Howlin' Wolf K9's
Australian Shepherds
This is an athletic dog of medium size and bone; The Australian Shepherd is lithe, agile, and slightly longer than it is tall. This breed is muscular and powerful enough to work all day, without sacrificing speed and agility. This dog’s gait is free and easy, and must be able to change direction or speed instantly. The double coat is weather resistant, with the outer coat of medium texture and length, straight to wavy. The expression is keen, intelligent, and eager.
TYPE
Herding
WEIGHT
30 lb - 65 lb
HEIGHT
18" - 24"
FAMILY
Livestock, Herding
AREA OF ORIGIN
United States
DATE OF ORIGIN
1800's
The Australian Shepherd, often known simply as the "Aussie", is a medium-sized breed of dog that was developed in the United States, and identified as a breed in the early 20th century. The preceding forebears of the foundation dogs likely had several sources, but were primarily UK rural landrace herding collies of various types and/or regions. Other landrace types that oral histories commonly attribute to Australian Shepherd ancestry include herding farm collies of the Iberian peninsula and German herding farm collie types, with possible connections via travel to Australia prior to travel to the United States. (This last supposition is poorly supported by evidence, but is persistent in oral history traditions.) There is disagreement regarding the exact provenance of the breed's progenitures, prior to their arrival in the United States, and thus no official consensus on the origin of the breed name or association with Australia, or on exactly which landrace dogs contributed to the foundation dogs' gene pool.
They are similar in appearance to the English Shepherd and Border Collie breeds, and research has found that Australian Shepherds and Border Collies are closely related to each other. Both the Border Collie and Australian Shepherd are only slightly more distantly related to other kinds of Collies from the Basque regions of Europe. This, and the current physical appearance of the Australian Shepherd, tend to support the oral histories, at least in regard that there is some inheritance from landrace farm collie types of the European mainland.
Australian Shepherds rose in popularity with a boom in Western riding after World War II. They became known to the general public through rodeos, horse shows, and Disney movies made for television.
For many years, Aussies have been valued by stockmen for their versatility and trainability. While they continue to work as stock dogs and compete in herding trials, they have earned recognition in other roles due to their trainability and eagerness to please and are highly regarded for their skills in obedience. Like many working breeds, Aussies have considerable energy and drive. They often excel at dog sports such as dog agility and frisbee and are also highly successful as search and rescue dogs, disaster dogs, detection dogs, guide dogs, service dogs, and therapy dogs. They are considered the 17th-most popular dog breed in the United States.
Appearance
The Australian Shepherd is a medium-sized, athletic breed; they typically stand between 18 and 23 inches (46 and 58 cm) and weigh between 35 and 70 pounds (16 and 32 kg). The parent club, the Australian Shepherd Club of America’s breed standard states males should stand between 20 to 23 inches (51 and 58 cm), but can be as small as a female at 18 inches, and females should stand between 18 to 21 inches (46 and 53 cm); the standard does allow individual animals to exceed these limits slightly.
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The Australian Shepherd has a moderately long and wavy double coat that has a dense undercoat and coarse topcoat; the coat is short on the face and well feathered on the rear of the legs. The breed is known for its unique colorations and variable coat patterns, it being said no two dogs sharing a coat. The breed standard allows for blue merle, red merle, solid black or solid red, with or without white markings and with or without tan points.
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Examples of the breed can be born with long or naturally bobbed (short) tails; traditionally long tailed dogs had their tails docked, although some countries outside of the United States do not allow docking and so some long tailed and partial bob tails are allowed to be exhibited in those countries.
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Temperament
The Australian Shepherd is described as intelligent, active, loyal, protective, playful, and adaptive. The modern breed is predominantly bred for pets; despite this, many retain a strong herding instinct and it is not uncommon for companion dogs of the breed to try to herd children or other pets.[2][5] A very active breed, the Australian Shepherd is known to become destructive if it does not receive adequate exercise.
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Health
Australian Shepherds are generally a healthy breed, but they can have several health problems. Vision problems are common,[9] and epilepsy is also a concern. Australian Shepherds can develop hip problems. In merle-to-merle breeding, the puppies that have inherited two copies of the merle gene have an increased risk of being born blind or deaf.
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Mortality
The median lifespans for breeds similar in size to Australian Shepherds are mostly between 11 and 13 years.
Results of a 1998 internet survey with a sample size of 614 Australian Shepherds indicated a median longevity around 12.5 years, but that longevity may be declining.
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Morbidity
Based on a sample of 48 still-living dogs, the most common health concerns noted by owners were eye problems (red eye, epiphora, conjunctivitis, and cataracts). Dermatological and respiratory problems also ranked high.
Collie eye anomaly (CEA) is rare in the breed, but it and cataracts are a concern in Aussies. Other conditions of note include iris coloboma, canine hip dysplasia, Pelger-Huet anomaly, hypothyroidism, and nasal solar dermatitis. Prior to breeding, the Aussie should be checked for hip and elbow dysplasia and DNA tests performed to show the dog to be free of the MDR1 mutation, cataract mutation, and CEA. Tests should also include those for thyroidism and clearances for other known eye diseases like colobomas, progressive retinal atrophy, and retinal folds.
Some Australian Shepherds (as well as Collies, German Shepherds, and many other herding dogs) are susceptible to a genetic mutation of the MDR1 gene.[14] Dogs with the mutation can suffer toxicity from antiparasitic such as ivermectin in high doses, and other drugs.[15] A test is available to determine if a particular dog carries the mutated gene.
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Hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is a heritable condition where the femur does not fit securely in the pelvic socket of the hip joint. This problem can exist with or without clinical signs, meaning some dogs feel pain in one or both rear legs.
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Double merle
Double merle or homozygous merle occurs when the offspring of two merle parents inherit two copies of the dominant merle gene. The odds of this are 25% for each pup born from such a litter. Double merles often have excessive light or white areas and can have hearing and vision problems as a result of having two copies of the merle gene. Homozygous merles can be deaf or blind, or express iris colobomas, retinal detachment, cataracts, persistent pupillary membrane, a displacement of the lens, equatorial staphyloma, night blindness and microphthalmia. Audio impairment or deafness usually develops after the birth of a puppy with their ear canal still closed. The white color of double merles is produced due to the lack of melanocytes which provide high potassium levels in the endolymph surrounding the cochlea's hair cells. There is no surgery or treatment that can reduce the damage. Loss of hearing is directly linked to the amount of pigmentation cells a dog has. The same pigment that is lacking in the ear can also be lacking in the eyes, affecting its development. Although many believe that only dogs with blue eyes have eye problems, it is not correct. Due to the contrast between eye problems and blue eyes, eye conditions in blue-eyed dogs are much easier to spot.
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Not all homozygous merles are affected, but most are, making the breeding of two merles a very touchy subject. Some breeders euthanize mostly white pups, while others may attempt to sell them as "rare" white Aussies without disclosing the potential for health defects. A large percentage of homozygous merles sold eventually end up in rescue and shelters, as the average family is ill-prepared to take on a deaf or blind pet. However, deaf or blind Australian shepherds can make wonderful pets given a home prepared for their special needs. They are an intelligent breed, which generally learn hand signals with ease.
The term "lethal white" originated from horses born with lethal white syndrome, and has since evolved to often describe dogs born with the double merle trait. This trait is found in many breeds, but most commonly found in Australian Shepherds. The name "lethal white" is a misnomer, as this genetic condition is not lethal to the dogs; it is often the breeder who is lethal to the pups by culling them immediately after birth. Many consider the term "lethal white" to be derogatory.