KENAI
Australian Shepherd

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 342

Australian Shepherd.

Herding and guarding: an intelligent working dog of strong herding and guarding instincts, a loyal companion with the stamina to work all day; developed in the United States as a ranch sheepdog from stock brought by Basque shepherds in the 19th century, and still seen in its original role.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.7YRMedian lifespan12.8 to 14.6, measured on real dogs.
22 / 20INHeightdogs 21.5, bitches 19.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
40–65LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 57.5 lb (50 to 65); breed bitches 47.5 lb (40 to 55).
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21.5 in (20 to 23) · bitches 19.5 in (18 to 21)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1993

Center is the midpoint of the standard's preferred range.

Weight

dogs 57.5 lb (50 to 65) · bitches 47.5 lb (40 to 55)

Breed clubAKC

The standard sets no weight; this is the registry breed page's typical band. Center is its midpoint.

Coat

Hair of medium texture, straight to wavy, weather resistant and of medium length; undercoat varies with climate; short and smooth on the head, ears, front of forelegs and below the hocks; backs of forelegs and britches moderately feathered; moderate mane and frill, more pronounced in dogs; blue merle, black, red merle, red, all with or without white markings and/or tan points

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1993

Shedding

Sheds (RKC 'Sheds: yes'); the standard says the undercoat varies in quantity with climate

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Medium-length, medium-texture, weather-resistant coat, straight to wavy, with an undercoat that varies with climate; moderate mane and frill

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1993

Derived from the standard's coat description (3 = medium double).

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.7 years (12.8 to 14.6)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Small UK sample for a breed that is far more numerous in the US; the wide interval reflects it.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than 2 hours = 150. The parent club says Aussies need to be given a job, be it shepherding the children, protecting the house, herding livestock or competing in dog events.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

5 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC grooming band); coat length medium; sheds

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than once a week = 3.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Why they get given up

The parent club: one of the most frequent reasons Aussies get turned over to rescue groups is that their owners did not anticipate how energetic these dogs are

Breed clubUnited States Australian Shepherd Association

The parent club's statement, not a count. Single source.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Herding and guarding: an intelligent working dog of strong herding and guarding instincts, a loyal companion with the stamina to work all day; developed in the United States as a ranch sheepdog from stock brought by Basque shepherds in the 19th century, and still seen in its original role

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1993

Not a gun dog; hunting-specific traits are omitted. The origin sentence follows the UK registry's and parent club's histories.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

6.3% · 6.3% dysplastic of 50,417 OFA hip evaluations on record (all data through Oct 2026); 93.0% normal (18.8% excellent, 64.6% good, 9.6% fair); mild 4.0%, moderate 2.0%, severe 0.3%; breed rank 168 of the breeds listed; dogs born 2021-2023: 6.3% dysplastic of 3,760

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. The 2021-23 birth-year hip columns are carried in the OFA statistics service's data but are not displayed on the rendered page.

Elbow dysplasia

4.8% · 4.8% abnormal of 21,839 OFA elbow evaluations on record (grade 1 4.0%, grade 2 0.8%, grade 3 0.1%); breed rank 85

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Same voluntary-registry caveat as hips. OFA eyes: 3.0% abnormal of 58,991 examinations (0.0% breeder option). OFA MDR1 DNA: of 290 tested, 75.9% normal, 21.0% carrier, 3.1% affected. OFA thyroid (530 evaluations): 3.0% compensated autoimmune thyroiditis, 3.8% equivocal, 0.0% autoimmune thyroiditis and 0.0% idiopathic hypothyroidism. OFA patella: 0.8% abnormal of 1,973.

Most common disorders

The parent club's health program names: hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, hereditary eye defects (ocular and iris coloboma, juvenile and senior cataracts, detached retina, persistent pupillary membrane, progressive retinal atrophy, distichiasis), MDR1 multi-drug sensitivity, Collie eye anomaly, degenerative myelopathy, hereditary cataracts (HSF4), hyperuricosuria, intestinal cobalamin malabsorption, Pelger-Huet anomaly, multifocal retinopathy (CMR1), lymphoma and epilepsy

Breed clubUnited States Australian Shepherd Association

A club list of conditions of concern, not a prevalence ranking. No VetCompass breed paper exists for the Australian Shepherd, and the UK Kennel Club 2014 survey had only 71 Australian Shepherd responses, below its threshold for a within-breed table, so no measured disorder prevalence is recorded.

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Aggression, as studied

C-BARQ online sample, 177 Australian Shepherds: 6.2% of owners reported a snap, bite or attempt to bite at a stranger, 0.6% at an owner, 14.7% at an unfamiliar dog and 6.5% in dog rivalry. The breed is not singled out in the authors' lists of breeds high or low for any aggression type.

StudiedDuffy DL, 2008

The breed was in the online survey only, so no Table 5 breed mean is published; the stranger- and dog-directed subscale scores are therefore not recorded. The standard asks for an even disposition, good natured, seldom quarrelsome, possibly reserved in initial meetings, and penalises shyness, fear or aggression. Population-level findings, never a prediction for one dog.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Australian Shepherd against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 9 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Aussie

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your australian shepherd, on the record.

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