Life Span:	12-15 years
Litter Size:	6 - 9 puppies - Average is about 7
Group:	Livestock/Herding; The Herding Group.
Recognized By:	CKC, FCI, AKC, UKC, ANKC, NKC, NZKC, APRI, ACR
Color:	Blue merle, red merle, black, and red. Each of these colors may also have tan points on the eyebrows, cheeks, and/or legs; thus also creating a black tri and red tri color variations.
Hair Length:	Medium
Size:	Large
Shedding:	Moderate Shed
Male Height:	20-23 inches at the withers
Male Weight:	50-65 pounds
Female Height:	18-21 inches at the withers
Female Weight:	40-55 pounds
Living Area:	Not recommended for living in the city. They need a large fenced in yard and open country.

About this Breed

Sometimes referred to as "ghost eye", the eyes can either be green, hazel, amber, brown, or blue. They may also have bi-colored eyes (each eye is a different color), split eyes (eye is half-green, half-brown), or merled eyes (one color is mixed in and swirled with another); any of these colors are accepted. The eyes should be expressive, almond-shaped, and well-defined. Their eye rim color is vital in avoiding flying hooves, as it absorbs sunlight and reflects the suns' rays away from the eyes; black and liver rims are best. Blue merles, blacks, and black-tri colored dogs will usually have black noses, while the red merles, reds, and red-tri colored dogs, will have liver noses. Merles are allowed small pink spots on their nose, but must not make up more than 25%. The skull ranges from flat to slightly domed shaped with a well-defined stop. The length and width should be equal, with the overall size in proportion to the rest of the body. The ears should be triangular in shape, and rounded at the tip; they should be long enough for the tips to reach the inside corner of the eye. Teeth are to meet in either a scissors or level bite. The tail can either be straight, docked, or naturally bobbed; it should be no more than 4 inches long. Since tails are docked anyways, they are not necessarily breed for, which can result in having puppies born with wide varieties of tail length. Breeders will usually dock tails at 2-3 days of age. The shoulders are well laid back, long, and flat, and lay fairly close to the withers. The neck is slightly arched of medium length, well set into the shoulders in proportioned to the body. The chest is long and deep, with well-sprung ribs that help increase lung capacity. The topline is flat and level. The front legs should be strong, straight, and oval-shaped. Removal of dewclaws on the front legs are optional, but must be removed from the rear legs; this is done between 2-3 days of age as well. The feet are oval shaped, compact, with well-arched toes; the pads should be black or liver.