General characteristics of the dog, the territory of origin of the Australian Shepherd, the origin of the species name, application, recognition and current position of the breed. The Australian Shepherd or Australian Shepherd is an athletic flexible dog of medium size, slightly stretched format. These dogs are very muscular and powerful enough to work all day without sacrificing the speed and agility required to manage livestock. The dog's double coat is weather resistant, with an outer layer of medium texture and length. The color is very different and can be: black, liver, blue merle (marble black, white and gray), red merle (marble red, white and buff). Each of these colors may have orange tan markings or white markings in various combinations on the face, chest and legs.
Areas of origin of the Australian Shepherd
There are several breeds that dispute the history of the Australian Shepherd, which predates the earliest breeding records of dogs. She was bred by farmers and traders, caring only about the working abilities of the animal, and not about her pedigree. Even the name of the breed is disputed as it was fully developed in the USA and not in Australia.
It is widely believed that the origins of the Australian Shepherd can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Spaniards first sailed to the American West. Spanish missionaries and farmers brought their livestock with them to places like Texas and California. Spanish sheep, horses and cattle have already been adapted for life in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain, Portugal and Andorra), where the climate is similar to that of the American West. As in the rest of the world, the Spanish need herding dogs to help and work with the sheep. For this, they also brought their herding dogs. These pets have adapted to their new environment through natural selection and deliberate reproduction.
The Spaniards prefer the more aggressive herding dogs, able to defend their charges against predators in addition to their grazing. Some of the Spanish settlers were Basques, people from northeastern Spain and southwestern France, the Pyrenees region. Since time immemorial, the Basque Shepherd Dogs have been a herding breed known as the Pyrenean Sheepdog. This is one of the oldest breeds, which is many thousands of years old. Many have concluded that the Iberian Shepherd was the basis for the Australian Shepherd as they share similar physical characteristics and are found in blue merle and short-tailed bobtails.
Due to a shortage of herding dogs in the early American West, the Spaniards crossed over different species to create a descendant breed of the Australian Shepherd with the desired characteristics. It is likely that they also used Native American dogs. So these shepherd dogs have better adapted to local conditions. Recent genetic tests have shown that much of the Australian Shepherd's pedigree comes from dogs that crossed the Bering Strait with the first Native Americans, which meant that crossbreeds between Spanish and native canines were common.
Little is known about the dogs of early Indian societies. Similar animals varied from one region to another. Dogs of the northern tribes such as Hare and Siu were outwardly similar to a wolf. The Navajo and Comanches developed the Plains Dogs. Until the arrival of the Spanish, who brought horses and other pets in the mid-1500s, dogs were the only ones used by Native Americans and played a vital role in their life and culture. The relationship between Indians and dogs was longstanding and established by the time the Spanish arrived. This is confirmed by the Indian legend from the Pact of Fire Lakota Sioux, how a dog came to accompany a person on his wanderings.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a new Spain was created in 1521 - the governor of the colonial empire, which at its peak included almost all of North America south of Canada, Mexico and Central America (with the exception of Panama), and most of the USA west of the Mississippi River as well as Florida. Until the early 19th century, Spanish settlers continued to come and influence the American West. During this time, Spanish influence ended due to the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821). As a result, a new Mexico emerged with a sizable territory that formerly consisted of New Spain. This will be followed by the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
The Guadeloupe Hidalgo Treaty of 1848 ended the Mexican-American War and the United States destroyed all competing land claims from Louisiana in the east to the Pacific in the west. Much of this land was still home to thousands of Spanish and Mexican settlers who continued to breed their dogs, the predecessors of the Australian Shepherd, many of which were sought after by American settlers for their grazing ability and adaptability to the region.
Then the Mexican shepherd dogs succeeded in grazing and protecting livestock, were larger and more aggressive than their English counterparts. During this time, most Western American herding dogs were similar to the old-style Collie, descendants of the British Isles canines that accompanied herds from the Midwest and East. Collies of the time were versatile working dogs and had blue merle or black and white and orange markings.
After their arrival in the American West, the early Collies undoubtedly crossed with Spanish and Native American dogs. This early crossing, along with the later arrival of other purebred Collie type dogs, would form the basis of the Australian Shepherd. There is controversy over pedigree, sometimes attributed to the early Spanish herding species or the late American collie. As a result, the Australian Shepherd is sometimes classified as a member of the Collie family, but not always.
Causes of the Australian Shepherd
In 1849, the California Gold Rush forced thousands of people from all over the world to immigrate to California, creating a huge demand for sheep meat and wool, which soared in value. At the time, the Transcontinental Railroad was not completed and it was difficult and expensive to transport everything, especially livestock, across the Rocky Mountains to the golden fields of California. It was not only expensive but also dangerous. Sheep breeders had to worry about flooded rivers, bandits, Indians, poisonous weeds, wolves, lynxes, mountain lions, coyotes and bears.
Their job was difficult because the sheep often panicked easily, were stubborn, or moved in the wrong place in one minute. Experienced people and herding dogs were required to manage the herds, which often numbered from three to seven thousand heads. Many Basque men from France and Spain hoped to get rich off gold and switched to farming instead, as foreigners were not initially allowed to mine gold. The dogs that contributed to the emergence of the Australian Shepherd were the Collies of the American East, and the Spanish Shepherd Dogs, or were descendants of both.
The difficulties of the overland route meant it was cheaper and easier to import sheep, people and other goods into the area by sea. In the 1840s and 1850s, a large influx of flocks from Australia began in San Francisco. Many of the ships brought herding dogs used to steer sheep in complex loading and unloading procedures on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Many imported Australian dogs were of the Collie type. Some of the Australian men who arrived were Basques who had migrated to Australia from Spain. These people brought with them Pyrenean shepherd dogs. The working qualities and toughness of both types of Basque and Australian shepherd dogs impressed Western traders, whose blood was infused into American herding lines.
History of the name of the Australian Shepherd
The breed representative got its name in the 1840s and 1850s, but why this happened is still debated. Some say that the descendants of dogs bought from Australians in the American West were excellent workers and became known as Australian Shepherds. It is also said that in the American West the name was widely used to describe any herding-type or collie breed imported from Australia.
Similarly, in the eastern part of the United States, shepherd dogs from the regions of Britain, began to be called "English Shepherds", although in England there is no breed with this name. Others say that many Australian herding dogs were merle. Since the merle was predominant in the entire species, the name Australian Shepherd should have identified the entire breed. The final version says that at first the name was applied not to Australian dogs, but rather to Australian sheep. The canids were so closely related to them that they became known as Australian Shepherds.
Application of the Australian Shepherd
At the same time, naturally short tails (bobtail) became popular in the breed. It is believed that the mutation was introduced into the Australian Shepherd and that all modern tailless breeds come from the Basque Pyrenees. The ancestors of the modern Iberian Shepherd Dog evolved along with the ancestors of Spain's merino sheep. The raising of sheep created the need for the ancient Malossians. The Basques, inhabiting the western Pyrenees mountains, were among the first to develop sheep breeding, which led to the creation of the Iberian Shepherd Dog. As the breeds developed, Basque shepherds continued to refine and selectively breed dogs based on eye color, coat and taillessness.
The belief that a bobtail dog with one blue and one brown eyes is a virtuoso shepherd, they instilled in him a double "coat" resistant to weather and these traits began to be firmly fixed. With the fall of the Spanish wool monopoly, the merino sheep, known worldwide for its hardiness and quality wool, was imported to other countries (England, Australia, California), and accordingly the Basque short-tailed herding dogs that influenced many breeds.
By the time of the American Civil War, the mutation was evident in a number of herding breeds, and was not uncommon in the early rough and smooth Collie shows. Over the next several decades, the Australian Shepherd was bred for working capacity by herders. They have developed an intelligent, trainable, hardy breed. Highly skilled at herding, they were more variable in appearance than modern species, although the Australian Shepherd has never been as changeable as the Border Collie or English Shepherd. The breed gained widespread recognition, becoming the dominant breed in the American West.
She was skilled in working with cattle and horses. Rodeo cowboys began using the breed for both herd and livestock management when it was not in the arena. Eventually, Australian Shepherds began taking part in the rodeos themselves and doing stunts or grazing demonstrations. The breed's rise in popularity began with a long-tailed blue Australian Shepherd named Bunk, the pet of movie cowboy Jack Hoxsey. Bunk appeared in over 14 films from 1924 to 1932.
Recognition of the Australian Shepherd
Although Australian Shepherd owners were uninterested in breeding, appearance and exhibiting from the early to mid-20th century, they saw the benefit of maintaining an organized breed register of ancestor checking, individual dogs, and facilitating the breeding of top quality working dogs. From the 1940s to the 1990s, a number of Australian herding dog registries were established. In 1979, the Australian Shepherd was recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC).
In 1968, Ms. Doris Cordova of California began a breeding program to create a miniature version of the Australian Shepherd, which she intended to make a completely separate breed. Her program was successful, but since then, the resulting dogs have caused confusion. Until now, the relationship between the Australian Shepherd and the Miniature Australian Shepherd is very confusing.
It is said that the two dogs are different species of the same breed, or that they are completely different breeds. For a number of years, both the UKC and AKC have treated them as one and the same breed with no distinction between species. This has been compounded by controversy among Miniature Australian Shepherd fans over the correct dog name, as well as the recent development of the Tea Cup sized Australian Shepherds.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, AKC was inspired by the full recognition of the breed. Breeders feared that recognition by the AKC would irreparably harm the working ability of the dogs and that recognition by the AKC would lead to an increase in the popularity and poor quality of commercially bred Australian Shepherds. Most were against the recognition of the AKC, and the ASCA openly opposed this measure.
However, the AKC received full Australian Shepherd recognition in 1991. Then the Association of the Australian Shepherds of the USA (ASASA) became the official club. Several registries and breeders have chosen not to participate and there remain a large number of purebred Australian Shepherds not registered with the AKC.
The current position of the Australian Shepherd
Over the past two decades, the breed has grown in popularity in the United States and abroad. Since the early 2000s, Australian Shepherds have become fashionable family companions in the suburbs. By 2010, the variety is ranked 26th out of 167 breeds. During this time, a number of commercial and inexperienced breeders began to breed breed representatives. Many of the breeders were not interested in improving the breed. Profit was their main motivation. As a result, these dogs often suffer from health problems and severe behavioral deficiencies.
In addition, there is evidence that reproduction through physical appearance and communication is highly detrimental to the working ability of the Australian Shepherd. Most farmers are reluctant to use AKC line Australian Shepherds, opting instead for dogs from working registries. There is also some evidence that the breed is being replaced by other dogs, especially the Australian Kelpie (a true native of Australia) and the working Border Collie.
In recent years, the Australian Shepherd has become known as a family companion and is increasingly seen in this role. In addition, the dog is one of the top competitors in several dog sled competitions, including agility and obedience tests, flyball and frisbee. Some individuals also work as police officers, search, search and rescue, therapeutic assistants and are used to serve the disabled. In addition, a large number of Australian Shepherds are still working dogs.
Currently, there is some division between registered and unregistered Australian Shepherds. It is possible that the two species may eventually separate. There is also a growing movement towards the formal division of the Miniature Australian Shepherd and the Australian Shepherd into two separate breeds. Many registries (but not all) are already doing this, and the AKC has taken the first steps in this direction by placing the Miniature American Shepherd in the stock category.
The following story will tell more about the history of the origin of the Australian Shepherd and the appearance of the breed in Russia:
