Australian Shepherds are highly intelligent, energetic, playful, and deeply affectionate dogs. Often referred to as 'working dogs,' they have a strong herding instinct and thrive when given a job to do—happily spending all day outdoors if allowed. Their sharp minds and athletic nature mean they need plenty of physical activity and mental stimulation. Despite their high energy, Aussies are incredibly loving with their families, great with children, and known for their unwavering loyalty.
•The Australian Shepherd male standard is 20" to 23" at the shoulder, weighing 50-65lb.
•The female standard is 18" to 21", weighing 40-55lb.
• An Aussie's average life span is 12 to 16 years.
•Australian shepherds have a base color that is either black or red. They usually (but not always) contain at least one other color which can be either white or tan; these dogs are called bicolor.
•Often, black or red dogs contain both white and tan colors; these dogs are called tricolor.
•An Aussie's eyes can be brown, amber, blue, or a combination. Some eyes will have flecks and marbling.
•Merles are dogs that contain a gene insertion that dilutes the pigments in irregular patches. These dogs are called blue merles if they dilute the black base color and red merles if they dilute the red base color.
•The image to the right shows how the merle gene affects the color of a black tri dog.
While testing the DNA of our puppy parents, we incidentally received genetic information on the alleles they carry for coat color, coat length and size.
If you are interested, this website gives a great description of each of these genes and how they affect coat color:
I took the diagram to the right from that website because it makes the prediction of coat color so clear.
You may have also heard that having a double copy of the merle gene can be lethal in dogs. True! But the "merle gene" is actually an insertion and its effect depends on the length of the insertion. You can read a very interesting explanation of it here:
Rest assured, we had Ripley's merle genes tested and she can safely be bred to a merle male even though she carries two copies of the merle insertion.
The offspring of Ripley and Angus are predicted to be 75% Black Tri and 25% Red Tri, with 50% of each of these groups being merle. Rarely, some may have blue or marbeled eyes.
The outcome was 50% Black Tri and 50% Red Tri with only 25% of each of these group being merle -- chalk it up to small number statistics and the vicissitudes of mother nature.
