Mini American Shepherds are yet another Mini Dogs which are quite famous now. It is a beautiful breed designed to be intelligent, active and funny! One of the most wonderful breeds that were ever bred to be the man’s best friend. It is originally bred for hunting purposes. But How can you know if a Mini American Shepherd is the right breed for you?
“Mini American Shepherds resemble the small Australian Shepherd breed, typically between 14 – 18 inches for male and 13 – 17 inches for females with weight ranging between 20 – 40 pounds. They often live for 12-13 years. They are herding dogs with very much energy.”
However, the Mini American Shepherd wasn’t a medium/large dog at the beginning. It was always called a Mini American Shepherd. That being said, it means this Mini Dog is a fully healthy dog, unlike other large breeds which were bred down to Mini Dogs like Mini Rottweiler.
Disclaimer
In this article Mini American Shepherds: Everything You Could Want to Know, we don’t give a quick overview of Mini American Shepherds, instead, we go through a step by step guide and cover everything you would want to know about Mini American Shepherds so you could have the complete image.
A Quick Glance at the History of Mini American Shepherds.
According to Wikipedia:
The Miniature American Shepherd was developed in California during the late 1960s with the breeding of small, unregistered dogs that were thought to be Australian Shepherds. These dogs were bred with a goal of maintaining their small size, active character, and intelligence.
Wikipedia
The breed was first registered with the National Stock Dog Registry in 1983 and was originally called the Miniature Australian Shepherd.
That being said, we understand now that Mini American Shepherds are registered AKC dogs. So for those who focus on participating in championships with their dogs, you can really enter the championship with MAS, unlike Mini Rottweilers which isn’t a registered breed in the kennel.
Physical Properties of Mini American Shepherds
The Miniature American Shepherd is a small herding dog. He is slightly longer than tall, with a bone that is moderate and proportionate to body size and height without extremes.
In fact, he has many traits that are similar to Australian Shepherd, he has high agility, strength and very high stamina. Because he was bred to be a herding dog.
His stamina gives him much energy that needs to be gotten rid of fast. Here are some of his traits:
- Weight: 20 – 40 pounds
- Height: 13-17 Inches for female & 14-18 Inches for male.
- Life Span: 12-13 years ( can reach 15 if your dog was really good bread)
- Color: Solid in color or merled, with or without white and/or tan markings
- Coat: Double Coat with medium length.
As you can see, American Shepherds are typical small dogs with a very cute looking and a very beautiful personality.
Mini American Shepherds and Shedding
As we discussed before MAS have a double coat similar to Golden Retriever. That makes them leave hair everywhere during the shedding times which is very intimidating for many dog owners.
So before you buy a Mini American shepherd make sure you are okay with the idea of furry hair everywhere!
The temperament of Mini American Shepherds
MAS have an amazing personality which is contradicting to Mini dogs.
In fact, many people don’t want to buy Mini Dogs because they are known to be hard trainable dogs and very aggressive dogs. However that is not the case with MAS, they have an amazing personality which is pretty friendly to new owners.
They are also very suitable to live and play with children (even babies) as they are very friendly and lovely. Now, let’s take a quick look at all the traits of MAS:
- Protective and loyal dogs: As they were bred to be herding dogs, they are very protective of their family members. That doesn’t mean they are “Guard dogs” but that means they will always care and worry about you wherever you are and whatever you do and that makes them one of the perfect dogs for children.
- Playful: It is hard to find a playful and protective dog at the same time. In fact, MAS did that easily. They have the perfect mix that everybody is looking for.
- Easily trained dogs: In fact, MAS like to get trained and hear instructions. As they were bred to work, that is really what they are good at. So that makes them perfect for new owners who are looking to buy Mini Dogs and afraid because of their hard character.
- Very intelligent dogs: In fact, they’re considered to be one of the most intelligent dogs out there, they can be trained to do anything and they will understand it in a matter of days.
- Highly Energetic dogs: They were bred to work, so they have very high energy. They need lots of exercise and we will cover that later in this article.
- Good listeners: It is not hard to grab the attention of MAS, in fact, they will always stick to you and be ready to hear your orders and follow them.
- Attention seekers: As most mini dogs, they can’t stay alone for any matter of time. Instead, they will always want to be near you and play with you. So, if you forgot to give your MAS dog some love tonight, you might face some issues.
Training and Activity for MAS:
As we said earlier. MAS were bred to work, they were herding dogs.
As German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers & others. They will have tons of energy that they need to consume.
Due to their perfect body that is a mix between agility and strength. It is really known that MAS and Border Collies are the most athletic dogs that were ever known. They can run very very fast. Their speed can reach 40-50 miles per hour which is a lot for dogs.
Do you want your dog to participate in agility competitions? Well MAS will be your perfect companion. Do you want to teach him to dance? Well, that is really easy for him. Do you want him to be a blind-guide dog? Well, he will be a perfect dog for this service.
Mini American Shepherd is not just a dog. He is an athlete, a funny baby, a protective father, and a loyal friend. That’s why he is very suitable for new owners.
Exercises for MAS
Well, Mini American shepherd isn’t a suitable dog for you if you’re a lazy person or if you don’t like walking or running. In fact, one of the worst things of having a Mini American Shepherd in people’s opinions is exercising. You need to provide a lot of exciting exercises for your dog, you will need to walk him at least one hour a day. In addition to, 5-15 mins of running daily, you will need to play frisbee or tug of war or retrieve games.
A great idea for your dog will be setting a training track for him in your backyard to give him some agility training.
In fact, MAS are perfect dogs in everything but they need a special exercise schedule to be super healthy and not to have any behavioral issues.
Health-related issues.
In fact, they don’t have any genetic diseases. Unlike Mini Rottweilers, Mini American Shepherds were bred from several small and medium breed and not bred through genetic modification. This made them as healthy as any other normal dog. They have perfect immunity system and perfect health.
They also have very small percentages of being infected with bone diseases like Hip Displaysia. Because they are small dogs and have a very unique bone structure. This made them perfect agility dogs without many issues to worry about.
This also made them every advisable to new owners. Because you won’t have to worry about health issues at first unlike getting a Mini Rottweiler.
Conclusion:
In fact, Mini American Shepherds are perfect dogs for anybody as long as you don’t hate exercises. They are a perfect mix of Agility and Strength. They are very suitable for new owners and children.
Having a Mini American Shepherd will turn your life to a piece of joy. You won’t have to worry about behavioral or health issues. All you have to worry about is really growing up a healthy and beautiful pet.