I have an australian cattle dog, sweet, smart, loyal, and adoreable and I see no resemblance in the dogs. Australian shepherds aren't even distantly related to any australian breed so why the name? I look at an Australian shpherd with all that hair, the flopped ears, and the short bub of a tail and think a dog like that wouldn't easily survive in the outback. I get annoyed when people confuse the two breeds they look nothing alike. Australian sheps wouldn't be so annoying to me if the name would get changed. What's the deal?
2006-08-26 04:22:47 · 7 answers · asked by trueblueaussies 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Phew! For a moment I thought you were talking about human shepherd!!
2006-08-26 04:26:11 · answer #1 · answered by Ya-sai 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Origin:
Despite the misleading name, the Australian Shepherd is not Australian at all, but was developed entirely in the U.S. to work as a herding dog on ranches. It is possible that the name was derived from one of the dog's ancestors. The breed's principal forebears were most likely Spanish dogs that accompanied the Basque shepherds and herds of fine Merino sheep exported to both America and Australia in the early days of the colonies. At some point it probably crossed with Collie stock. It has only recently gained recognition as a distinct breed. Its many talents include, retrieving, herding, watchdogging, guarding, police work, narcotics detection, search & rescue, agility, competitive obedience and performing tricks.
2006-08-26 11:27:01 · answer #2 · answered by ted_armentrout 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually they are closely related in personality and function... I have known a lot of ranchers that will breed a cattle dog and a AS together to give them the thicker coat, but keep the cattledog attitude and appearance... Both are great dogs and are name accordingly
2006-08-26 11:36:38 · answer #3 · answered by munchkin_4684 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you have a "border collie". That is an Australian sheep dog. One of the smartest dog's on the world. Are you sure the breed is not from Australia ?
2006-08-26 11:31:29 · answer #4 · answered by blackdog 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ted answered it well but i can say this i will not trade my Australian cattle dogs for all the money in the world.
2006-08-26 11:35:41 · answer #5 · answered by jjtrdx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a good chunk of their genetics, and large portions of their pedigrees are all intertwined with the Australian Shepherd.
2006-08-26 15:18:37 · answer #6 · answered by roses89129 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there the ones that likes to lick down under
2006-08-26 11:25:31 · answer #7 · answered by bakbiter 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋