Australian Shepherd | ||||||||||||
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Alternative names | ||||||||||||
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Country of origin | ||||||||||||
United States | ||||||||||||
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Breed standards (external links) | ||||||||||||
FCI, AKC, ANKC, KC(UK), NZKC |
The Australian Shepherd is a Herding dog that was developed--despite its name--in the United States in the 19th century. The dog commonly known as an Aussie is popular in its native California and in countries across the world.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Australian_Shepherd_600.jpg/220px-Australian_Shepherd_600.jpg)
Like many herding breeds, it can have a lot of energy and drive and usually needs a job to do. It also often excels at dog sports such as frisbee dog competitions and dog agility.
Early origins
The Australian Shepherd's history, and the reason for its name, are vague. Early settlers in the eastern United States imported many of their European herding dogs with them, including some breeds that are now extinct or that have merged into other breeds. These might have included the English Shepherd, Dorset Blue Shag, Cumberland Sheepdog, Scottish Collie, Glenwherry Collie, and Bouvier des Flandres, as well as dogs from Germany and Spain. Early shepherds cared more for dogs who worked flocks of sheeps well and less for specific appearance, so these dogs were interbred over time. Terrain and weather conditions in the eastern U.S. were similar to that of Europe, so existing breeds and their offspring worked well.
In the western United States, conditions were very different. In the primarily arid and semiarid areas inhabited sparsely by early Spanish settlers, temperatures reached extremes of hot and cold, and fields varied in altitude from sea level into the higher, rougher Sierra Nevadas and similar mountain ranges. Spanish shepherds, including Basqueshepherds, and their herding dogs came with along with the Spanish missionaries and other settlers.
With the discovery of gold in California in 1849, a massive migration occurred from the east coast to the west coast, and along with the people came flocks of sheep and the eastern herding dogs. But it was just as effective to bring sheep in by ship, and in they came, including flocks from Australia along with Australian shepherds and their herding breeds, which had already begun to be selected and bred for climate and terrain that were quite similar to many parts of California.
As shepherds worked to develop dogs who could handle stock in harsh storms, high arid heat, and chilling cold, and who could think on their own in challenging terrain, reacting instantly to the movement of sheep and to their handlers' commands, the type that became the Australian Shepherd was born.
Appearance
The coat comes in several color varieties—blue merle, black, red merle, and red—all with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points. Dogs with tan and white along with the primary color are usually called tricolor.
The breed's general appearance also varies greatly depending on the particular line's emphasis. Show dog Aussies conform to a specific broad-chested, thick-coated, semi-drop-eared appearance. Aussies whose parents and other ancestors have been chosen primarily for their working ability have more variation in their appearance; for example, they might have longer legs, more upright ears, shorter coats, and so on. As with many working breeds that are also shown in the ring, there are differences of opinion among breeders over what makes an ideal Australian Shepherd.
Reflecting the great variation that still exists in the breed, an Aussie can stand between 18 and 23 inches (46 to 58 cm) at the withers and weigh between 35 and 70 pounds (16 to 32 kg). For show dogs, females must fall in the lower heights and widths and males in the higher ranges.