Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Herding Group · No. 14 in 2025

How to identify an Australian Shepherd

The Australian Shepherd is a medium herding dog, ranked No. 14 by the AKC in 2025. It comes in blue merle, black, red merle or red, often with white and copper points. The tail is docked or naturally bobbed, and the eyes can be brown, blue, amber or a mix.

Photo of an Australian Shepherd
Photo: Trickdog-Fina · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Australian Shepherd standard.

  1. Blue merle, black, red merle, or red, “with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points”
  2. Eyes brown, blue, amber, or any mix, including flecks and marbling
  3. Docked or naturally bobbed tail, no longer than 4 in
  4. Medium-length coat with “a moderate mane and frill”

Tell them apart

Australian Shepherd or Border Collie?

Check the tail and the color. An Australian Shepherd’s tail is docked or naturally bobbed, no longer than 4 inches, and its colors are limited to blue merle, black, red merle or red. A Border Collie keeps a long, low tail with an upward swirl at the tip, and any color is allowed.

Australian Shepherd

Australian Shepherd

  1. Blue merle, black, red merle, or red, “with or without white markings and/or tan (copper) points”
  2. Eyes brown, blue, amber, or any mix, including flecks and marbling
  3. Docked or naturally bobbed tail, no longer than 4 in
  4. Medium-length coat with “a moderate mane and frill”
Border Collie

Border Collie

  1. One or both ears erect or semi-erect, with tips falling forward or to the side
  2. Any color allowed; ear color matches the main body color
  3. Low tail with “a slight upward swirl at the end like a shepherd’s crook”
  4. Rough or smooth coat on an athletic frame, about 10:9 length to height

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