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While there are several theories as to the origin of the Australian Shepherd, the breed as we know it today is a true native to the United States. In the late 1800's and early 1900's the ancestors of today's "Aussies" came to the western and north-western states as stock dogs to aid the Basque shepherds and their vast numbers of sheep flocks that were being imported from Australia. It is speculated that the name "Australian Shepherd" was given to these small, rugged herding dogs because they were used to herd and guard large flocks of sheep which had been imported from from Australia to the western United States.

Many of the Indian tribes called them "Ghost Dog" and believed that these dogs had special powers...a spirit dog...because of their tendency to have unusual eye color such as blue, green, amber, or marbled (sometimes called a split eye color). Many American-Indians still today have the Aussies as pets in their homes and take them to their ceremonial Pow-Wow's.
These hard-working, medium-sized, "little blue dogs" impressed the American ranchers and farmers, who began using them as well due to their inherent versatility and trainability. Breeding by ranchers and farmers was done primarily for working ability rather than appearance, and occasionally dogs of other herding breeds were bred into the lines. The American stockmen though, continued the development of the breed, maintaining the versatility, keen intelligence, strong herding instinct and eye-catching appearance. However, today's Aussie still resembles the dogs that came from Europe, and great numbers of Aussies are still working stock on ranches and farms in the United States and beyond.

Additional pictures of Scout.... dog1, dog2, dog3, dog4, dog5,