General Appearance: The Australian Shepherd is an intelligent working dog of strong herding and guarding instincts. He is a loyal companion and has the stamina to work all day. He is well balanced, slightly longer than tall of medium size and bone, with coloring that offers variety and individuality. He is attentive and animated, lithe and agile, solid and muscular without cloddiness. He has a coat of moderate length and coarseness. He has a docked or natural bobbed tail.

Size, Proportion, Substance:
Size: The preferred height for males is 20-23 inches and females 18-21 inches. Quality is not to be sacrificed in favor of size.
Proportion: Measuring from the breastbone to rear of thigh and from top of the withers to the ground the Australian Shepherd is slightly longer than tall.
Substance: Solidly built with moderate bone. Structure in the male reflects masculinity without coarseness. Bitches appear feminine without being slight of bone.

Head: The head must be moderate and in balance with other proportions of the dog, yet strong enough to protect the dog from injury while working livestock. It should not be coarse or snipy in appearance. The sex of the dog should be clearly evident  by looking at the head.In measurement, the width and length of the skull should be approximately the same as that of the length of the muzzle.The major features of the head should  transition smoothly together without abrupt stops or hard angles. The planes of the skull should be slightly oblique to each other. This structure  reduces the potential for injury should a hoof  graze off the skull while working in close quarters.The topskull is flat to slightly curved between the ears. It should not  appear domed.  The backskull connects smoothly into the muzzle with a moderate, but definite stop.The foreface is well filled in under the eyes, tapering gradually to form a medium length muzzle shaped like an oblique wedge. The  underjaw should be well developed without being squared off. The skin of the head should be tight fitting, without any evidence of loose flews, drooping lids or wrinkling about the cheek and muzzle.The lips of the Australian Shepherd are to be tight and clean, without excessive looseness at the corners or overhanging flews at the front of the mouth. A significantly wet mouth resulting from loose lips is undesirable.

Eyes: The eyes of the Australian Shepherd should be almond-shaped and obliquely set. This type of eye shape and set offers more protection and is less likely to sustain injury.Round, protruding eyes are much more likely to be damaged in normal daily activities and so are to be faulted. They also detract from the expression of the breed, giving a startled appearance rather than an attentive one. Eye color is irrelevant in the Australian Shepherd and the breed enjoys a wide variety of color variations which adds to the individuality of each specimen. Blue eyes, brown eyes, amber eyes, bi colored eyes (one of each), and marbled or split colored eyes are equally acceptable. It should be noted that eye color does affect expression and can give the illusion of different shapes. A blue eye and lighter amber eyes can appear rounder because the entire iris is quite distinct, so some effort should be made to determine the actual eye shape when looking at light colored eyes. Special attention is given to the placement and shape of the pupil because of the historical occurance of an eye defect called an iris coloboma in this breed, particularly in merles. An iris coloboma is often seen as a notched or missing section of the iris. If near the pupil, it will give the pupil a keyhole or oblong shape. A perfectly round, centered pupil is the only acceptable shape

Ears:The ears should be of moderate size, triangular in shape, and set high up on the side of the skull. The base of the ear leather should originate slightly above eye level.  There should be some lift at the base to allow for air circulation, while breaking over enough to offer protection from foreign objects. The correct ear leather size should reach the inside corner of the nearest eye. There should be no discrimination between different, corect ear sets! Prick and hound type ears are severely faultedbecause they detract from overall breed type and make the ears susceptible to health issues. A heavy, hanging ear holds in moisture and dirt and inhibits sound while an upright ear opens the canal to debris while working. There are no actual disqualification's for inappropriate ear sets because they have no significant bearing on the most important aspect of the breed, it's ability to work livestock.

Neck, Body:The neck should be firmly muscled without being thick and cloddy. It is moderate in length with a slight arch at the crest. The skin is firm and tight, without evidence of loose folds or dewlap hanging from the throat. The arch may be more evident on males and on dogs with more neck coat.The head and neck are carried slightly forward of the shoulders while standing and are carried slightly above horizontal when in motion.The correct neck length and set are determined by the proper shoulder placement and angulation. Straight shoulders will result in a short, thick neck lacking the proper flexibility. An excessively long neck will be weak.The neck and withers should merge smoothly into the topline. The back is level and strong, without evidence of a sag or roach (convex arch) The topline should be evaluated while the dog is standing in a natural four square stance and should be slightly shorter than the length of the bottomline.The chest should offer enough depth and width to comfortably hold the body organs and allow for proper lung expansion during exertion.  The deepest part of the chest should be just behind the front legs and level with the elbows. From the lowest point, the bottomline should gradually rise into a moderate tuck-up at the flank.The ribcage should be oval shaped with appropriate spring of rib to provide the most room while still allowing freedom of movement along the side of the rib cage.A shallow chest allows the elbows to slide inward towards the body causing the entire front leg assembly to move too closely and resulting in the interference of correct forward motion.A barrel or rounded chest interferes with the range of motion, forcing the elbows to swing out and around the body.Flattened or slab sided ribs (lacking spring) do not offer enough breadth of chest to accomodate good lung capacity.The loin (coupling) should be well-muscled and strong. The loin is the pivot point of a dog's back and requires both flexibility and strength.The croup should should slope moderately from the point of the hip bone to the point of the buttock.The tail should be naturally bobbed or docked and must not exceed four inches. Absolutely no preference should be given between different tail lengths under four inches.

Teeth: The Australian Shepherd should have forty two (42) strong, functional teeth that meet in a scissors bite.
In a scissors bite, the lower incisors should close immediately behind the upper incisors. A scissors bite is ideal for the Australian Shepherd  because it creates the least amount of wear, offers the most support and allows for a proper pinching grip of livestock .An even bite is acceptable as it is still functional, but is faulted because it offers less structural support and the incisors are subject to greater wear. The alignment of teeth is best determined by looking at relationship between the canine and molars as well as that of the incisors. In a true scissors bite the lower canines should lie exactly between the upper outside incisors and upper canines, yet touching neither. Pre-molar crown tips should meet in a saw-tooth manner, with the tips of the lower pre-molars pointing to a space between the upper pre-molars.A prudent judge will check all areas of the bite, not just the relationship of the incisors when determining alignment. This is an active, working breed and teeth are subject to breakage. A dog presenting teeth broken or missing by accident should never be penalized. These should be differentiated from genetically missing teeth.The majority of genetically missing teeth in the Australian Shepherd will be the pre-molars, although the occasional molar or incisor may be missing. Genetically missing teeth weaken the overall jaw structure and leave the mouth subject to injury. The more missing teeth, the weaker the entire jaw structure will be. The Australian Shepherd ideally has full dentition. Genetically missing teeth should be penalized in accordance to the number missing

Gait: The Australian Shepherd has a smooth, free and easy gait. He exhibits great agility of movement with a well-balanced, ground covering stride. Fore and hind legs move straight and parallel with the center line of the body. As speed increases, the feet (front and rear) converge toward the center line of gravity of the dog while the back remains firm and level. The Australian Shepherd must be agile and able to change direction or alter gait instantly.

Temperament: The Australian Shepherd is an intelligent active dog with an even disposition, he is good natured, seldom quarrelsome. They may be somewhat reserved in initial meetings.

Faults: Any display of shyness, fear or aggression is to be severely penalized.

Disqualifications: Undershot. Overshot greater than 1/8 inch. White body splashes, which means white on body between withers and tail, on sides between elbows and back of hindquarters in all colors