Mini Aussie Puppies are here! Born 4-7-24 ready June 1. Visit available page for
info!
Check out or video below of hiking off leash with our dogs in the NC woods!
The photo above was taken on our January Hike on the beautiful Mountain to the Sea Trail. Remember, if you adopt your dog from us you are invited to our hikes.
Piper came to vist all the way from Michigan. She is headed to FLA for the winter. Piper is the red merle with two blue eyes. Our lil' red Nicky was enchanted! Piper is 11" tall and 11 pounds but she is one tough little cookie! She is a certified therapy dog and knows tons of tricks. Please enjoy the slideshow of our dogs in a rare Raleigh Snow! These photos were taken 1/8/17
Piper came to vist all the way from Michigan. She is headed to FLA for the winter. Piper is the red merle with two blue eyes. Our lil' red Nicky was enchanted! Piper is 11" tall and 11 pounds but she is one tough little cookie! She is a certified therapy dog and knows tons of tricks. Please enjoy the slideshow of our dogs in a rare Raleigh Snow! These photos were taken 1/8/17
Welcome to our website!!! Pictured above going over the purple jump is Kaleidoscope Tonka who competes in agility and is a son of Shep. He has been skillfully trained for flyball as well as you can see on our dogs in action page. Pictured above and left is also a son of Shep who is competing in agility. Hermes has a long full tail you just cannot see it in the jumping picture. Pictured below is the result of a small impromptu get together to celebrate Dasher's visit from California and Ace's stay while his family is away. We got several of their relatives together for a little party the evening of 7/22. Ace is a son of Trixie and Shep. Dasher is a son of Bobby and Bette. Bette is a daughter of Trixie and Shep. Blitzen is Dasher's sister and Ace's niece. Repo (now Honey) is Shep's half sister... So much fun to get the families together! Sept 10 was our big annual reunion. If you ever adopted a dog from us, Aussie or Eskie, you are welcome at all of our events!! Next Annual reunion Oct 14, 2017!
We specialize in raising mini and toy aussies for companion, sport and therapy/service homes with natural bob tails or long/natural tails! We do not cut tails. Pups keep what they were born with. If you get a puppy from us with no tail it is because he or she was born that way.
Welcome to Kaleidoscope Toy and Miniature Australian Shepherds located in Raleigh, NC! Miniature Australian Shepherds are also known as mini aussies, North American Shepherds, Mini North American Shepherds, Toy Australian Shepherds, Toy Aussies, Mini Aussies, Pocket Aussies, Saddle Bag Aussies, California Shepherds, Miniature American Shepherds etc. We chose the name Kaleidoscope because "Aussies" of all sizes come in such a wide range of colors and patterns. They are truly unique. No two are exactly alike and there is something for everybody! From rich glistening black tri's with copper points and white trim, to red tris with their red noses and eye rims, to patchwork blue and red merles and everything in between. And those eyes! Brown, blue, green, and more, often with flecks of color. To the left is a picture of "Shep" He is a blue eyed black tri. He is 13" tall. Our little aussies are cherished members of our family, wonderful house dogs, companion dogs, hiking partners, ball fetchers and lap warmers.
Our little Aussies are more than just beautiful little works of art. (Check them all out on our adults page.) They are smart, sweet, athletic and trainable. They are small enough to fit in your lap, but robust enough to be rough and tumble playmates for the kids. They are "big dogs in little dog bodies." They are athletic enough to do sports such as flyball and agility, and sweet enough to be loving companions. With over 15 years of showing dogs in conformation and racing them in flyball and agility, we are breeding for health and longevity, correct breed type, sturdy structure, good movement, correct color and sweet personalities and hope that some of our pups will find their way into the "show" world.
Don't be fooled by the "toy" in the name. Did you know, "mini" Aussies are a minimum of 14" at the shoulder and can weigh 30 pounds or more? Any Aussies under that size are considered "toys". Ours are not to be confused with tiny fragile toy lap dogs. We strive to raise toy dogs in the 12-15 pound range and mini's in the 20-30 pound range. We feel this size is the perfect all around size. Although the A.K.C. does not recognize the toy Aussie (yet, maybe someday?) but does recognize the mini (as the North American Shepherd), you CAN show your toy Aussie in other breed show venues if that is your wish. And while most standards prefer a tail that is docked at birth (some are born with naturally bobbed tails, but most are not) we promote Aussies with natural tails and all of our bob tail pups were born that way. We do not chop off tails for fashion. Our hope is that one day the standard for the breed accepts Aussies with tails as equals to their mutilated counterparts so tail docking will no longer be necessary to show or compete with Aussies of any size.
Our little Aussies are more than just beautiful little works of art. (Check them all out on our adults page.) They are smart, sweet, athletic and trainable. They are small enough to fit in your lap, but robust enough to be rough and tumble playmates for the kids. They are "big dogs in little dog bodies." They are athletic enough to do sports such as flyball and agility, and sweet enough to be loving companions. With over 15 years of showing dogs in conformation and racing them in flyball and agility, we are breeding for health and longevity, correct breed type, sturdy structure, good movement, correct color and sweet personalities and hope that some of our pups will find their way into the "show" world.
Don't be fooled by the "toy" in the name. Did you know, "mini" Aussies are a minimum of 14" at the shoulder and can weigh 30 pounds or more? Any Aussies under that size are considered "toys". Ours are not to be confused with tiny fragile toy lap dogs. We strive to raise toy dogs in the 12-15 pound range and mini's in the 20-30 pound range. We feel this size is the perfect all around size. Although the A.K.C. does not recognize the toy Aussie (yet, maybe someday?) but does recognize the mini (as the North American Shepherd), you CAN show your toy Aussie in other breed show venues if that is your wish. And while most standards prefer a tail that is docked at birth (some are born with naturally bobbed tails, but most are not) we promote Aussies with natural tails and all of our bob tail pups were born that way. We do not chop off tails for fashion. Our hope is that one day the standard for the breed accepts Aussies with tails as equals to their mutilated counterparts so tail docking will no longer be necessary to show or compete with Aussies of any size.
Stuff to do with your new little Aussie
First and foremost, Aussies of all sizes make great companions for active families. But if you want to do something more, there is a world of competitive choices. Our dogs are registered with ASDR, the American Stock Dog Registry, and some of our dogs are registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) as "minature American Shepherd" The name has changed but the breed is the same. The ASDR recognizes points and titles you achieve through IABACA, ICKC, ARBA, MASCA and NAKC. ASDR offers shows and will have Conformation, Agility, Rally Obedience, Herding and Canine Good Citizen offered at their shows. Aussies of all sizes also excel at Flyball and the toys and small minis are prized as "height dogs" in this sport.Please visit ASDR's website for more information on showing your Aussie. Aussies of all sizes are trainable with a "can do" attitude. Here is a link to the ASDR breed "standard" or blueprint for all sizes from Toy to Standard. Notice that toy Aussies with tails can show in conformation along with Aussies with docked tails. http://www.americanstockdog.org/breeds.php
Health Concerns
Like all breeds, Toy Australian Shepherds come with some inherited health problems. Especially problems relating to their eyes. Fortunately, there are genetic tests for these problems and any responsible breeder will screen for PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy which causes blindness usually later in life.) HC (Hereditary Cataracts that can cause blindness in young dogs.) and other various eye problems that can be detected in a CERF test that all breeding dogs should have before ever producing a litter. In addition, they can be sensitive to certain common drugs and medications. A genetic test called MDR-1 will let a breeder know if their dogs are affected with this problem. So please, choose your breeder wisely. We feel any breeder who does not screen for these problems should be avoided. You will hear things like, "those problems are not in my lines," or "we have never had a blind dog" etc. Believe me, after having a delightful mini Aussie for 17 years and deciding to get involved in breeding on a small scale it was very disheartening and frustrating trying to find tested dogs in the size range we wanted. Some of the biggest kennels that show and have multiple champions do not test. Most of these tests are relatively inexpensive and easy to take with a simple cheek swab that any breeder can perform at home and send off to the lab. It was hard to walk away from some of those "champion" dogs for sale and their puppies, but I personally refused to go with anyone breeding who is not testing their dogs, or who would not "test on demand" a dog or puppy we were considering. I hope if you do not choose one of our dogs you will do the same in your quest for a new family member. If a breeder cannot show you DNA test results keep shopping!
Can you guess how big Shep (pictured above) is? He looks like a big dog because he is so perfectly balanced. Each part fits together. He is only 13 pounds and 13" at the shoulder! He is a Toy Australian Shepherd. Shep is a blue eyed black tri and he has given us wonderful puppies.