Australian Shepherd Miniature

A still smaller variety known as the tea cup must be less than 12 pounds when fully grown.

Australian shepherd miniature. Description the miniature australian shepherd north american miniature australian shepherd has a medium length coat. The breed was officially recognized by this renowned canine club in 2015 as miniature american shepherd. The breed is rapidly increasing in popularity among those interested in a compact dog with a strong dog work ethic. The miniature australian shepherd has highly set triangular ears a moderately defined stop point at which the muzzle meets the forehead a scissors bite and brown blue or amber eyes or a combination thereof.

The miniature australian shepherd is actually less than 18 inches tall 46 cm at the withers when full grown and there is also a smaller version of the breed known as a toy australian shepherd which must be less than 14 inches or 36 cm when fully grown. It comes in blue or red merle red or black tricolor all with white and or tan markings. The miniature australian shepherd has a shoulder height of 35 46 cm 13 18 in and weighs 20 40 lbs. The miniature american shepherd resembles a small australian shepherd.

In september 2019 the fci officially accepted the breed. True herders in spite of their compact size minis are bright self motivated workers and endearingly loyal and lively. The miniature australian shepherd abbreviated as mas and also referred to as a miniature american shepherd or mini aussie is considered a small herding dog breed. It took 4 years for these compact shepherds to move on from akc foundation stock service to an official breed status in the united states but it finally happened.

Like their larger cousins the australian shepherds miniature american shepherds can be found in black blue merle red merle solid red or red with white and or tan markings. The miniature australian shepherd was developed by breeding smaller australian shepherds for the desired size. The miniature american shepherd frequently abbreviated mas is a small herding dog breed. The hair around the ears and eyes should not be white.

The breed is often trained for dog sports such as herding agility obedience canine freestyle flyball and others. They grow up to 18 inches tall and weigh up to 40lbs as adults. The dog breed originated during the late 1960s in california when they were crossed with smaller unregistered dogs thought to be australian shepherds. The miniature australian shepherd is part of the akc s herding group.