WANNA PLAY IN THE SNOW!!

Although the Australian Shepherd is just now starting to really come into the spotlight, he is by no means a new breed.  Despite his name he is not an Australian bred dog but is mainly of Basque origin.  The Basque are a pastoral people and have had the foundation stock of our Australian Shepherds for hundreds of years.  They live in the mountainous region between France and Spain.

For lack of employment in their own land, many have migrated to other countries, taking their Basque Shepherd dogs with them.  It was through this search for employment that the Basque came to Australia, when that country started to rise in the world as a leading sheep and wool producing country, and needed the skill of the Basque and their dogs.

Before and after this main migration, many Basque have come to the United States directly from France and Spain.  During this main migration, the farmers and stockmen were tremendously impressed with these very capable working dogs and knowing only that they came with Australian sheep, eventually started to refer to them as Australian Shepherds.

In the early days, some of the Basque dogs were probably crossed with either good working dogs, but for the main part, they remained true to type.  In recent years, conscientious breeders have done much to standardize the breed, while retaining the working instinct.

Until the last 10 years or so, the Australian Shepherd has been raised and needed mainly as a working dog.  Their natural working instinct and protectiveness makes them an ideal stock dog.  Some individuals are best on sheep, while others are better suited for cattle or rougher stock, but most, if properly trained, can and do work more than one kind of stock.

The Australian Shepherd is a medium sized dog, lilthe, powerful and lively.  He shows tremendous strength, combined with unusual agility.  He makes an excellent guard but is friendly and outgoing unless his family or property is threatened.  They pose an extremely high degree of intelligence and their willingness to please makes training them simply a matter of making sure they understand what is wanted. 

Since the first Australian Shepherds were seen arriving with sheep they have been used for many things.  Their basic ability is for use on livestock and breeders are working to maintain this.  They have appeared with Roy Rogers on a number of TV shows and at the World's Fair with Roy Rogers and Jay Sieler.  Jay is noted for his trick dogs and has appeared with many rodeos as well as at Madison Square Garden, The Cow Palace and many others.  His Australian Shepherds have been used in movies such as "Run, Appaloosa, Run" and "Cowdog".

To summarize, the Australian Shepherd is considered by many people to be the ideal dog.  His medium size makes him the perfect house and car dogs, yet he is formidable enough when need be.  His uncanny intelligence, whether herding livestock or being a companion, is always at work, His loyalty and devotion are beyond question.  If this is the kind of dog you are interested in, consider the Australian Shepherd.

Last revised: January 29, 2011