Aussiedoodle

Overview

The Aussiedoodle fuses two of dogdom's sharpest minds (Australian Shepherd and Poodle) into an often blue-merle athlete that learns anything and demands a job doing it. It is emphatically NOT a couch doodle: under-exercised Aussiedoodles invent employment you won't approve of.

A designer cross: the Aussiedoodle is an Australian Shepherd × Poodle mix, not a standardised breed - individuals vary more than purebreds, in coat, size and temperament alike. No study has measured how long this cross lives; for the parent breeds the AKC lists 12-15 years (Australian Shepherd) and 10-18 years (Poodle).

History & Origins

A cross breeding herding brains into the doodle format; popular with active and sport-dog homes.

PetMD dates the first Aussiedoodles to the 1990s, alongside the Goldendoodle, Cockapoo and Labradoodle. The Australian Shepherd parent is an American breed despite its name: the AKC traces it to the herding dogs of Basque shepherds, who moved from the Pyrenees to Australia and then to California, where ranchers assumed the dogs were Australian. The breed entered the AKC Herding Group in 1993.

Appearance

10-30 kg by Poodle parent; coats wavy to curly in merles, tricolours and solids - the blue-merle-with-blue-eyes combination drives much of the demand. Typical size: Medium, 10-30 kg. Coat: Wavy-curly, often merle, low-shed (varies).

In the Royal Kennel Club (UK) standard, Australian Shepherd dogs stand 51-58 cm and bitches 46-53 cm, with a medium-length coat, straight to slightly wavy, over an undercoat; blue merle and red merle are among the breed's colours. Standard Poodles stand over 38 cm and Miniatures between 28 and 38 cm. The Royal Kennel Club registers merle dogs only in breeds where the colour traditionally appears and does not register puppies from merle-to-merle matings.

Temperament & Character

Brilliant, busy, attentive and velcro-loyal; herding instincts can surface as heel-nipping at running children and bicycle opinions. Channel the brain or it channels itself.

Care

Serious daily exercise AND mental work - fetch alone won't cut it; they want training games, puzzle feeders, trick sessions, dog sports. Coat: the standard doodle brushing-and-clip contract.

Health & Lifespan

Like every cross here, the Aussiedoodle has no measured lifespan of its own; the parent breeds' AKC figures are in the overview.

Two parent-breed issues stand out. The first is merle: dogs that inherit the merle variant from both parents have an increased risk of eye and ear problems, causing blindness and/or deafness, according to the Royal Kennel Club, and an AKC article cites one study in which about 56 percent of double-merle Australian Shepherds were deaf in both ears. The second is the MDR1 gene mutation, which can cause severe reactions to some common medications; Washington State University's laboratory gives an approximate frequency of 50% in Australian Shepherds and says mixed breeds can carry it too.

The AKC lists hip, elbow and eye evaluations as the Australian Shepherd club's recommended tests and names epilepsy, cataracts and certain cancers among the breed's concerns. PetMD's Aussiedoodle page adds thyroid disease, sebaceous adenitis, joint dysplasia and bloat. Questions about testing or medicines are for your vet; we only report what these sources say.

Feeding & Nutrition

Quality food portioned to an athletic metabolism; lean always.

Training & Socialisation

Among the most trainable dogs alive - agility, obedience, tricks, scent work all come fast. That capacity is a responsibility: an untrained Aussiedoodle is a bored genius with your sofa.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Off-the-charts intelligence
• Spectacular merle looks
• Superb sport and adventure dog
• Devoted to its people

Cons

• Exercise/stimulation needs are real and daily
• Herding nips need managing
• Bored = destructive
• Not for sedentary homes

Best Suited For

• Runners, hikers, sport-dog homes
• Experienced engaged owners
• Families with active older kids
• People who WANT to train daily

Sources

• PetMD, Aussiedoodle: first bred in the 1990s; health issues: petmd.com
• AKC, Australian Shepherd: history, health and recommended tests: akc.org
• Royal Kennel Club, Australian Shepherd breed standard: size, coat and colour: royalkennelclub.com
• Royal Kennel Club, Poodle (Standard) and Poodle (Miniature) breed standards: royalkennelclub.com
• Royal Kennel Club, What is merle?: registration rules and health risk: royalkennelclub.com
• AKC, What makes the merle in dog coats: double merle and deafness: akc.org
• Washington State University, MDR1 in dogs: breed frequencies: waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu

Sources opened and checked on 16 October 2026.