Frequently asked Questions

The Miniature Australian Shepherd is not a cross between an Australian Shepherd and another breed, it was actually developed in the late 1960s, mid 1970’s by breeding the smallest of the Australian Shepherds. The constant breeding back to the smallest of the litters produced a consistently small breed that is even being further reduced in size to the toy variety. They were bred first in the United States. This was largely in response to the dog owners desire for a well-behaved herding type dog with the coat variations found in the miniature Australian Shepherd that would be more suited to smaller living spaces and yards in cities. In many areas the Miniature Australian Shepherd is still used as a working breed in competitions ( America & Canada), and many people feel that the term miniature is a bit misleading as the smaller dogs are only miniature in size to the standard and are not petite and tiny like other “mini” breeds.