Australian Shepherd

Breed: Australian Shepherd (Aussie)

Weight: Males: 45 to 60 pounds. Females: 40 to 55 pounds.

Height: Males: 20-23 inches. Females: 18 to 21 inches.

Color: Main body colors are black, red, blue merle and red merle, with or without copper and/or white trim. Excessive white may be indicative of congenital defects.

Energy Level: High outdoors, moderate to high indoors

Life expectancy: 12 to 15 years

Children: Young dogs are not recommended for small children (under 10 years) as they may attempt to herd them and their exuberance may prove difficult for a child.

Other Dogs: Usually compatible, if the dog was properly socialized.

Other small pets: (e.g., cats): The herding instinct may cause an Aussie to chase and attempt to catch anything that runs. To be considered safe around other small animals, a dog with demonstrated successful experience is recommended. Training is required.

Livestock: May try to herd them, including nipping at the heels. Training is required.

Abilities: Anything you try to teach him! Obedience, agility, flyball, tracking, frisbee. In addition to being quick learner, Aussies are born athletes. Jumping, playing and roughhousing are a normal part of being an Aussie.

Shedding/Grooming: Moderate shedding. The aussie coat will get matted so a thorough brushing at least twice weekly is needed. Dogs with thick coats will shed the undercoat a least twice yearly and may require more frequent grooming.

Health: This breed is often sensitive to ivermectin; however, the dosage for heartworm preventive is considered safe.

Merle-to-merle breeding may result in some offspring that are homozygous merle, which is detrimental to health, commonly resulting in deafness and blindness. Natural bobtail-to-natural bobtail breeding can result in some offspring with serious spinal defects.

Best with: people who have owned and trained a dog previously; active individuals, other dogs.

Not for: people who want to relax on the sofa after work; anyone who believes dogs don't need much obedience training.

Pros: Loving, easy to train, athletic, devoted.

Cons: Easily bored, can jump high fences, may try to herd (nip) children and animals.

General info: The Australian shepherd is an athletic dog that has a great deal of stamina and is loving, bold, alert, confident, independent, smart and responsive. If it doesn't get a chance to exercise and challenge its strongly developed mental and physical attributes, it is apt to become frustrated and difficult to live with. With proper exercise and training, it is a loyal, utterly devoted and obedient companion. It is reserved with strangers and has a protective nature. Unless trained otherwise, it may try to herd children and small animals by nipping.

This breed needs a good workout every day, preferably combining both physical and mental challenges. Even though it is physically able to live outside in temperate climates, it is a breed for which human contact is so vital that it is emotionally unsuited for a life in the yard. Its coat needs brushing or combing one to two times weekly.

If you have the time and energy for grooming, exercising, training and love, you can adopt an aussie and have the most devoted, intelligent and sensitive companion dog you've ever had!