Page 22 - Aussie Magazine no1, 2023

History

Jay
As for the road ahead, the Australian Shepherd is Sisler
the country’s 13th most popular breed according
to the AKC’s 2019 registration statistics, a
ranking that has been rising in recent years.
While reputable breeders are cautious about
popularity – not every home is appropriate for one
of these clever, high-energy dogs – the Australian
Shepherd has come a long way from the lonely,
wind-whipped mesas of the American West. No
matter the long-ago details of how they got there,
we’re certainly glad they’re here.

Whether they went to Australia or not, the Basque
shepherds certainly ended up in the American
West, where local ranchers were impressed by
the Basque herding dogs. Quickly becoming a firm
favourite in America, the Aussie dog continued to
be bred to work with sheep and cattle.

In 1957 the Australian Shepherd Club of America
was established to represent the breed, and
today they organise competitions in Agility,
Conformation, Dock Jumping, Obedience,
Rallying, Scent Searching, Stock dogging, and
Tracking.

Jay Sisler is credited with being one of the
founders of the breed. His dogs are in the back
of many Australian Shepherd pedigrees. He
trained his dogs for performance shows in the
'50s and '60s. Besides performing at many of the
largest arenas in the United States and Canada,
he toured with Roy Rogers and appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show. His dogs were featured
in several Walt Disney productions: Cow Dog
Jay (1956); Run, Appaloosa, Run (1967); and Stub:
Sisler Best Cow Dog in the West (1973), featuring his
Australian Shepherds, Stub, Shorty, and Queen,
performing their trademark tricks and working an
ornery 1,800-pound horned Brahma bull in the
picturesque Santa Inez Valley.

22 | A Worldwide Magazine for the Aussie • Issue 1/2023