NOTE:  This article represents the opinions of Roger and Elaine Stevens.
No reference to any specific breeder or judge is intended.

When "breed standard" is mentioned, most people associate it with the breed ring and showing in conformation.  So, we probably should state right up front that conformation is not our primary event. Elaine does show some in conformation but does not consider herself a polished handler. We do not travel long distances just for a conformation show. However, if there is a stockdog trial being held in conjunction with a conformation show, we will normally be there if it is within reasonable driving distance, and we will show some dogs in conformation. We don’t have anything against conformation, but everyone has their favorite thing to do and it just happens not to be ours!!

One of the reasons we don't show more is because we feel that, with few exceptions, the Aussie is not being judged by its breed standard.  We personally breed for and critique our dogs by the ASCA breed standard, because it is the original Australian Shepherd breed standard, written by the people whose kennels are the foundation of the breed, and we feel that it is the more stringent standard and was written with an active working dog in mind.  However, even at ASCA shows most of the judges prefer the larger, heavier boned and coated  Aussies.

The ASCA standard uses the term "medium" or "moderate" a total of twelve times. It is very clear that the Aussie should be an overall moderate dog, with no excess in any area. However, most of the Aussies that we see in the conformation ring today, in our opinion, are excessive in bone and coat, and some of them in size. The trend also seems to be toward a shorter-backed, cobbier type dog. These traits result in a heavier, slower moving dog with limited stamina, not the lithe, agile, swift worker that the Aussie was meant to be. If the Aussie was judged on its movement and conformation while performing working tasks, many of these dogs couldn’t hold up. We feel that the majority of breeders have forgotten (or don’t care) that the Aussie’s origin is as a herding dog, and they are breeding for traits that are in direct conflict of the breed’s purpose in life.

We really have a problem with is the current trend toward temperament. If you contact someone who breeds conformation dogs and inquire about a show prospect, usually the first thing they will tell you is: "He/she has tons of bone and coat, a lot of angulation (what about moderation???) and is very outgoing. Has a real show attitude." Now the ASCA breed standard says that the Australian Shepherd is "...reserved with strangers but does not exhibit shyness." To us, it is a real challenge for a dog that has the typical Aussie temperament, according to the breed standard, to retain that temperament while allowing strange judges, that the dog has never seen before, approach it, and put their hands all over the dog, even looking into their mouth and feeling of their private parts. If the dog has the typical Aussie temperament and doesn’t greet the judge with a happy smile and wiggly butt, it most of the time it doesn’t get another look. We think that the breeders, and the judges, need to remember that we are not breeding nor showing Goldens; these are Australian Shepherds and are not intended to be happy go lucky, outgoing, never-meet-a-stranger dogs. There is a purpose for their reserved temperament and to ask them to be otherwise is in direct conflict of the breed standard.

Another reason we don’t compete more in conformation is because our experience has been that the "working type" Aussie has a very tough time completing a conformation championship. No matter how correct it may be, if it doesn’t have the tons of bone and coat and happy attitude, it is overlooked time and again -- even though this is the "type" our breed originated from. Twenty or thirty years ago all Aussies looked that way. Except in rare cases, the only time it seems that the moderate Aussie gets a fair chance is when they are shown under an "old-time" ASCA breeder judge who remembers what our breed originated from.  It is disheartening to have a very correct, moderate Aussie that has lovely movement, conforms to the breed standard, is hard as nails from working every day, and is consistently dumped in the breed ring because of its moderation and "type".  Or perhaps because it's "plain", with no chrome or copper.

Who’s to blame for this change in the breed? Well, we could blame the breeders for attempting to enhance traits unnatural to the breed. But then, they are just trying to win in the breed ring, so let's blame the judges who put up dogs who aren’t typical specimens of the breed. And we could blame all the people who buy the "show type" Aussie, thereby perpetuating the atypical type.  And I guess we could just blame mankind in general for the trend toward urbanism and the rapidly diminishing number of farms and ranches, and therefore the need of good working stockdogs.  But instead of blaming someone, which won’t do any good at all, why don’t we all just work together, try to remember the Aussie’s roots, and turn the trend back to more moderation in our breed, with emphasis on functionability??

Over the course of time many breeds of dogs, especially hunters and herding dogs, have lost the instinct to do the job for which they were bred.  Once lost, these natural instincts are virtually impossible to recover.  We don't want to see this happen to the Australian Shepherd but it CAN and it WILL if those of us who are  concerned with its future don't do everything we can to preserve its heritage.  You don't have to have a farm and livestock and actively work an Aussie to help preserve its heritage.  Study the pictures of the foundation dogs and the next time you want to add an Aussie to your family, go for the moderate "old type".

To view a comparison of the ASCA and AKC breed standards, click here.