Imagine you were looking for a dog that was SUPER smart, EASY to train and Loyal to a fault. If these where the three traits that were most important for you, you’d probably take a really hard look at perhaps adopting an Australian Shepherd or a Labrador Retriever. But what if you combined the two, into one dog?
“Behold we give you the Aussiedor!”
The Aussiedor…
Is yet another example of a new trend that is going on within the “dog breeding” community where responsible dog breeders are choosing to “mix and match” some of the more common and popular dog breeds out there with each other.
The purpose…
Of combining these different dog breeds isn’t to simply “have fun” and see what you can get, it’s to attempt to help certain breeds which over time have been “over breed” to the point where breed is becoming pretty “unhealthy” as a whole.
Commonly referred to…
As “designer dogs” or “hybrid dogs”, these new breeds attempt to “capture” the best qualities of each breed while avoiding many of the common aliments that are known to be an issue with each individual breed on their own.
And while…
In some cases, the result is a disaster, in the case of the Aussiedor, most Aussiedor owners couldn’t be happier. Which is why, the Aussiedor is currently experiencing quite a bit of success within the United States and is beginning to “pop-up” just about everywhere.
But this doesn’t mean…
That an Aussiedor is automatically going to be the right “type” of dog for you. This is why in this article, we wanted to take a moment and describe some of the pros and cons of owning a Aussiedor so that by the time you’re done reading our article you may have a better idea if this particular dog breed will be right for you.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it.
Aussiedor Fast Facts
Country of Origin: Unknown
Original Purpose: Companionship
Height: Can vary but typically 22 to 25 inches tall
Weight: 40 to 80 pounds.
Category of dog breed: Not officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC)… yet!
“Type” of dog: Hybrid or Designer dog.
Linage: Australian Shepherd and Labrador Retriever.
Origin of the Aussiedor.
This Australian Shepherd Lab mix is, as the name suggests, a mix between the Australian Shepherd and a Labrador Retriever. And since… the American Kennel Club (AKC) doesn’t officially recognize the Aussiedor as a separate dog breed (or any other hybrid or designer dog for that matter) the “official” origin of this particular dog breed remains somewhat a mystery.
What we can assume…
By it’s popularity within the United States is that the breed probably originated here, but until we know for sure, we don’t want to “ruffle any feathers” with any dog breeders out there throughout the world who may or may not believe they were the first!
What we can tell you…
Is that this “breed” is a relatively new one so there’s a very good chance that the “first” person who decided to “give it a go” is probably still out there creating more Aussiedors as we speak!
Characteristics of Aussiedors.
Describing the characteristics of any hybrid or designer dog can often times be a bit difficult. This is because when you take two totally different dogs and breed them together, the results can vary pretty significantly
Some of these Aussie pups…
May tend to favor the Australian Shepherd, with a long coat that’s straight. While other Aussies look more like the labs with shorter hair. That’s the thing with hybrid breed dogs; they can have genetic variations – but that’s what makes it interesting, right?!
That said however…
You can assume that by “mixing” these two breeds that your Aussidor puppy will probably grow to a height of approximately 22 to 25 inches tall and will most likely weigh somewhere around 40 to 80 pounds. So they’re not going to be too BIG or too small.
Buyer Beware!
Because Aussiedor puppies are so adorable, puppy mills are always in stock!
Which means that if you do decide that you want to purchase a Aussiedor puppy you’ll need to be extremely vigilant that you don’t end up buying one from an irresponsible breeder or an actual puppy mill! Usually puppy mill dogs have a lot of problems, so always choose a legitimate breeder. Besides, you don’t want to support the cruel industry the puppy mills!
Personality of an Aussiedor
Now it’s true that just about every dog is going to have his or her own unique personality, and the environment that this dog is raised in is also going to play a HUGE role in the development of your dog. That said however, there is a reason why dog breeders chose to mix Australian Shepherds with Labrador Retrievers… they’re both great dog to own!
So…
What you can expect is that your Aussidor is going to be a great family pet, that will be very affectionate and extremely loyal. In general, they lover to be with people and don’t like being left alone for all that long.
They’re also…
Going to want to live indoors with you and the family and while they will certainly want to get their exercise, they are not going to be happy for long if they are left outside in the yard all day.
Aussiedor puppies also…
Need to be socialized and trained early on so that the information will “stick”. Otherwise, it may be an uphill battle to try to get them to change later. As the saying goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – you can’t teach an adult Aussiedor dog how to behave but its going to be WAY more DIFFICULT that it would be if you just started them off right as a pup!
Aussie Shepadors (as some people like to call them)….
Are active little puppies and stay that way into adulthood.
Which means that…
If you want a dog that mostly likes to hang at home on the couch doing not a whole lot of anything, this is not the dog for you! You will need to give your Australian Shepherd mix around an hour of exercise a day – and you’ll actually need to be involved. Throwing a ball, letting him or run around, or any other standard dog exercise. It should be noted that despite that these dogs are quite active, they can still be mellow and enjoy a bit of down time. But that “mellow” side usually only makes an appearance after you have given him or her a chance to blow of some steam!
Now if you’re thinking…
You might not be able to provide your Aussiedor with all the exercise that he or she needs, consider this… Aussidors are not the only Lab or Shepherd mixes out there. So, if you are considering an Aussie Shepherd Lab mix but haven’t made up your mind yet, you may want to look into other lab mixes like a Lab terrier mix or a Golden Shepherd mix (a golden retriever and a German Shepherd). There are a lot of mixes that involve either a shepherd or a lab!
Health Concerns for an Aussiedor Dog
Because this is a hybrid dog, this is fairly healthy dog with a low risk of serious health problems. Most can be avoided if you get a good breeder who has the Aussiedor puppy’s parents info.
However, Aussiedors may still develop one of the medical problems common to Australian Shepherds or Labrador Retrievers, since it’s in the genes. This is why you’ll want to be on the lookout for any one of the following conditions:
- Hip Dysplasia: Let us reiterate, this is a very low risk. However, in the event your dog faces this, you’re looking at medical expenses of up to $6500.
- Autoimmune Thyroiditis: This is another low risk health problem. Depending on how your vet decides to treat it, it could involve surgery, radiation and a lifetime of medication. This will add up; over the course of your dog’s life it could cost as much as $7000.
- Cataracts: How and if you treat cataracts in your dog’s eyes is up to you (but, really, if you can, why wouldn’t you?). Some people do choose to let a dog suffer with impaired sight, but if you’re on this page we believe you probably aren’t one of those people! To fix cataracts could coast about $2000-3000 per eye.
As you can see, the cost of having an Aussiedor can add up before you even know it. You may be lucky and have a totally healthy pup, but what if you don’t?
This is why…
We here at IndulgeYourPet always recommend that any new pet owner take a moment and see what it would cost to purchase a pet insurance policy so that if anything goes wrong you won’t be responsible for 100% of the costs associated with treating your new family member.
Now will a…
Pet insurance policy be right for everyone? No of course not, but without knowing exactly what it would cost you, how will you know if you should or shouldn’t at least consider one?
For more information on who we believe currently offers the “best” pet insurance policies out there, we would encourage you to check out our article Best Pet Insurance Companies.
Great info! We picked up our Aussiedor pup 2 weeks ago and she’s just the best!!! Been catching on quick and gets along with the family (and young children) great 🙂
We got our Aussiedor in 2001 before they were the in thing. We paid $50 and that included a steel crate. She lived 14 years. Best dog ever.
We have a pair of aussiedor border collie mixed pups that are currently about 18 months old. While they are quite the high energy pair, we wouldn’t trade them for the world. But, a cautionary note for anyone considering this combination, as stated in this article any training done EARLY has a much better chance of “sticking “