McNab Dog Breed - Facts and Information

Appearance

The McNab is medium sized athletic dog breed. Their apperance can vary and there is no official breed standard written by any major kennel club. The ears are always triangular, but they can be either stand up or flop forwards

The tail can vary as well, some McNabs have naturally bobbed tail, while others have pretty long tail. The almond shaped eyes are in brown, hazel or copper color.

The average height is between 15-25 inches which is 38-63 cm and weight between 25-65 pounds, which is 11 to 29 kgs. Females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

The coat is in short or medium length – never long. You will typicaly find McNabs in black or red color with white spots and markings on their muzzle, chest, feet or tail. Sometimes, but it is pretty rare, you can find them in tri color.


Personality

For me, the most important characteric of the McNab is their energy level. They need more physical stimulation than most of the other breeds. Just like most of other herding breeds, McNabs can run almost all day long and they will be still ready for another adventure. Its important to let them exhaust the energy. They for example excell at dog sports like agility. Or you can try disc and frisbee competitions, just like Torch on this photo.

Their temperament is pretty similar to border collies, although they are more laid back and not so obsessive. McNabs were bred for herding and they still have their working instinct in them, so it might happen that they will try to herd other pets or even kids in your family, especially at younger age. But they are extremely intelligent and trainable, so its not a big problem to train them not to do it.

McNabs make amazing family companions and they love their people. That is why they have protective tendencies over them. They will be totally devoted and loyal to you and they will want to spend every moment with you.

Overall, the McNab is versatile, loyal, energetic, devoted, athletic, sometimes independent and dominant, intelligent and trainable companion and worker. They are not for everyone, because of their high energy level, but if you are an active person, the McNab might be a dog just for you.


Interesting Fact

The McNab is known for its „cat“ like paws. Thanks to them, they are able to gracefully jump and climb and it is another reason why they excell at various dog sports.


History

Alexander McNab. This is a name of a man who invented the McNabs in the 19th century. He left his home Scotland and emigrated to the California, where he needed wanted to develop a new, better sheepdog who would take care about his flock.

Mr. Mcnab crossed the Scottish Collies, which he brought with him to the USA, with the various shepherds he met near his ranch. The result of the breeding was called the McNab Shepherd.

The Alexanders son continued with the breeding and the McNab shepherds started to gain more and more popularity between California ranchers. And even today, the breed is mostly recognized in the USA and Canada. They are extremely rare in the rest of the world.

Health and Grooming

Great advantage of McNabs is, that they are very clean dogs, they just have the tendency to stay clean. They are almost cat like in this area and they can spend a lot of time by grooming and cleaning themselves. This is the reason why the McNab maintenance is very easy.

It is true, that they do shed. During the shedding season it is recommended to brush their coat regularly to reduce the shedding to minimum. The bathing is needed only very rarely, when its really necessary. Other than that, you should do the regular check up on their ears, eyes and nails.

The McNab dog has great lifespan between 13-15 years and it is overall very healthy dog breed. But just like all dogs, even the McNab can suffer from some health issues, most commonly from hip dysplasia, epilepsy, Von Willerbrands disease or Cherry eye.