Australian Shepherd

Don’t let its name fool you. The Australian Shepherd dog is not from Australia. It is, in fact, an American original, bred by sheep men who were drawn to the rugged west and Spanish adventurers lured by the promise of the Gold Rush.

As they are developed mainly to withstand the harsh Western landscape, Australian Shepherds are a hardy breed, born to endure the severe elements with little more than courage that is inherent in their lineage.

Origin

History is not clear on the real origins of the Australian Shepherd or the details surrounding the breeding plan used to produce such a sturdy herding dog. However, there is enough evidence to show that the first Australian Shepherd breeders may have developed the breed by mixing and matching good stock dogs of several breeds.

It is now accepted that the Australian Shepherd comes from the various Collies originally from Great Britain, the herding and driving dogs from Europe, and the Spanish dogs from America’s southwest.

As for the characteristic merle-pattern of the Australian Shepherd, many believe that it comes from the shepherd dog, with the same striking merle-pattern, which immigrants brought from Australia along with their sheep.

Appearance

The Australian Shepherd is a fairly large dog with males ranging from 20-23 inches tall at the shoulder and females from 18-21 inches. It has the typically narrow face of a dog used in herding cattle with a flat or slightly rounded skull and a tapered, round-tipped muzzle.

Its eyes are noble enough to be almost almond-shaped and possess a keen intelligence in their expression. The triangular ears break forward, giving the dog a sharp and alert look. The body is slightly longer than tall, the chest deep and the ribs well-sprung. The tail is naturally bobbed although some dogs have tails docked to no more than four inches.

The coat of the Australian Shepherd is long though not too long that it drapes over its body, hampering its speed down. The hair is straight to slightly wavy, especially short around the head and legs but feathered when it comes to the back of the front legs.

The Australian Shepherd coat colors, though highly varied, are nevertheless set to the following standards:

Solid black
Red
Blue merle
Red merle

Nature

The Australian Shepherd is a well-mannered dog with a steady temperament and the high intelligence of a working dog. It is very active, likes to play and invent games to amuse itself. This means that if your Australian Shepherd dog is bored, he or she may suddenly run for several laps around the house before coming to rest, all for no apparent reason.

Owners might find this behavior highly disturbing or consider it a reason to be alarmed about, especially when the dog runs around fragile house items. To counteract this potential problem, regular exercise is highly advised in order to give the dog a means with which he or she can channel his or her energy.

As a working dog, the Australian Shepherd has very strong herding instincts. So don’t be surprised if you find yours rounding up children and other pets. Due to their history as farm-born animals expected to protect the property, they can be highly territorial and may bark at neighborhood activity. But they are not generally obsessively barking dogs, and with proper training, this tendency can be curbed at an early stage.

The Australian Shepherd often develops intense bonds with its person – a particular member of the family, perhaps. He or she would follow this person around and rarely leave his side. For this reason, Aussies are sometimes called “Velcro” due to their excessive need for companionship, particularly from that person whom they have decided to offer their devotion to.