If you’re wondering what the heck a North American Miniature Australian Shepherd, surprise! you already know.
Back in the late 60s, horse fancier, Doris Cordova of Norco, California acquired a few Australian Shepherds from a rodeo circuit that were on the small size of the breed standard. Her goal was to produce smaller dogs of the breed, a miniature version, if you will. She called the dogs Miniature Australian Shepherds, and by 1980, Cordova and other breeders had fixed breed type with the help of veterinarians.
In 1993, the name was changed to the North American Shepherd to underscore the fact that this was a breed distinct from the Australian Shepherd. However, since back-crosses were still being made to the ancestral breed to better the gene pool, a move was made to return to the original name, the Miniature Australian Shepherd. A breed club was organized by that name, something that didn’t go over well with the members of the North American Shepherd Club. The compromise? The North American Miniature Australian Shepherd.
A mouthful.
It was almost a moot point since the AKC and the UKC didn’t treat the Miniature Australian Shepherd as a distinct variety, but lumped it with Australian Shepherds. This didn’t go over well, either, but things began to change in the late half of the 2000’s, and trust us, we are skipping over a great deal of history to reach the finish line. The “Cliff Note” version is that the National Stock Dog Registry considered the Miniature Australian Shepherd to be a size variant of the Australian Shepherd, but the Australian Shepherd Club of America considered it a separate breed altogether.
In 2011, the AKC took a huge step and officially accepted the Miniature Australian Shepherd in the Foundation Stock Service, but, the breed got a new name: The Miniature American Shepherd rather than Miniature Australian Shepherd. Some view the Miniature American Shepherd name to be more accurate name since both it and the Australian Shepherd were developed almost entirely in America, but ultimately, the new name cleared up confusion.
This incredibly intelligent and enthusiastic little dog has all the heart of its ancestor to herd large stock, but its smaller size makes it ideal for goats, ducks and sheep. They’ve become very popular with equestrians traveling to horse shows, and are marvelous lap dogs.
Image of a Miniature American Shepherd appears with the consent of the AKC from which it comes
They should have just called in the American Shepherd. People constantly ask about the larger version when I tell them my dogs are miniature American shepherds.
As an Australian shepherd breeder the mini version has been called a few too many different names over the years. Unfortunately AKC would not allow a miniature Australian shepherd so it became the miniature American shepherd. I’ve switched from the Aussie to the mini American just due to size alone.