An affinity for horses, gutsy herding talent, and pick-up-and-go portability helped make the Miniature American Shepherd (MAS) a rising star in the late 1960s. The Miniature American Shepherd (MAS) is a scaled-down version of the Australian Shepherd but retains the same colorful coat combinations.
鈥淒espite their names, size difference, and a few slight features, the Miniature American Shepherd and the Australian Shepherd share a genetic bond,鈥� says Karen Keller-Ross, former president of the .
One of the smallest breeds in the Herding Group, the MAS鈥檚 road to acceptance as a separate breed spanned five decades and required many breeders鈥� cooperation, patience, and dedication. The MAS鈥檚 intelligence, good nature, and devotion to its owner quickly earned respect.
The Early Miniature American Shepherds
In 1962, 16-year-old Sandy Travis bought a female Australian Shepherd puppy from a friend at a rodeo in Torrance, California and named it 鈥淧uppy.鈥� When it matured, Travis planned to breed it to her male Australian Shepherd, but the Aussie never reached the standard female Aussie height of 20 to 23 inches. Instead, Travis bred the 11-inch Puppy to a small Aussie male.
Like their shorter parents, the offspring measured only 9 to 13 inches tall. After consulting with a veterinarian about breeding small Australian Shepherds, Travis bred more short-legged Aussies. The little Aussies proved popular with people in the equine community, who called them 鈥淢iniature Aussies.鈥�
鈥淩anch owners used Australian Shepherds to help move stock, so the dogs were always around horses and liked to run alongside them with their owners on horseback,鈥� Keller-Ross says. 鈥淭he equine community liked the smaller Aussies right away.鈥�
The downsized Aussies sported the same kaleidoscope of coat colors鈥攂lue merle, black, red merle, red鈥攁ll with or without white markings and tan points.
Dedicated MAS Breeders Join Together
Doris Cordova, a Quarter Horse breeder in Norco, California, bought 鈥淪pike,鈥� a 13-inch-tall male puppy from Travis鈥檚 litter, to establish 11-to-15-inch Miniature Australian Shepherds. In 1980, she registered Cordova鈥檚 Spike with the National Stock Dog Registry (NSDR), the official registration organization for the Australian Shepherd. Minis were first called Australian Shepherds, but a few years later, the word 鈥渕iniature鈥� was added to the Mini certificates.
Cordova bred three generations of Minis. To increase the numbers of these 9-to-15-inch MAS dogs for registration in the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) and NSDR, she enlisted horse owners and Australian Shepherd breeders, Charles Lasater (Valhalla kennel) of Visalia, California, Bill and Sally Kennedy (B/S kennel), and other breeders in the Los Angeles high desert communities.
鈥淐ordova and Lasater focused on establishing an Aussie small enough to travel to stock shows easily and live in the house as a house dog but retain the heart, intelligence, and drive to work livestock,鈥� says Kathy Croswhite-Munson, co-founder of MASCUSA at its original formation in 1990. MASCUSA was incorporated as a breed club and registry for the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of the USA in 1993.
Well-established and notable Australian Shepherd bloodlines crossed with transitional Mini Aussie lines. These included Las Rocosa, Briarbrook, Crown Point, Fairoaks, Copper Canyon, and Taycin kennels. These kennels produced dogs found in the pedigrees of many Minis. ASCA and AKC-registered dogs were frequently used during the 1980s to create the Miniature American Shepherd.
Founding the First Parent Breed Club
In the 80s, Croswhite-Munson acquired her foundation 15-inch-tall Mini from two-thirds old Travis lines and one-third Australian Shepherd lines. Seeing a need to promote small Aussies under 18 inches tall and to elicit credibility while retaining the integrity of the Aussie, Croswhite-Munson asked her friend, Jeanine Perron, at a horse show to help her form a breed club.
鈥淚 recruited as many Australian Shepherd breeders as possible to gain acceptance,鈥� Croswhite-Munson says.
Creating an AKC Miniature American Shepherd parent club proved challenging and agreeing to a name required a membership vote. The breed was popular, and while people called it a Miniature Australian Shepherd, the moniker Miniature American Shepherd won out.
Keller-Ross served as club president of the Miniature American Shepherd Club of the USA, which became the official AKC Parent Club for the Miniature American Shepherd in May 2011. AKC recognized the breed in 2015.
The incorporated a few changes from the . 鈥淲e wanted to make a few improvements and add clarifications,鈥� Keller-Ross says.
These included the addition of a disqualifying height restriction for the MAS of 14-to-18 inches for males and 13- to-17 inches for females; other additions and clarifications included a more detailed description of the breed鈥檚 head planes, a strict dental pattern, the amount of white permitted on the dog鈥檚 head and body, and amount of pigment on the dog鈥檚 nose.
Fun Size Breed Popularity
Keller-Ross remembers her first involvement with the breed at her family鈥檚 Thanksgiving dinner in the mid-90s when her grandmother, Jeanine Perron, asked her to help show the Miniatures she bred and purchased.
Croswhite-Munson also has fond memories of growing up with Aussies. 鈥淢y family had a large ranch, and our Aussies worked the stock,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y friends and I rode our horses to school, and our dogs would run alongside us. At school, the bus driver charged us a $1.00 a dog to care for the dogs during class.鈥�
For many Aussie owners, it was a natural progression to Minis.
鈥淚 love this breed because it is so versatile,鈥� says Keller-Ross. 鈥淚t can do everything the bigger Aussies can do. With the same stamina, they can run alongside the horse or jump up on the horse and settle between the saddle horn and my chest.鈥�