Miniature American Shepherd Grooming

About the Miniature American Shepherd

Developed in the 1960s from small Australian Shepherds, this was called the Miniature Australian Shepherd for decades and is now a separate recognized breed with its own name and standard. Calling it a mini Aussie is common and is no longer accurate.

For grooming it is straightforwardly an Australian Shepherd at two thirds the size: a medium length, weather resistant double coat with a moderate mane, feathering on the backs of the legs, and heavy seasonal shedding. Weekly brushing, never clipped.

Two things carry over from the parent breed and both matter more than the coat.

The first is MDR1, a genetic mutation common in herding breeds that makes certain very ordinary drugs dangerous. The second is the merle coat and what it means when two merles are bred together.

MDR1, and why a groomer should know about it

MDR1 is a mutation in a gene that controls how the brain keeps certain drugs out. Dogs with two copies, and to a lesser extent one, can react severely to ordinary medications that are perfectly safe in other breeds.

It is common in herding breeds. Around three quarters of Collies carry it, and it is well established in Australian Shepherds and therefore in this breed.

The drugs involved include some common parasite treatments, some sedatives and anesthetics, and certain anti-diarrhoeal and chemotherapy drugs. Reactions can be severe and can be fatal.

There is a simple cheek swab test and every owner of a herding breed should have it done, because knowing costs almost nothing and not knowing can cost the dog.

Why it appears on a grooming page: sedation for grooming is sometimes suggested for a difficult dog, and some flea and worm products are given or sold at salons. An owner who says the words MDR1 and untested or affected out loud prevents the problem entirely.

It is the same warning that appears on the Rough Collie and Australian Shepherd pages, and it applies here in full.

The coat, and the seasonal blow

A medium length double coat: a straight to slightly wavy weather resistant outer coat over a dense undercoat, with a moderate mane and frill on the neck and chest, feathering on the backs of the legs and a moderately full tail area.

Brush weekly with a slicker and an undercoat rake, working to the skin rather than over the top. Matting is a moderate risk rather than a severe one, and it happens behind and under the ears, in the mane, the armpits, the britches and under a collar.

Twice a year the undercoat blows over several weeks and daily raking is needed. A bath and high velocity blow out at the start shortens it considerably.

Bathe every eight weeks or so and dry to the skin.

Do not clip. It is a double coat, so clipping removes the protective outer layer and leaves the insulation, the dog is not cooler, and regrowth is frequently patchy or permanently soft. This comes up often with herding breeds in warm climates and the answer is always the same: rake the undercoat out instead.

Trimming is limited to the pads, the sanitary area and neatening the hocks and feet.

Merle, and the double merle problem

Merle is the mottled patterning common in this breed and in Australian Shepherds, and it is worth understanding because it carries a genuine welfare issue.

Merle is a dominant gene. A dog with one copy has the normal mottled coat and is fine. Breeding two merles together gives each puppy a one in four chance of inheriting two copies, and a double merle is typically largely white and frequently deaf, blind or both, with eye malformations.

That is a breeding decision rather than a grooming one, and it is relevant here for two practical reasons.

A largely white herding dog with blue eyes may well be deaf, and a deaf dog startles badly when approached from behind. At a salon that means approaching where the dog can see you, never surprising it with a clipper or a dryer, and telling the groomer.

The second is that merle dogs often have pink or partly pink skin on the nose and around the eyes, which burns, so sunscreen and shade matter as they do for any unpigmented skin.

None of this applies to an ordinary single merle, which is simply a coat color.

A working brain in a smaller body

Miniature American Shepherds are quick, biddable, energetic and intensely people focused, which makes them easy to teach and easy to wind up.

For grooming that is mostly good news. A dog this size that has been taught to stand, be handled and accept a dryer from puppyhood is a straightforward appointment.

What causes trouble is a dog with no outlet. These are working dogs in a compact package, and an under-exercised one is difficult on a table in the way an under-exercised Border Collie is.

Some are also noise sensitive, and dryers are loud. Introduce the sound at home early and gradually rather than at a salon.

Nails every three to four weeks, and keep the hair between the pads cleared, which matters on an agile dog that turns hard on smooth floors.

Ears are drop ears with feathering, so weekly lift, look and smell, and keep the hair around the opening trimmed.

The breed is generally healthy and long lived at twelve to fifteen years, so a routine set up in puppyhood is one that runs a long time.

What to tell your groomer

Say whether the dog has been MDR1 tested and what the result was, and say it before any sedation or parasite product is discussed.

Say the coat is never clipped, including in summer, and ask for a deshedding groom instead.

Point out the mane, behind the ears, under the collar and the britches as where it mats.

Say if the dog is deaf, or largely white with blue eyes and untested, so nobody approaches it from behind with a dryer.

Mention noise sensitivity if the dog has it, since dryers are the usual trigger.

Ask for pads cleared, sanitary trimmed and the hocks neatened, and nothing else cut.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Miniature American Shepherd