Australian Shepherd

Posted on 20. May, 2009 by admin in Australian Dog Breeds, Dog Breeds, Dog Breeds A, Herding Dogs, Medium Coat Dog Breeds, Straight Coat Dog Breeds


Australian Shepherd

“The Aussie” as the Australian Shepherd is known is a vigorous medium-sized and well-balanced dog breed.

In spite of its name, the Aussie is not Australian at all, but was actually developed in the pasturelands of the United States in the nineteenth century to work as a herding dog, retriever, and watchdog on ranches.

The Australian Shepherd is a great companion for anyone as well as an above average Herding dog. They are committed to making their owners happy no matter what it takes. An amazing dog breed that is always eager to please.

Breed Group

Herding

Size

18 – 23 inches tall (at shoulder)

Weight

35 – 70 lbs

Color(s)

Blue merle, red merle, or red and black all colors may come with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points.

Coat

The striking and varied outer coat of the Australian Shepherd is of medium-length, weather-resistant, straight to slightly wavy, while the quantity of undercoat may varies with climate.Australian Shepherd puppy

Life Expectancy

About 12 – 15 years.

Personality

Courageous, loyal and protective the companionship with human is essential for the Australian Shepherd and is fully devoted to his owner. Its strong herding behaviors can be a problem for his family, because of its overwhelming instinct to perform this task on everyone or anything that moves may weaken its ability to function as a family dog. However, if well socialized as puppies this tireless worker is usually a sweet and affectionate dog that is good with children, strangers, and other animals.

Care

The Aussie is susceptible to countless health issues; like possible eye diseases especially cataracts, iris coloboma, PRA (progressive retinal atrophy), PPM (Persistent Pupillary Membrane) and CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly). They may also suffer from CHD (Canine Hip Dysplasia), nasal solar dermatitis, VWD (von Willebrand’s Disease), epilepsy, lumbar sacral syndrome and MHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia). The Australian Shepherd requires moderate grooming, the coat needs an occasional brushing with a firm bristle brush and bathe only when necessary. This breed is a seasonal shedder.

Training

The Australian Shepherd is highly smart and easy to train at the condition that they know who the master is, they require a firm and consistent training or they will attempt to take control. The Australian Shepherd excels at herding, guarding, retrieving, police work, competitive obedience and a great Frisbee, flyball dog too.

Activity

The Australian Shepherd needs plenty of exercise and will do best with some real job to do, he also loves to play and share all family activities. This high activity levels breed is not recommended for apartment dwelling and requires an active owner to stay in shape, they thrive on running in a large securely fenced yard or enclosed environment.

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6 Responses to “Australian Shepherd”

  1. Kaity

    18. Jun, 2009

    I love Aussie’s! We own three and I love to death! We chase our 435 head of cows with them and they are so awesome!

  2. Chelsea

    15. Sep, 2009

    I’m so excited! I’m getting this breed of puppy today! : D

  3. Katy

    01. Nov, 2009

    I would love to get this breed for my small farm in Alaska, but my mom has this huge thing about smelly dogs and dogs that leave big clumps of hair everywhere. do you know if this is the kind of dog you would never let sleep in your bed?

  4. Rachel

    12. Apr, 2010

    i have 1 named babygurl & she is a great dog & she always listens.i sleep with her all the time.she does shed like crazy tho.i love her alot o & she’s very energetic.

  5. dakota

    24. May, 2010

    Hello my dog`s name is DOC and he is a breeding dog well no dip.He is black brown white and his main color his gray he is very energetic and that reminds me of a story that happened just today and here it is this is from the victims point of view
    ~~~
    Well this is Kennedy , Kenna for short and what happened today was very scary and here is how it happened well my age is 7. I was born on 02~14~2003. Well when he stands up he is as tall as me.So me and my sister Dakota were on our mom`s bed and DOC jumped up on the bed.Then we realized that he wasn`t allowed on the bed.So I got up and called him off the bed into the hallway.Then on my way down the stairs he started getting to the point where he got really exited.So when I went down the stairs he jumped and his claws hooked on my shirt!I was so very scared.So he started to hook on my shirt and my pants!!!!!!
    Then finally I got loose my heart racing pounding in my chest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!My sister Dakota grabbed him held on to him so tight while I ran down stairs.That was the most exhilarating time of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    ~~~~
    well what a story

  6. Taylor

    13. Jul, 2010

    I have a Miniture Australian Shepherd and her name is Panda. She is VERY entergetic. She is a great dog but gets very jealous when I pet our Cairn Terrier, Trouble, and not her. She will do anything to get you to pet her. She does very well when my baby cousins come over and is very good with them. They need an owner that will be able to give them lots of attention. Panda has slept on my bed from time to time so dont worry about that. They do shed A LOT and we are always picking up clumps of hair. For anyone who is interested in getting an Australian Shepherd I highly recomend it. They make great pets. :)

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