Australian Shepherd. Charlotte Schwartz
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PHOTO CREDITS:
Norvia Behling, Mary Bloom, T.J. Calhoun, Doskocil, Isabelle Français, Carol Ann Johnson, Bill Jonas, Mikki Pet Products, Antonio Philippe, Alice Roche, Taylor, Alice van Kempen.
Illustrations by Renée Low.
Although its name suggests a dog of Australian heritage, the Australian Shepherd was developed in the European Basque country, the USA and Mexico, as well as in Australia. Today the breed is typically known as being of American origin.
The scene is a cattle ranch in the heart of the American Southwest. A herd of cattle is being moved from one grazing area to another. Two ranch hands on horseback keep watch over every move the huge animals make. Two small figures, Australian Shepherds, are busy on the periphery of the herd, keeping the cows together and moving toward new pasture-land.
Suddenly, one of the cows decides she doesn’t want to be herded and strikes out at the dogs with her back feet flying. Just as quickly, the dogs flatten themselves on the ground directly behind her as her hooves fly above the dogs but miss them completely. Within seconds, the dogs rise up and rush in to bite at the cow’s heels, convincing her that moving with the herd is the most prudent thing to do. One does not try to outmaneuver an Aussie!
Like all working Australian Shepherd dogs, these two will work the cattle for hours on end, traveling mile after mile in the course of a workday. By night, they will bed down near their master and, in their silence, keep watch over home and family. Then, before daybreak, they will once again hit the trail to keep the stock safe and together.
Australian Shepherds are strong, athletic, agile and quick. They move effortlessly across the land in their work of herding livestock. Their size and intelligence make them ideal at working cattle, but they can often be found herding sheep and goats as well. Classified as working or herding dogs, their genetic makeup demands they be kept busy and allowed to employ their keen sense of duty in order to be content with life.
Aussies are bred to be working dogs—they are strong, athletic, agile and fast. They were developed originally as sheep herders, but once their true potential was recognized they came to be used with all types of livestock. No job was too big for Aussies!
Perhaps the most interesting thing of all about Aussies, as they are affectionately called, is that they are not Australian dogs at all. They originated in America and have subsequently found favor among herdsmen around the world. Well, you might say, if they’re not originally from Australia, why are they called Australian Shepherds?
That is an interesting question with an even more interesting answer. Let us look at their history: where and how they developed as a breed will help us understand the kind of dog they have become. Only then can we make an informed decision about whether or not to share our lives with an Aussie.
AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL
The Aussie’s story begins back in the late 18th century and early 19th century in the Pyrenees of northern Spain and southwestern France, the area known as the Basque country. There, the hills were alive with sheep and herds-men who were known as Basques. To help manage their flocks over the mountainous terrain, they used small dogs to herd the sheep and guard the flocks as they grazed.
In the early 1800s, herdsmen were in great demand in Australia due to the rise of the wool market. As work in the Basque region of Europe was slowing down, some of the Basque herdsmen took their dogs and went to Australia, where they could find work.
Eventually, the Australian sheep were shipped to America, where the wool market was also growing. It was inevitable that some of these Basque herdsmen and their dogs would follow the sheep to America.
In the New World, men and dogs found the terrain and weather conditions in the southwestern United States similar to what they had known in Europe. Thus, they adapted easily, some of them even migrating as far south as Mexico. In years to come, those dogs would be known as New Mexican Shepherds. They were simply a larger version of the smaller Basque dogs. The increased size of the dogs meant that they could be used to herd cattle as well as sheep.
GENUS CANIS
Dogs and wolves are members of the genus Canis. Wolves are known scientifically as Canis lupus while dogs are known as Canis domesticus. Dogs and wolves are known to interbreed. The term canine derives from the Latin-derived word Canis. The term “dog” has no scientific basis but has been used for thousands of years. The origin of the word “dog” has never been authoritatively ascertained.
Then, in the mid-to-late 1800s, the famous Gold Rush occurred in the West. The wool market soared even higher and, as more and more sheep were raised to meet the demand, more dogs were needed for herding. The small Basque-like dogs were bred with the larger Mexican dogs and some other herding breeds with strong genetic traits for the work of herding and guarding. As they had originally come from Australia, people began calling them Australian Shepherds. Eventually, they became known as Aussies.
The attention-grabbing merle coloration, for which the breed is noted, is a pattern of dark blotches over a light-colored background. In the blue merle, shown here, black against white or light gray gives the illusion of a blue tone.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The distinctive merle coloration was probably one of the first features to draw people’s attention to the breed. Merle is a color pattern of dark blotches over a lighter-colored background. For example, a blue merle consists of black blotches against a white or very light gray background that creates an illusion of the color blue.
Once the breed became noticed, people discovered its calm nature and intelligence. Cattlemen soon became interested in the breed and, before long, cattle ranches in America’s West were maintained by Australian Shepherds. These dogs proved to be the perfect size to work a herd of cattle in pairs. A single dog might find a herd of kicking, butting and goring cattle a bit too much to handle, but two dogs had no trouble managing the herd.
Soon, Aussies were used to herd all kinds of livestock: turkeys, geese, ducks, cattle, sheep, goats, reindeer, buffalo and even bison, the toughest of all stock animals. Now the breed had truly achieved its potential as a great American herder, and the name Australian Shepherd became official.
This appreciation for the breed continued into the early 1900s when the West was populated with ranches and large farms. It seemed the wool market kept growing. As the demand for more and better wool kept rising, so, too, did the demand for more livestock dogs. The Australian Shepherd was the nation’s answer to the demand.
The dogs fulfilled the stock-men’s need for a large, strong and assertive breed to work cattle and, at the same time, were a calm breed to work sheep. Though there were other herding breeds available, some of those other breeds were too quick and too excitable, making control more difficult. However, the Aussie, with his imperturbable nature and deliberate work pattern, perfectly fit the bill! Thus, the Aussie established itself firmly throughout Colorado, California, Arizona, Oregon and wherever large properties were used for raising livestock in the western United States.