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The
history of the North American/Miniature Australian Shepherd
actually begins with the history of the Australian Shepherd.
Though most facts
are shrouded in time, the most commonly held belief on the
origins of the
Aussie begin in the late 1800’s when western ranchers were
importing sheep from
Australia. During this period the most popular
sheep were being imported into
Australia from the Basque regions of
Spain. When the herds were shipped, their shepherds were sent with
them to manage and care for the flocks on the journey. As
the Australian’
s reputation for quality sheep grew, the demand for their
sheep grew also
and American ranchers began importing them. The livestock
were
shipped to the
Americas, again accompanied by the Basque shepherds
and their herding dogs. Ranchers of the American west were
reportedly very impressed with the working ability of these
"little blue
dogs" and began interbreeding them with their own shepherd
dogs. The
result was the Australian Shepherd.
In 1976, a single Breed Standard for the Australian Shepherd
was adopted
and in 1980 the two major breed clubs consolidated to become
the
Australian Shepherd Club of
America (ASCA). Unrecognized by the
American Kennel Club (AKC) at that time, ASCA not only
provided a
registry for
the Aussie, but held conformation, obedience, agility, and
working trials.
Although the AKC now recognizes the Australian Shepherd,
ASCA
continues to provide these activities to the Australian
Shepherd and is
currently the largest single
breed registry in the
United States.
The Miniature Australian Shepherd was developed directly from
the
Australian Shepherd. Throughout the history of the Aussie,
small (under
18")
dogs can be seen in historical photographs. Many believe
that the
original Aussie was selectively bred larger as sheep
ranching decreased
and
cattle ranching increased. Cattle ranchers preferred a larger
dog to work
the larger stock. Some Aussie owners have continued to prefer
the
smaller sized Aussie while others prefer the larger.
In 1968 a horse woman in
Norco, California, began a breeding program
specifically to produce very small Australian Shepherds. Her
name was
Doris Cordova, and the most well known dog from her kennel
is Cordova’
s Spike. Spike was placed with
Bill and Sally Kennedy, also of
Norco,
California, to continue to develop a line of miniature Aussies under the
B/S kennel name. Another
horseman, Chas Lasater of
Valhalla Kennels
soon joined the ranks of mini breeders.
Cordova, Lasater and the Kennedy's together attempted to form
the first
parent club for the miniatures. Although the club never
quite got off the
ground, their stated purpose for developing the miniatures
was to
produce an Australian Shepherd under 17" who had the heart,
intelligence and
drive to work stock, and yet be small enough to travel easily
to stock
shows and be a "house" dog.
Cordova's dogs were registered through the National Stock Dog
Registry
(NSDR) and eventually NSDR came to be the first registry to
recognize
and register the mini as a size variety of the Australian
Shepherd.
Originally recognized in (1989 - 1990) they were shown
with the RBKC
of
Southern California (Rare Breed Kennel Club) as Miniature
Australian
Shepherds. The miniature gained in popularity and the
owners and
breeders missed the cohesive nature of a parent club
dedicated to the
miniature, so in 1990, the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club
of the
USA
(MASCUSA) was formed. Kathy Croswhite (Munson), Jeanine
Perron,
Florence Toombs, Susan Sinclair and Richard VanBurkleo
served as the
first Board of Directors, and one of MASCUSA’s most notable
early
achievements during that time, was to gain recognition of
the miniature
by the American Rare Breeds Assc. (ARBA) to provide a
Nationally
recognized conformation show venue.
Now with the recognition of the American Rare Breed
Association
(ARBA) the Miniature Australian Shepherds showed along side
the
Australian
Shepherd until 1993, when the AKC officially recognized the
Australian
Shepherd. The American Rare Breed Association's policy at
that time was
not to allow any breed of dog to show with them (except in
exhibition)
that had the same name as an AKC affiliated breed and
suggested that we
change our name. Amid mixed reactions MASCUSA opted to
change the
name of our dogs from Miniature Australian Shepherd to North
American Shepherd, for the sole purpose of keeping ARBA as
one of our
main show venues. At the same time, the club amended its
name to
North American Miniature
Australian
Club, USA, while also retaining
the name Miniature Australian
Club, USA as an a.k.a. The breed
flourished
over the next five years and
grew under this name both in the
US
and
Canada.
In the beginning of 1998, ARBA changed their breed name
policy and
through much consideration and discussion on the part of our
club
members and the Board of Directors of NASCUSA, formerly MASCUSA,
Miniature Australian Shepherd was incorporated back into the
name of
our dogs, thus becoming the North American "Miniature
Australian
Shepherd".
Today, breeders of the Miniature Australian Shepherd continue
to strive
to produce Aussies of a smaller stature. Preservation of the
herding
instinct as well as the intelligence and athleticism of the
mini is a priority
in breeding programs, as well as continuing the reputation
for health
and easy companionship that the mini enjoys.
Miniatures are quickly gaining in popularity among Agility,
Flyball and
Disc competition enthusiasts as their attributes of small
size and amazing
athletic ability makes them very competitive and easy to
travel with. In
the suburbs and cities, families wanting a big dog are
attracted to the "big
dog" qualities of the miniature Australian Shepherd, in a
smaller
package.
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