Australian Shepherd 🐶🐾 Everything Dogs 🐾🐶
Australian Shepherd the Australian
Shepherd often known simply as the
Aussie is a medium-sized breed of dog
that was despite its name developed on
ranches in the United States during the
19th century there is disagreement
regarding the exact history of the breed
prior to its arrival in the United
States and thus no official consensus on
the origin of its name or association
with Australia they are similar in
appearance to the popular English
shepherd and border collie breeds and
research has found that Australian
Shepherds and Border Collies are closely
related to each other both the border
collie and Australian Shepherd are
slightly more distantly related to other
kinds of collies and to Shetland
Sheepdogs Australian Shepherds rose in
popularity with a boom in western riding
after World War 2 they became known to
the general public through rodeos horse
shows and Disney movies made for
television for many years Aussies have
been valued by Stockman for their
versatility and trainability death while
they continued to work as stock dogs and
compete in herding trials they have
earned recognition and other roles due
to their trained ability and eagerness
to please and are highly regarded for
their skills and obedience like all
working breeds Aussies have considerable
energy and Drive and usually need a job
to keep them occupied
they often excel at dog sports such as
dog agility and frisbee and are also
highly successful as search-and-rescue
dogs
disaster dogs detection dogs Guide Dogs
service dogs and therapy dogs they are
considered the 17th most popular dog
breed in the United States physical
traits sighs the Australian Shepherd is
traditionally a medium-sized breed of
solid build they can weigh from 35 to 70
pounds 16 to 32 kilograms and stand from
18 to 23 inches 46 to 58 centimeters in
height the Australian Shepherd Club of
America ASC a standard calls for the
Australian Shepherd to stand between 18
and 23 inches 46 and 58 centimeters at
the withers females being 18 to 22
inches 46 to 56 centimeters
and males measuring 19 to 23 inches 48
to 58 centimeters
however quality is not to be sacrificed
in favor of size dot color recognized
Aussie colors are solid black solid red
liver blue merle and red / liver merle
each of these colors may also have
copper dan points or white markings in
various combinations on the face chest
and legs a black or red dog with copper
and white trim is called tri color or
tri while a black or red dog with white
trim but no copper is called by color or
by white rather than pigment on or
around the ears is an indicator of
increased risk for white related
deafness excessive white on the face and
ears can place an individual dog at
greater risk for sunburn and subsequent
skin cancer the wide variety of color
combinations comes from the interaction
between the color allele which is either
black be dominant or red be recessive
and the dominant merle allele m together
these provide four coat color aspects
that can appear in any combination
the merle allele which produces a
mingled or patchwork combination of dark
and light areas is the coat pattern most
commonly associated with the breed
dothis merle m is dominant so
heterozygous dogs um show the
pigmentation pattern however when two
murals are bred the statistical risk is
25% of the offspring will end up with
the two copies of the merle gene
homozygous these dogs usually have a
mostly white coat and blue irises and
are often deaf blind or both in this
case the deafness and blindness are
linked to having two copies of the merle
gene which disrupts pigmentation and
produces these health defects all black
and blue merle dogs have black noses i
rims and lip
all red and red Merle dogs have liver or
brown noses i rims and lips also great
variety is seen in the Aussies I color
and they are often heterochromatic an
early nickname for the breed was ghost I
dog Ozzy ice maybe any shade of brown or
blue they may have two differently
colored eyes or even have I colored or
split eyes for example a half brown half
blue eye which appear to be linked to
the merle coloration merle dyes occur as
well where one color is mixed in and
swirled with another doubt any
combination of thy color is acceptable
in the breed standard so long as the
eyes are healthy in general however
black Ozzy’s South by color or tricolor
tend to have brown eyes while red South
by color or tricolor Aussies tend to
have amber eyes though these Aussies may
also carry the blue-eyed gene the Merle
phenotype in Australian Shepherds is
very similar to the coat color in
mid-flame utens tail although some
Aussies are born with naturally bobbed
or partially bobbed stubby tails the
majority are born with full long tails
breeders have historically docked the
tails when the puppies are born in the
United States and Canada the standard
calls for a natural bob or duck tail not
to exceed four inches as a defining
characteristic however some long-tailed
examples have been successfully shown
and been given recognition any natural
tail length is permitted when showing in
Europe we’re docking has been banned in
most countries including the United
Kingdom dot research has concluded that
it causes the animal unnecessary pain
and stress temperament the breed is
typically highly energetic requiring a
great deal of exercise and attention an
Australian Shepherd enjoys working
whether it is learning and practicing
tricks competing in dog agility or
engaging in any other physically and
mentally involving activity dogs may
show reserved and cautious guarding
behaviors they are kind loving and
devoted to those they know they are very
loyal to their owners and are rewarding
dogs if treated well because the breed
was developed to serve on the ranch a
job which includes being protective of
its property it is inclined to bark
warnings about neighborhood
activity it is not inclined toward
obsessive barking the Aussie is
intelligent learns quickly and loves to
play this means that a bored neglected
unexercised Aussie may invent its own
games activities and jobs which to a
busy owner might appear to be
hyperactivity for example an Aussie may
go from being at rest to running at top
speed for several laps around the house
before returning to rest dot without
something to amuse them Aussies can
become destructive Aussies also do best
with plenty of human companionship they
are often called velcro dogs for their
strong desire to always be near their
owners and for their tendency to form
intense devoted bonds with select people
with children they work best with
children over the age of 8 this is
absolutely not because they do not like
children or have a short temper with
kids
most are quite friendly to children but
more because there are rambunctious
specimens of this breed that though they
do not intend to hurt the child get
carried away and may knock the youngster
over other untrained Aussies may nip at
the feet and heels of small children
like they would with sheep but this is
out of boredom or lack of boundaries set
by their owners the Australian Shepherd
has a reputation as a highly intelligent
and versatile stock dog with a range of
working styles a good working Aussie is
quick thoughtful and easy with it’s
stuck there are working lines in the
American West that still herd sheep
smaller cattle and goats dot they are
fast runners with a loose eye style of
working livestock the ability for the
breed to adapt to the situation and to
think for itself makes it an excellent
all-around worker for this reason the
Aussie is often chosen to work unusual
livestock such as ducks geese and
commercially raised rabbits these dogs
require a minimum of two to three hours
a day of play exercise and attention
they thrive in rural ranch light
conditions and need space to run and
play in an urban setting the Australian
Shepherd is a high-spirited dog that
requires much attention and work
teaching them tricks keeps them focused
and happy which also keeps their minds
working the breed also has great stamina
and can live in a variety of terrain
because of this they are popularly used
as trail and working dogs
Australian Shepherds need roughly 30 to
60 minutes of exercise each day they do
not adapt well to apartment living
health Australian Shepherds are
generally a pretty healthy breed but
they can have several health problems
dot vision problems are common and
epilepsy is also a concern in rural to
Merle breeding the puppies that have
inherited two copies of the Merle gene
have an increased risk of being born
blind or deaf Australian Shepherds are
the most common dog breed to acquire
epilepsy feeding the recommended amount
of food an Australian Shepherd should
eat is 1/2 to 2 cups of dry food a day
but size exercise level and age should
be considered with proper diet and
exercise the Australian Shepherd can
stay in good shape
grooming Australian Shepherds have a
medium length water-resistant coat with
the coat being somewhat long and wavy or
curly this breed does shed mostly in the
spring to get rid of the winter coat
the Shepherd should be brushed weekly to
maintain a healthy and clean coat and
also to prevent matting being a working
dog this breed should be outside to get
its needed exercise if a dog is dirty a
basic bath can be given but not
frequently for it can dry out the skin
and coat dot mortality the median
lifespans four breeds similar in size to
Australian Shepherds are mostly between
11 and 13 years so assuming the results
of the UK study are not representative
of the population there aussies appeared
to have a typical lifespan for a breed
their size results of a 1998 internet
survey with a sample size of 614
Australian Shepherds indicated a median
longevity around 12.5 years but that
longevity may be declining morbidity
based on a sample of 48 still living
dogs the most common health concerns
noted by owners were eye problems red
eye a pepero conjunctivitis and
cataracts dermatological and respiratory
problems also ranked hi collie I anomaly
CEA is rare in the breed but it in
cataracts are concerned in Aussies other
conditions of note include iris coloboma
canine hip dysplasia paljah hue and
anomaly hypothyroidism
and nasal siller dermatitis prior to
breeding the Aussie should be checked
for hip and elbow dysplasia and DNA
tests performed to show the dog to be
free of the MDR one mutation cataract
mutation and CEA dot tests should also
include those for thyroidism and
clearances for other known eye diseases
like cholera bomas progressive retinal
atrophy and retinal folds some
Australian Shepherds as well as collies
German shepherds and many other herding
dogs are susceptible to a genetic
mutation of the MDR one gene dogs with
the mutation can suffer toxicity from
antiparasitics such as ivermectin and
high doses and other drugs
a test is available to determine if the
particular dog carries the mutated gene
hip dysplasia hip dysplasia is a
heritable condition where the femur does
not fit securely in the pelvic socket of
the hip joint this problem can exist
with or without clinical signs meaning
some dogs feel pain in one or both rear
legs double Merle double Merle or
homozygous Merle occurs when the
offspring of tumor old parents inherit
two copies of the dominant Merle gene
the odds of this are 25% for each pup
born from such a litter double Murrells
often have excessive light or white
areas and can have hearing and vision
problems as a result of having two
copies of the Merle gene dot homologous
Merle’s can be deaf or blind or Express
iris colobomas retinal detachment
cataracts persistent pupillary membrane
a displacement of the lens equatorial
staph Aloma night blindness and mycroft
Almia audio impairment or deafness
usually develops after the birth of a
puppy with their ear canal still closed
the white color of double Murrells is
produced due to the lack of melanocyte
which provide high potassium levels in
the endolymph surrounding the cochlea is
hair cells there is no surgery or
treatment that can reduce the damage
loss of hearing is directly linked to
the amount of pigmentation cells a dog
has the same pigment that is lacking in
the ear can also be lacking in the eyes
affecting its development although many
believe that only dogs with blue eyes of
eye problems it is not correct due to
the contrast between night problems and
blue eyes eye
conditions and blue-eyed dogs are much
easier to spot not all hamazaki’s
Merle’s are affected but most are making
the breeding of two Murrells a very
touchy subject dot some breeders
euthanize mostly white cups while others
may attempt to sell them as rare white
Aussies without disclosing the potential
for health defects a large percentage of
homozygous morels sold eventually end up
in rescue and shelters as the average
family is ill-prepared to take on a deaf
or blind pet
however deaf or blind Australian
Shepherds can make wonderful pets get in
the home prepared for their special
needs they are an intelligent breed
which generally learn hand signals with
ease
the term lethal white originated from
horses born with lethal white syndrome
and has since evolved to often describe
dogs born with a double Merle trait this
trait is found in many breeds but most
commonly found in Australian Shepherds
the named lethal white is a misnomer as
this genetic condition is not lethal to
the dogs it is often the breeder who is
lethal to the pups by culling them
immediately after birth many considered
the term lethal white to be derogatory
available health tests many diagnostic
tests are available for concerned Aussie
owners to check the overall health of a
dog dot also the orthopedic Foundation
for Animals OFA has an extensive
database to track results and provide
statistics for these concerns hips
elbows heart patellar luxation knees and
thyroid autoimmune disease the Alpha
database also includes the results for
eye exams performed by a canine eye
registration foundation veterinarian but
only if the owner of the assi submits
the results this database is a great
resource to investigate the lineage and
related health of the progenitors of
some dogs at least regarding hip ratings
many tests have been developed by or a
processed at laboratories to check for
the 11 health concerns that plague the
Australian Shepherd breed some of those
labs are optogenetic and Akron
Diagnostic Center animal health
laboratory Washington State University
veterinary clinic vet DNA center and
health gene these labs might perform one
or many of the tests that have been
developed tests or evaluations have been
developed for other areas that are
not health concerns but tests have been
developed for our DNA testing to either
certify parentage or to verify parentage
for Australian Shepherds can be
performed and as of January 2010 all
adults producing a litter will be
required to be DNA tested to allow a
breeder to register a litter with the
Australian Shepherd Club of America ASC
a dot history the Australian Shepherds
history is big as is the reason for its
misleading name the breed was initially
called by many names including Spanish
Shepherd pastor dog bobtail New Mexican
Shepherd California Shepherd and
Austrian Shepherd
it is believed by some that the breed
has Basque origins in Spain and was used
there by shepherds those Shepherds might
then have emigrated to the west coast of
the United States via Australia what is
known is that it developed in Western
North America in the 19th and early 20th
centuries
the Australian Shepherd was a
particularly tireless sheep herder in
the Rocky Mountains because it is
relatively unaffected by altitude
ranchers in Boulder Colorado began
breathing the dogs which would attract
purchasers from as far west as
California for their legendary sheep
herding abilities a theory suggests that
they were named for the imported sheep
that they heard it it is also possible
that many of the dogs coming from
Australia were blue merle and the
adjective australian became associated
with any dogs of that coat color dot
breeds as we know them today did not
exist before Victorian times but local
variations of the ancestors of current
breeds came into America along with
their owners and livestock included are
some that are now extinct or that have
merged into other breeds these may have
included some British herding dogs
native dogs from North America
originating in Asia / Siberia as well as
dogs from Germany and Spain including
the karelians for many centuries
shepherds were more interested in dogs
working abilities than their appearance
as a result over time Shepherds
interbred dogs that they believed would
produce better workers for the given
climate and landscape in the eastern US
terrain and weather conditions were
similar to that of Europe so the
existing imported breeds in their
offspring worked well there in the
American West conditions were quite
different
Spanish flocks were introduced for food
fiber which was mainly the turn the
Spanish dogs that accompany them to
American West proved well-suited for
their job in the wild and dangerous
territory dot they were highly valued
for their ability to hurt and protect
their charges from predators on the open
range in the arid and semi-arid areas
inhabited by early Spanish settlers
temperatures reached extremes of hot and
cold and fields buried and altitude from
sea level to the higher rougher Sierra
Nevada and similar mountain ranges the
ranchers in these areas often pastured
livestock on remote ranges they
preferred more aggressive herding dogs
that served in the capacity of herder
and Guardium recent history development
of the breed began in the American West
the breeched foundation bloodlines are
depicted in the Australian Shepherd
genealogy chart showing the relationship
between the early families of dogs the
American Kennel Club AKC ranked the
Australian Shepherd as the seventeenth
most popular breed in the United States
in 2016
selective breeding for many generations
focused on aspects of the dog that
enabled it to function is an effective
stock dog in the American West it had to
handle severe weather have plenty of
speed athleticism energy and endurance
and be intelligent flexible and
independent while remaining obedient dot
the actual foundation for the Australian
Shepherd was established between the
1940s and the early 1970s when the
Australian Shepherd Club of America was
formed in the registry was started fear
stunts on skills earned in places in
several Disney films including run
Appaloosa run and stub the greatest cow
dog in the West an Australian Shepherd
was featured in the film flight of the
navigator 1986 and the TV series
flash-forward 1996 more recently an
Australian Shepherd starred in the film
Famous Five 2012 and its sequels in June
2017 US Vice President Mike Pence and
his family adopted a blue merle
australian shepherd named Harley
activities like other herding breeds
these dogs excel at many dog sports
especially herding dog agility frisbee
and flyball herding instincts and
trainability can be measured at
non-competitive instinct
tests Aussies that exhibit basic herding
instincts can be trained to compete in
Oscar stock dog trials or a KC herding
events the dog has a stride in which its
front and back legs crossover making for
an appearance of on the edge speed dot
the dogs instinctively use a pounce
position to deal with cattle trying to
kick them they also have strong hips and
legs allowing for fast acceleration and
high jumping sometimes as high as four
feet one point three meters an
Australian Shepherd named pockets is
credited as being the oldest dog to earn
a title in akc history having earned the
rally novice title at the age of fifteen
years five weeks miscellaneous the
Australian Shepherd Club of America a
SCA was founded in 1957 to promote the
breed the national stock dog registry
became its official breed registry which
continued until Oscar took over in 1972
in 1975 Oscar created a breed standard
describing exactly how an Australian
Shepherd should look and be constructed
its conformation to the standard it
developed more uniformity in the breathe
and standardized the type in the United
States the American Kennel Club AKC is
the primary registry for purebred dogs
and first recognized the Australian
Shepherd in 1991 as a member of the
herding group dot however many Aussie
breeders felt the AKC put too much
emphasis on breed conformity and not
enough on performance so the Oscar
declined to join the AKC those breeders
who felt that a KC membership had its
advantages split off from osku to form
their own Australian Shepherd club the
United States Australian Shepherd
Association created their own breed
standard and joined the AKC in 1993 the
decision about affiliation with the AKC
remains controversial as it does with
many performance breeds the fédération
cynologique internationale FCI world
canine organization recognized the
australian shepherd for international
competition in 2007 in group one sheep
dogs and Cattle Dogs as breed number 342
the miniature Australian Shepherd was
developed by breeders looking for
smaller dogs ranging in size from 14
inches to the Aussie Stan
in 2010 namaskaar named the breed
miniature American shepherds and
subsequently changed their name to Mass
Kusa the miniature American Shepherd
Club of the USA dot this new breed
gained acceptance into the AKC
miscellaneous class in June 2012 with
the sizes written in the standard as
females from 13 to 17 inches and males
from 14 to 18 inches in addition an
emergence of an even smaller version
occurred referred to as the toy
Australian Shepherd with adult males
weighing 12 to 15 pounds 5.5 to 7
kilograms and all dogs falling under a
14 inch height at the withers many
breeders and owners of Australian
Shepherds considered the mini and toy to
be separate breeds others consider them
to be downsized versions of the same
breed while the mini size can be
attained through selective breeding of
small Australian Shepherds the toy size
is typically a result of crossbreeding
with other toy breeds osku and AKC
consider both variants to be separate
breeds AKC consider both variants to be
separate breeds AKC consider both
variants to be separate breeds AKC
