Miniature American Shepherd - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Mini Aussie?
The Miniature American Shepherds resemble an Australian Shepherds and it is no coincidence. This breed was developed in 1960s California by breeding undersized Aussies with the goal of creating small version of this dog, which will remain the intelligence, herding abilities and energy level of the Australian Shepherd.

2) Name
Originally, these dogs were named Miniature Australian Shepherds, but the breeders wanted this breed to be accepted as a separate breed, not just a miniature version of another dog, so they changed its name to North American Shepherd. Later the name was changed to todays Miniature American Shepherd. On the other hand, some breeders wanted to keep the original Miniature Australian Shepherd name and even today, you can find both, but there is no real difference between those two.

3) Personality
Intelligence and high activity level. Those are the two things tha come into my mind when someone mention the Miniature American Shepherd. This is a hard working breed with strong herding instincts, which is highly enthusiastic, eager to please, very energetic, loyal and kinda protective over its family. But they are never agressive without a reason.

4) Exercise
If you are a lazy person, do not even think about gettin this dog. Herding breeds in general needs plenty of exercise, and the Miniature American Shepherd is no exception. They will love long walks or jogs, accompanied with good training sessions, that will entertain their mind. This breed excell at dog sports like agility, herding trials or obedience.

5) Problematic behaviour
If you will not satisfy the exercise needs of this dog and you will leave them alone for longer periods of time, they might find some other activity. And most likely, you will not like it. Bored Miniature American Shepherds are known for becoming pretty descrutive and nuisance barkers.

6) Eyes
This is one of the breeds, that are quite commonly found with each eye in different color. One or both eyes may be brown, blue, hazel, amber or any combination of those colors, including flecks and marbling.

7) Watchdog
I already said in the video that this is loyal, devoted and protective dog. And thanks to these characteristic traits, it is no wonder they can make great watchdogs. You can be sure that they will alert you when something suspicious is going on around your home.

8) Merle pattern
This is one of the breeds that you can find in the beautiful merle coat, which is more and more popular today. But you should never breed two merle Miniature American Shepherds together, because there will be very big chance that the puppies will suffer from deafness or blindness, two genetic disorders that are associated with the merle pattern.

9) Maintenance
The medium length double coat of the Miniature American Shepherd sheds all year long. They sheds very heavily during the spring and fall shedding season. During the times of heavy shedding, you should brush your dog every day to minimize the shedding and matting. Other than that, you should regularly check the ears, eyes and nails and clip them or clean them if needed, just like with other dogs.

10) Health
The Miniature American Shepherds average lifespan is between 13-15 years and even though the lifespan is quite high, they do suffer from some health issues, most commonly from progresive retinal atrophy, cataracts, von willebrands disesase, hip dysplasia, nasal solar dermatitis and problems with seeing and hearing.