Breed Standard

ALL Fifteen Acre Farms Australian Shepherd puppies are produced ONLY from AKC/ASCA registered, DNA profiled, health tested parents that meet breed standard as defined by AKC and ASCA. Dogs that are labeled as Miniature and Toy Australian Shepherds meet NONE of these requirements and are NOT purebred dogs as they have had other breeds bred into them making them a mixed breed dog. DO NOT contact me looking for a mixed breed dog. We do NOT have those here as they do NOT represent the breed well.

Breed standard for Australian Shepherds is posted at

http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/AustralianShepherd.pdf

and

https://www.asca.org/conformation/breed-standard/.

Do NOT contact me with unrealistic expectations asking for an Australian Shepherd that isn’t really an Australian Shepherd. Breed standard is to dock the tail. Breed standard is preferred height for males at 20-23" and females at 18-21". Australian Shepherds are defined in breed standard as a 'medium' sized dog .... NOT a mini or toy breed which are ONLY achieved by crossing an Australian Shepherd with a smaller breed creating a mixed breed mutt. Yes .... that's right .... dogs labeled as miniature & toy are NOT registerable with AKC or ASCA because they are NOT purebred and do NOT represent the breed well. Do not take my word for it. Visit both website’s and verify this for yourself. Look in the breed list here for AKC: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/

See? NO miniature or toy Australian Shepherd listed.

And here is the statement displayed by the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) regarding the mini and toy 'versions' also known as a mixed breed dog: https://www.asca.org/announcement-3/

Because we keep to a standard of excellence, ‘SPECIAL ORDER’ Australian Shepherds are NOT an option here at Fifteen Acre Farms no matter how much you offer to pay. The tail will NOT be left on, a 13” mixed breed will NOT be produced & offered here, and blue eyes will be a bonus NOT a requirement. Again, our priorities here are health, keeping to breed standard, temperament, intelligence, trainability, & representing the breed well. There will be ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS and NO EXCUSES so do NOT have unrealistic expectations of me as a breeder. You the buyer should NEVER have the expectation that a reputable breeder can be swayed by your request to defer from breed standard. And if you think you want to breed .... your #1 priority should be to keep breed standard ..... NOT to bend or mold the breed into something YOU think it should be or what YOU want to breed or what the 'latest fad' may be. It is NOTHING LESS than an insult to be contacted for a puppy that 'PURPOSELY' does not meet breed standard and if you do then you will be asked to offer an explanation of why you think I will breed in such a careless way.

The #1 question I receive here is: Can my puppy's tail be left intact?

Your choices here are to 1. make your selection from a breeder who knows and represents the breed WELL and that conforms to and keeps breed standard or 2. make your selection from a breeder who doesn't .... and there is NO gray area on that. If you want a dog with a tail then you will need to select a breed with a tail. 2019 marks our 1.5 million dollar investment into the improvement and health of the Australian Shepherd breed since 2005. I will ask that you spend some time reviewing my website, pedigree's, DNA profile, and health testing posted for each of our breeding males and females then reconsider your request of me to 'not conform to breed standard' as set forth by the AKC & ASCA. ASCA is Australian Shepherd Club of America. They are the founding breed registry registering ONLY the breed of Australian Shepherd since 1957. AKC picked up the breed in 1991. Would you also be ok with me purposely breeding for overbite, underbite, white body splashes, maturation at 15" and 20 lbs, curved hind legs, aggressiveness, timidness, prick ears, running copper, dogs plaqued with genetic defect vs my 100% CLEAR lab reports which cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars to achieve in health testing and cutting dogs from the program at a loss that didn't test clear? My buyers make their selection here because of my dedication, commitment, & financial investment into the breed. There are plenty of 'breeders' out there that take 'special orders' on their puppies and will purchase parents to achieve whatever fad the buyers think they want, however, I am not one of those breeders. I mean ... would you still make your selection here if you saw dogs with all of the above mentioned faults proudly displayed on my website? Another issue I have is that I am USDA, State of OK, AND AKC inspected. I do not want my inspectors, ESPECIALLY AKC, to arrive and see that I am PURPOSELY not keeping breed standard. The reason the tails are docked is simply because it is an identifying trait in the breed. The natural bob tail or NBT gene is prominent in this breed. However, breeding 2 NBT dogs together causes problems so I keep NBT dogs here in my program to a minimum. When 2 NBT dogs are bred together .... the puppies in the litter that get the NBT gene from each parent cannot properly develop their spine so they absorb, or spontaneously abort, themselves in utero because it's genetically impossible for them to develop properly. People can't live without a spine either. I"m not one for whacking off body parts. I simply tie a rubber band around the tail at age 2 or 3 days when I remove dewclaws and the tail, which is only cartilage at that age, simply dries up from lack of blood flow and falls off. It is a bit uncomfortable for about 30 minutes when the band is first tied on (much like tying a rubber band or string around your finger) but after that there is no discomfort and absolutely no pain. And while I know it is impossible, and an unrealistic expectation, to achieve breed standard 100% of the time my goal will ALWAY be to try. Australian Shepherds that lack the ability to consistely produce puppies that meet breed standard will always be promptly spayed and neutered, removed from my breeing program here, placed as a medical alert dog or family companion because they can still serve another purpose, and replaced with an Australian Shepherd that is capable of producing puppies that conform to breed standard. I hope this clears things up a bit and that you will indeed want a quality, healthy puppy from a reputable breeder that keeps and maintains breed standard.