Red Forrest Australian Shepherds (2024)

FAQs

What is the rarest Aussie coat color? ›

Solid red is the rarest color of official AKC-recognized Australian Shepherds, which only makes them more precious.

Some breeders may charge more for certain colors due to their rarity or popularity among buyers. For example, blue merle Australian Shepherds are often considered more desirable and therefore might be priced higher than other colors.

Red is the rarest color in Aussies generally, although the red merle coat is one of the more common red-colored coats in the breed.

Merle Aussies should never be bred to each other, and usually these puppies are the result of irresponsible breeders, who are ignorant of this common genetic occurrence. Breeders know they can sell merle puppies at a high price because they are in high demand.

You can determine whether a black dog is red factored several ways: If it has a liver parent or offspring, by doing a DNA test, or by breeding it to a liver colored dog to see if you get liver puppies.

A blue merle is a black dog with the merle pattern; a red merle is a liver dog with the merle pattern. All the merle gene does is determine whether or not a dog is merle. This gene is an incomplete dominant. Two dominant copies produce a “double merle” which will most likely have serious eye defects and may be deaf.

Coat: Medium double coat in striking colors (blue merle, red merle, black, or red). Temperament: Intelligent, active, energetic, and eager to please. Exercise Needs: High—requires mental stimulation and physical activity. Social: Polite with strangers, adaptable with proper socialization.

The Australian Shepherd is considered a generally healthy breed with a long lifespan of 12 to 15 years, however, like all purebred dogs, they can be predisposed to several health conditions such as: Hip and elbow dysplasia.

They do sometimes tend to pick a favorite person, but are generally affectionate to their entire families. A working dog at heart, the Aussie has a built-in affinity for herding. In fact, he may even try to herd his human pals!

Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle) typically display little to no merle pattern and some may be misclassified as non-merles. The cryptic merle alleles occur in the lower end of the range (typically from 200-255, however, this range and designation varies by study).

How do I tell if my aussie is double merle? ›

A dog that inherits two dominant versions of M is a double merle. In Australian Shepherds these dogs usually will have excessive amounts of white, be deaf in one or both ears, and have serious and generally blinding eye defects. In a few severe cases the eyes have been missing altogether.

This makes it appear as if the dog is looking in the wrong direction. A starburst pupil happens when an improperly formed pupil looks as if it is sending out rays into the surrounding iris.

The albino cat is the rarest of all coat types.

Yellow is probably the second most common nonstandard color in the Aussie breed. Inherited as a recessive at the E locus, it restricts the dog's body pigment and will obscure the tan point pattern if present.

Golden Aussies are a cross between a Golden Retriever and Australian Shepherd. Sometimes referred to Australian Retrievers, they're fun, loving family dogs which are quickly growing in popularity due to their good temperaments and trainability.