The Australian shepherd is a medium sized dog with a giant sized heart. Bred to herd, it lives for the opportunity to herd anything at all, from children to cars to actual sheep! "Aussies" have even had jobs herding geese and birds away from airports!

A true australian shepherd will often pass a herding "fun match" (a practice herding trial) without any advice training, it is so instinctive with them.

Australian shepherds have a medium length furry coat, with outer coarse "guard hairs" and a soft and woolly undercoat which insulates them and protects them from the weather. An "Aussie" should not have a thick luxuriant "silky" coat as this will naturally collect more burdocks and grit than a more natural less heavy coat, thus one should not expect to see a "heavy" coat on an Australian shepherd but rather just a medium length coat (usually not longer than two inches in length at the most) and often less feathered than the heavily groomed "show" shepherds.

Aussies have a joyous and bouncy personality. However they take their work seriously and are big on protecting their "flock" They make loyal family pets and love nothing more than to curl up with their master of an evening after a long day working in the fields.

As previously stated, they love to chase and will not stay willingly in a yard without a fence.

Australian shepherds come from a rather mixed parentage, with a "little bit of this" and "a little bit of that" in their pedigree. Thus they often can be a bit under-sized or over-sized from the standard as outlined by the Australian shepherd club.

The American Kennel club states that the preferred size for males should be 20-23 inches at the shoulders and the females 18-21 inches. Tails should be naturally bobbed or docked.

Colors of the Aussie may be Blue merle, black, red merle, or red...all of these may have white markings including white "collar" , socks, facial blaze but can not include white splashes on the body between the withers and the tail.

The Australian shepherd is meant to be a working dog. It is important that families who wish to have an Aussie remember this fact. Plenty of running and exercise should be part of the regimen. If you can't "herd" with your Aussie, then a good game of fetch and activities such as agility are a good substitute and will keep your dog healthy and in good spirits.