Appearance

Except for the size, the Miniature Australian Shepherd is identical to the standard sized Australian Shepherd. This well balanced dog has a square shaped appearance given that this is a very slightly longer than tall breed. A Mini Aussie is a double coated breed. The straight or slightly wavy top coat is moderate in length and rather coarse to the touch. Undercoat's denseness and thickness varies with the climate. The head, ears, the front of forelegs are covered with smooth short hair. Longer hair at the back of forelegs forms moderate feathering. Hind legs have moderately full breeches. It will be noticed that males have more prominent mane and frill. Strong, rich and clear colors create more coat varieties and individuality of specimens. The more common coat colors are solid black, solid red (liver), red merle and blue merle. Dogs with white markings and copper points are truly impressive looking specimens.

The square shaped head complement the dog's square shaped body. Seen from the top, the skull appears to be flat. Its length is equal to the length of the muzzle. The muzzle that is well proportioned to the head slightly tapers to the rounded tip. A Mini Aussie has a moderate well defined stop. Strong white teeth meet in a scissor bite. Triangular ears with slightly rounded tips are set on high. Medium sized almond shaped eyes are set obliquely and showing an alert and intelligent expression. Eye colors range from blue, brown, amber or a combination of these colors. This breed has a well proportioned body. The medium length clean firm neck is slightly arched and set well into the shoulders. The muscular body has a level topline, a deep chest with well sprung ribs, strong broad loins and a moderately sloping croup.