The Australian Shepherd
The Australian Shepherd originated in the Basque region of the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France. It was dubbed the Australian Shepherd because of its association with Basque shepherds who came to the United States from Australia in the 1800s. The Australian Shepherd as we know it today was developed in the United States.
The Australian Shepherd's popularity rapidly rose with the boom in Western-style horse riding after World War II. They became known to the general public due to their appearances in rodeos, horse shows, movies, and television programs. Their versatility and trainability made them a useful asset on farms and ranches.
Ranchers continued to develop the breed, maintaining the adaptability, keen intelligence, strong herding instincts, and eye-catching appearance that originally won the breeds admirers.
The Aussie is a very versatile dog-working ranch dog, guide dog for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf, pet therapy dogs, drug detectors, and search and rescue dogs. The breed is not registered in Australia as a native breed, although Australian Shepherds have been registered by other registries since the 1950s.
Males should be 20-23 inches tall, females 18-21 inches. Their coat is of medium texture, straight to wavy, weather resistant and of medium length. Their colors can be blue merle, black, red merle, and red-all with or without white markings and/or tan points.
The Australian Shepherd is a generally friendly breed, however some can be a tad reserved with strangers. Usually their reservations subside very quickly once the dog realizes that the stranger means no harm. They do very well with dog friendly children, as well as other dogs. They are fairly easy to train and always aim to please. Some can be a little on the hyperactive side when young, especially if they're not given enough exercise to tire them out daily.
Aussies love the outdoors- long walks, hiking through the woods or spending time at the lake are all great activities for your Aussie. They are always very alert and tend to get excited easily.
Some Australian Shepherds tend to be heavy barkers, however this can be limited if the dog is provided with enough exercise and mental stimulation. A bored dog is typically a loud dog. Long walks, and a great deal of play are recommended. Many Aussies don't do well simply being couch potatoes, and can even become destructive if they're not getting enough activity.
Aussies love to explore new things and tend to be very curious dogs. When they're young, it's best to crate them when you are not home so that they don't get themsevles into trouble by getting into things that they shouldn't. This is also a safety issue- an Aussie who gets curious about an electrical cord may chew it and this could be fatal. Even things such as shoes and socks can be fatal if they chew and eat parts of them- it can cause a blockage in their intestines. Always make sure your Aussie puppy doesn't have access to such items, and crate when unsupervised. Crate training is not a bad thing. The dog will associate the crate as "his place" and will begin to go into the crate on his own to sleep, even if you have no intention of shutting the crate door. Some who are scared by fireworks or thunderstorms will go to their crate since they feel it is their "safe place" and the crate will actually calm them.
Aussies do tend to shed, and should be brushed and combed at least once a week to get rid of the dead coat. When brushing, make sure to pay special attention to behind their ears as this is an area where they tend to get little matts that can turn into big matts if not combed out on a regular basis. They should be trimmed around their rear so that their feces doesn't get matted into the hair. Ear cleaning and nail trimming should be done on a regular basis as well.
Health concerns for the Australian Shepherd include Idiopathic Epilepsy, or IE for short, is used to describe repeated seizures of undetermined origin over time. In Australian Shepherds, IE is suspected to be a heritable condition. Nobody really knows why it happens to some dogs and not others, but in some instances environmental factors may "trigger" the onset of seizures.
Hip dysplasia, which is a condition of the hip joint in which the bones are not properly formed. It results in a loose hip socket to thighbone connection causing hip pain and lameness ranging from mild to crippling.
Australian Shepherds can carry a genetic mutation that makes them very sensitive to certain drugs. Use of these drugs in an Aussie that carries this mutation can cause serious neurological issues or death. MDRI is the abbreviated name of the gene called Multi-Drug Resistance 1. Thirty-two percent of Aussies and 49% of Miniature Aussies carry at least one copy of the gene. Some of the drugs that cause problems with dogs that carry the MDRI mutation include Ivermectin, Loperamide, Acepromazine, and Butorphanol. There is a test available to find out if your dog carries this mutation. Prior to having medical procedures done, it is wise to know if your dog is a carrier. Some of the medications that these dogs may be sensitive to are common medications prescribed by veterinarians, so be sure that your vet is aware of MDRI and you should consider having your pet tested so that you're certain about what your dog can or cannot have.
Getting a dog from a reputable breeder who screens their dogs for problems prior to breeding will help to assure that your pup will not have to encounter many of the problems in the breed mentioned above.
