your home from either training or toys, they may pace.

Their brain needs to be used or they may develop destructive habits with pacing just being the start.

5) Looking For Something

Dogs are notorious for hiding items that are very valuable to them.

Whether they try to dig a hole in your backyard to bury a toy they love or wanting to hide it somewhere in your home so it can’t be taken away.

And while your australian shepherd may remember that this particular item is important to them, they may not remember exactly where they put it which makes them pace looking for it.

Another reason could be if you recently moved their food and water bowls to a new spot in your home.

They may not know yet why their food isn’t where it normally is and pace around it’s old spot looking for it.

6) Tracking

Your aussie has far better hearing and sense of smell than people do.

Which means your pup could be pacing in your home or in your backyard because they can hear or smell something you can’t, and they’re looking for it.

You could unknowingly have mice in your walls, basement or in your ventilation system and your pup is tracking down what they hear or smell.

If your australian shepherd hears something in the wall or underneath them and isn’t sure how to get to it, they’ll pace trying to figure out how they can get to it.

7) Getting Older

When australian shepherds get older, just like people, their cognitive function starts to decline.

And unfortunately if your aussie is getting into their senior years they may be developing dementia which is causing them to pace.

For dog’s this is called ‘Canine Cognitive Dysfunction’ which is the dog equivalent to alzheimers.

When an older australian shepherd is pacing it can be because they aren’t sure exactly where they are.

Other signs that your aussie might be starting to develop CCD are:

Appearing to recognize their humans less and less
Becoming confused at random times in familiar places
Starting to become overly clingy
More frequent mood swings
Staring into space for long periods of time

8) Want Your Attention

One of the more harmless reasons why australian shepherds pace is because they want your attention.

Your aussie is a very smart pup and if they notice that everytime they pace, you come over and pay attention to them, they’ll want to do it more often.

It could also be that they want your attention so you’ll let them outside to go to the bathroom.

Pacing for attention usually doesn’t last very long as they see their efforts to get your attention aren’t working.

9) Possible Underlying Health Issue

Pacing can also be caused by health conditions that can happen at any stage of your australian shepherd’s life.

Certain things like liver disease, tumors, cushing’s disease, loss of sight, bad diet causing nutrient imbalance, general pain, etc.

If you’re also noticing that your aussie is sleeping more and other big behavioral changes like eating less (or more), it’s important to have a vet take a look at them.

If they don’t act excited when you come over to them as they pace, there could be something going on internally.

4 Tips To Help Australian Shepherds Stop Pacing

1) Increase Training

Aussies need plenty of mental stimulation in order to be happy and healthy.

When they don’t get any challenges on a daily or weekly basis, they can start to develop bad habits like pacing.

They’re so bored that they need to find something to do and sometimes their pacing can even be instinctual herding.

It’s not uncommon for australian shepherds to create a job/task for themselves when they aren’t given one which can sometimes result in pacing and herding family members.

The more training you give your pup on a daily basis, or at least several times a week, the less you’ll notice odd behavior like pacing due to boredom.

Mentally stimulating dog toys are also great for when they have downtime or for feeding in general.

They can challenge your pup and give them something to focus on.

2) Increase Physical Activity

When an australian shepherd has too much pent up energy there’s a variety of different ways they’ll behave in an attempt to get rid of all their energy.

Some will destroy items in your home, some will become overly vocal and others will pace.

Giving your aussie enough exercise every day is super important for both their physical and mental health.

Taking them for long hikes, a dog park to run around in, an open field for them to burn off some steam, going for a jog/run with them, playing fetch in your backyard, etc.

All of these are great ways to get your australian shepherd’s heart pumping and make them more interested in resting rather than pacing.

3) Do These Things To Help With Their Anxiety

If your pup has recently had a big change happen in their life they might be dealing with higher than usual levels of anxiety.

And unfortunately, sometimes the only thing you can do is let time pass so they can get used to their new normal.

However, a few things you can do to help them cope are:

Do more things they love – car rides, trips to the dog park, their favorite hiking trail, etc.
Give them more structure/routine – the quicker you can help your pup get into a new routine in their new environment the better. Dogs do their best when they have structure.
Bring home a shelter dog for a week or two – when you bring another loving pup into your home it can help your aussie forget about what’s troubling them so much.