There are numerous stories about the origins of Australian Shepherds. The one that seems most "true" to us is that the Basque Shepherds developed them over years in the mountainous regions of France and Spain to help with the sheep herds.

Aussies come in a variety of colours, they are not just "the little blue dog". The four "accepted" colours are Red with or without copper and/or white, Red Merle, Blue Merle and Black, again with or without copper and/or white. For some excellent pictures of the accepted and unaccepted colours please use this link to A Field Guide To Coloration of Australian Shepherds where Lisa McDonald has put together pictures and explanations of a wide variety of Aussie colours. Please don't forget to use your brower's BACK button to return here!

The Australian Shepherd dog, by heritage, is a herder and guardian. Sometimes their instinct to herd can be mistaken as "meanness" when they are trying to herd other animals and/or children. Nipping at the ankles is not an uncommon trait in young Aussies with herding instinct, but is easily discouraged with a gentle shake and an "ah-ah" sound. All of our Aussies have learned not to nip ankles within a few days but, taught in this manner, it has not destroyed their natural herding instincts. Aussies, properly trained and socialized make wonderful companions, they are highly intelligent, loyal, affectionate and protective of their property and their human family. Their high-spirits and eagerness to please make them an easy to train dog who will generally show great enthusiasm for learning new things and being challenged on a daily basis. Aussies excel in the show ring, trial arena, obedience ring, and they can be wonderfully athletic agility and flyball dogs. Their high energy makes them a serious candidate for lots of daily exercise and play. Aussies are generally good with children and other pets, although they usually try to keep the "herd" together! With strangers, Aussies can be aloof and show reserve but this should not be taken as shyness, they are generally just keeping an eye on things and making sure that the new person is acceptable before making them a friend. As a rule if you, as their owner, tell them the person is acceptable they will accept your word for it. Once an Aussie makes a friend, they are a friend for life.

The ASCA breed standard for Aussies is 20-23 inches for males and 18-21inches for females measured at the wither; and the weight guidelines are 25 to 65 pounds. The Aussie lifespan is usually 12 to 14 years but there are Aussies who have lived to be nearly 20.

Aussies have a double-coat (downy undercoat with coarser guard hairs) that requires moderate grooming, a thorough weekly brushing is usually sufficient. It is common for Aussies to shed twice yearly, spring and fall and during these times brushing more often is recommended.

Aussies, in general, do not have many health problems. Reputable breeders OFA (for hip problems) and CERF (for eye problems) they're breeding dogs before allowing them to be bred. Dogs without good OFA and CERF results should never be bred. Generally a good diet and regular exercise along with regular vet checkups and annual vaccinations, once past the puppy shots, are all that is necessary to keep your Aussie in good health. For more information on diseases that have been found in Aussies, please go to our genetics page.

One extremely important thing to remember, some Aussies have shown a very bad reaction to heartworm medication containing Ivomectin and also Piperazine is in a LOT of wormers and Aussie show a sensitivity to this drug in some studies that were reported in the AVMA. For this reason no heartworm medication except INTERCEPTOR should ever be given to an Aussie and if you use worming medication containing Ivomectin on any other animals (cattle, horses etc.) your Aussies should not be allowed anywhere near the area until all traces of the medication are eradicated.

The ideal owner of an Aussie is someone who not only wants a companion who desires to be with you all the time if possible, but should be a person who has the patience and time to ensure their companion gets proper training. As well, lots of regular exercise and play are necessary to keep your dog in good physical and mental condition. Aussies who do not get enough exercise and/or play time can tend to make their own fun by getting into mischief! A rural or suburban lifestyle is best for an Aussie and their immediate home should include a large fenced yard. Aussies should not be allowed to run free, their herding instincts make them ideal candidates for chasing cars and livestock if they are not kept in their own area. We strongly recommend that puppy owners take their Aussie pup to "kindergarten" for training with a reputable trainer. Your vet or pet supply store can be good sources to recommend trainers but always be sure to get references from people who have trained their dogs with them….most trainers will even let you go sit in on a session before deciding to train with them.

At BlackHawk, our Aussies are our companions first and foremost. They love to travel in the trucks, no matter whether it's a 5 minute drive to the mailbox, a 20 minute drive to town or a 15 hour trip somewhere…..they want to go. They go visiting our friends and keep me company when I'm in town shopping, it's all the same to them since they're out "seeing the world" and keeping us company. They don't like being left "home alone" but are well behaved and we always get the famous "Aussie grin" and dance routine when we return. It matters not if it's only been 15 minutes, they are always excited to see us and resume the companionship.

Recommended Reading:

There are many excellent books written on Aussies. The "bible" is All About Aussies by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor and is one that I personally recommend to any Aussie owner. Jeanne's book has more information about Aussies than any other book I've seen and is packed with wonderful photos. All About Aussies retails for around $45.00 and is worth it's weight in gold and I believe is a "must have" for any Aussie owner. Another wonderful read is The Australian Shepherd by Joseph Hartnagle. Again the book contains wonderful information about Aussies and great photos! Joe's book retails for around $15.00. Both of these books can be obtained from a good book store. The Hartnagle family have been raising Aussies, most bearing their Las Rocosa kennel name, for over 40 years and Jeanne and Joe are both breeder judges with a wealth of knowledge to share.

Another very enjoyable book is Tales of Tailless Dogs…an 80 page paperback book (with 6 photos) written by Art Scott with help from his lovely co-author Blue! Blue is an Aussie who is excelling in the agility ring in Florida. To order send check or money order in US funds for $10.95 for each book. Please include $2.50 shipping, US and Canadian, for the first book and $1.00 for each additional. For other countries please e-mail ascott0138@aol.com. Florida addresses please include 7% sales tax. Send order to: Blue Dog Publishing-C, P. O. Box 14718, Bradenton, FL 34280 U.S.A.

There is a widespread variety of books written on training dogs for a wide variety of venues, far too many to listed them all here. Clicker training, obedience training, agility training and so on are all interesting reading and I'm sure any good bookstore will carry a good collection and would be happy to recommend several to you.

There are also wonderful resources available on the internet. Again a vast amount of information can be had on just about any topic to do with dogs and we recommend you read everything you can, and choose what you wish to do once you've you finish your reading. A couple of good sites to start with are http://www.dontshootthedog.com and http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9911/clicker.htm

Although there are numerous articles written about dogs, we have chosen to name two that we believe should be very important to all dog owners. Both articles are written by Sheila Boneham, Ph.D. Please don't forget to use your brower's "back" button to return to this page:

Who will care for your dogs? A very well written article about planning for the future of your dog if you become incapacitated or die.

So you want to breed? Another wonderful article by Sheila on the trials and tribulations of breeding dogs.

Sheila has also written a great Breed Rescue Book and her website offers a wealth of information on Purebred Rescue Information.

Several good books on canine first aid are:
Pet First Aid by Bobbie Mammato, DVM, published by Mosby -- recommended by the American Red Cross and HSUS
"Dog First Aid-Emergency Care for the Hunting, Working and Outdoor Dog by Randy Acker, DVM available at: http://wolfpacks.com/books.htm#dog1st
First Aid for Dogs by Bruce Fogel, DVM

If you are interested in herding, there are a wide variety of videotapes available and we highly recommend Herding I, II and III by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor. Please ask us for more information if you are interested in purchasing these tapes. Our favorite herding book is Herding Dogs Progressive Training by Vergil S. Holland (ISBN #0-87605-644-3)...it's a great book!

There are also a number of e-mail discussion lists available for Aussie owners. Aussie-L is a list with almost 1,000 Aussie owners, breeders, judges from all over the world and people discuss their joys, sorrows, ask for help with questions on all sorts of things and generally just enjoy talking to other Aussie lovers. Herders-L is a list for people with interests in herding dogs. Hoflin has an Aussie list but it is primarily a more serious discussion list concerning health, behavior, training, etc.

Written by Jeni Gallichan, Mikatura Australian Shepherds 01-06-99 and used with permission.

Titles