I'm leaving to live on my own soon and desperatley want a companion to take with me. My ideal dog would be small. My favorite small breed is the Miniature Australian Shepard. If anyone has any information on breeders in the uk it would be most appreciated, as so far i have been unsuccessful on my own.
Thankyou
Caroline
Derbyshire

This question has been asked before, and, to the best of my knowledge, there are no REPUTABLE breeders breeding miniature Australian shepherds here!

Margot

Well, I suspect that would depend on what you mean by reputable. I know of several who always get health clearances on their dogs (eyes, hips, patellas, thyroids, etc. as necessary), actively participate in conformation, herding and agility and can spend years planning a single cross. True, acceptance of the mini variety in the US is mixed at best, however, some inroads have been made to the larger Aussie fancy and the next ed. of All About Aussies contains a chapter devoted to the smaller dogs. That said, there are admittedly far too many disreputable breeders of "minis" who seem to be interested more in extra spending cash then the welfare of the dogs.

I also think that purchasing a dog long distance becomes even more difficult when international regulations come into play. There are a number of breeders in Germany, for example, but w/ a few exceptions, the quality of the minis is considered to be rather poor and based on more "backyard bred" type lines.

There aren't any in the UK, and the person would either have to put the dog through 6 months quaratine, or wait out the PET passport waiting time, meaning the dog woudl need to be kept by the breder until 10 months old.  I think the poster would be better off with a Sheltie (easily available) or standard size Ausie in the UK :D

To My knowledge NO mini aussie breeders, however if you e-mail me at roxanne@roanjora.co.uk I could give you some names of breeders who breed slightly smaller dogs, although still with breed standard for the normal aussie, or how about considering a shetland shepdog or find another breed more popular in the UK that you like.  www.the-kennel-club.org.uk has lists of all the breeds with a picture and their breed standard.

I hope there are no mini aussie breeders in the UK !!!!!!!!

Caroline, if you want to e-mail me, I run the puppy list for ASCUK and have details of any puppies available, of breeders that are members of the club and adhere to the code of ethics....
My e-mail address is KJSHEPHERDS@aol.com

Julie