All About the Miniature Australian Shepherd

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The Miniature Australian Shepherd is identical in appearance and temperament to the full sized Australian Shepherd apart from size. The full grown Mini Aussie is defined as 14-18 inches tall at the withers (top of the shoulder) when full grown. There is also a smaller version of the breed known as a Toy Australian Shepherd which must be less than 14 inches when fully grown.  The beauty of the mini is that you have you have the beauty, brains and character of the Australian Shepherd in a smaller portable package.

Character and Temperament of the Mini Aussie

Mini Aussies are incredibly intelligent; they have the ability to let you know what they need and want. They know when you need cheering up, and their sense of humor and intuition is unsurpassed.  The mini Aussie’s loyalty and affection to their family is unwavering.  They are not like a golden retriever in temperament, however, as by nature they are reserved with strangers.  They would rather just hang with their "people" than go greet everyone at the baseball field.   In our program,  we do try to breed on the more outgoing side of the temperament scale. 

Overall the Miniature Australian Shepherd is a wonderful dog with children of all ages. While a smaller dog they are not delicate and can handle romping and average types of play with kids of all ages. Since they are very compliant dogs and love to please the family they will listen to children and respond to commands from even the youngest kids. Care does need to be taken to train both puppy and children to have good etiquette. Mini Aussies are a herding breed and will herd and nip at heels of children if both children and puppy are not taught boundaries and proper interaction.  During the puppy training phase, we always recommend that young children interact with the puppy once it has been exercised and is in a calmer frame of mind.   It is also useful to keep children stationary during play and have puppy in motion, such as a game of fetch or practicing obedience or trick commands. 

The Miniature Australian Shepherd loves to be with the family, and is not recommended for families where it will be left alone for long periods of time.  If trained properly, they are very well behaved dogs in the house and will quickly find a quiet out of the way spot to watch the family.  They also love to play and be the center of attention when everyone is busy in the house. Training the Miniature Australian Shepherd is very easy and they can learn to do amazingly complex tricks with ease.  They are very affectionate with family members and love to be physically close to the family. Since the breed is a working dog they do need to have something to do every day, even if it is just go for a walk and go through a training routine. When not challenged or stimulated mentally they will turn their energy and natural curiosity into more destructive behaviors such as chewing and finding out how to get into cupboards and other areas of the house. With attention, lots of exercise and proper training and stimulation this is very rarely an issue with the breed. 
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Grooming and Coat Characteristics

The Miniature Australian Shepherd has an easy to care for coat. They have a medium length straight to slightly wavy double coat.  Their coat is referred to as "self cleaning" because it is low maintenance and weather resistant.  Grooming is a breeze with the Mini Aussie.  It is as simple as keeping your Aussie brushed and occasionally trimming feet, behind the ears and rear curtains.  The Miniature Australian Shepherd has natural oils in the hair to keep the dog dry and warm even in cold or damp conditions, so they do not require frequent bathing.

Typically the Miniature Australian Shepherd is an average shedder however they will shed their coats heavily in the spring and fall.  Daily brushing will both help speed up the shedding as well as prevent these mats from forming.  If fed a quality diet and good supplements, shedding can be minimized.   

Coat Color and Patterns of the Mini Aussie

All colors are strong, clear and rich. The recognized colors are blue merle, red (liver) merle, solid black and solid red (liver) and with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points with no preference. The blue merle and black have black pigmentation on nose, lips and eye-rims; the red (liver) merle and red (liver) have liver pigmentation on nose, lips and eye-rims. Butterfly nose should not be faulted under one year of age. On all colors, the areas surrounding the ears and eyes are dominated by color other than white. The hairline of a white collar does not exceed the point of the withers. Disqualifications: Other than recognized colors, white body splashes, Dudley nose. (Courtesy of MASCA)

The ASHGI website is a wonderful resource for learning about coloration in Aussies.  Check it out! http://color.ashgi.org/color/index.html ​
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Example of a Red Tri Miniature Australian Shepherd

Example of a Red Merle Mini Aussie

Example of a Black Tri Mini Aussie

Example of a Blue Merle Miniature Aussie

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Training The Mini Aussie Puppy

The Miniature Australian Shepherd is incredible to train.  Not only are they smart as a whip, they love to please!   They are easy to house train and are neat, clean dogs (although they do enjoy a mud bath every once and a while LOL).  Mini Aussies are referred to as "velcro pups"  they naturally stay beside their owners and quickly learn what pleases the family. Aussies thrive on consistent, firm and positive training.  They do well with structure and boundaries. Toy and Mini Aussies LOVE to think and solve problems are are great at games of hide and seek with favorite toys. I call this breed the instant gratification breed as you can teach them neat tricks in a matter of minutes.  Their intelligence, does however require an owner willing to spend time and energy on training.  An untrained Aussie left to his own devices will turn into an unruly, destructive dog.  

The breed is amazing at learning human language and word recognition.  Because of this they can be easily taught a huge number of tricks and training exercises. They excel at agility, obedience and trial type competitions including herding.  Mini Aussie owners need to be vigilant with early socialization.  Aussies by breed standard can be reserved with strangers; therefore, proactive socialization is needed. The Miniature Australian Shepherd is very loyal to their family and will bond very quickly with all people in their house. 

Exercise Requirements For The Mini Aussie 

The Toy and Mini Aussie is ideal for an active family that loves to walk, hike, run and play.  These small dogs need a large amount of both physical and mental exercise to stay alert and well behaved in all conditions. A Miniature Australian Shepherd is considered a high exercise breed but doesn't need to be busy all the time as long as the exercise if regular and long enough in duration and challenge. Just taking these dogs for a walk is not likely to give them the stimulation that they need to get a mental workout, but having them work through an obstacle course, taking them on new routes where the are seeing and smelling new things as well as having them work through some training exercises will usually provide the right balance of physical and mental work.
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History of The Miniature Australian Shepherd Dog

The Australian Shepherd: The history of the North American/Miniature Australian Shepherd actually begins with the
history of the Australian Shepherd. Though most facts are shrouded in time, the most commonly held belief on the
origins of the Aussie begin in the late 1800’s when western ranchers were importing sheep from Australia. During this
period the most popular sheep were being imported into Australia from the Basque regions of Spain. When the herds
were shipped, their shepherds were sent with them to manage and care for the flocks on the journey. As the Australian’s
reputation for quality sheep grew, the demand for their sheep grew also and American ranchers began importing them.
The livestock were shipped to the Americas, again accompanied by the Basque shepherds and their herding dogs.
Ranchers of the American west were reportedly very impressed with the working ability of these "little blue dogs" and
began interbreeding them with their own shepherd dogs. The result was the Australian Shepherd.

During the 1960’s, a Californian Australian Shepherd enthusiast acquired several small working Aussies from the rodeo circuit. Intrigued by their compact size, she worked with a veterinarian to develop a breeding program in order to preserve the trait, which quickly resulted in litters producing both dogs only 13 to 14 inches tall as well as larger Australian Shepherds. The smaller dogs eventually became known as “miniature” Australian Shepherds. The mini Aussie soon attracted the attention of experienced Australian Shepherd breeders and eager newcomers. Lines were researched and educated breeding to full-size Aussies was and is strongly encouraged to diversify the gene pool and improve conformation and type of the mini Aussies. Herding instinct, intelligence and drive were preserved and many mini Aussies continue to work a variety of livestock today. (Courtesy of MASCUSA)