The Australian Shepherd Lab Mix (Some Surprising Facts)

If you had to choose between an Australian Shepherd and Labrador Retriever, which would you pick? It’s a tough choice, we know.

Whoever created the Australian Shepherd Lab Mix must’ve thought the same thing — because hey, they bred this dog!

Even though the Australian Shepherd and Labrador Retriever are both famous, we don’t know much about their crossbred offspring.

What does the Australian Shepherd Lab Mix look like?
Does it take after its Australian Shepherd parent or its Labrador Retriever parent?
Is it true that being a crossbreed, the Australian Shepherd Lab Mix is healthier than either of its parents?
What kind of owner would be the best fit for this pooch?

All that and more will be answered below.

What you will learn:

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All About The Australian Shepherd Lab Mix

What Is An Australian Shepherd Lab Mix?

The name says it all: The Australian Shepherd Lab Mix is a cross between an Australian Shepherd and Labrador Retriever.

Other names for this dog are Aussiedor, Australian Sheprador, Labrador Australian Shepherd Mix, Lab Aussie Mix, Aussie Sheprador and Sheprador.

Since most of those names are a mouthful, you’ll often hear people refer to this pooch as an “Aussiedor” and “Sheprador.”

Four organizations officially recognize the Aussiedor: the American Canine Hybrid Club (ACHC), the Dog Registry of America, Inc. (DRA), the Designer Dogs Kennel Club (DDKC) and the International Designer Canine Registry (IDCR).

All of them refer to the Lab Aussie Mix as a “Sheprador,” except for the IDCR, which refers to the dog as the “Australian Sheprador.”

The Lab Aussie Mix as a Crossbreed/Designer Breed

When it comes to dogs like the Sheprador, it’s important to be clear about the distinction between a crossbreed/designer breed and a mutt.

A “mutt” is a dog who has one or more mixed breed parents. For example, if the Sheprador mated with a Labrador, the result wouldn’t be a “75 percent Labrador, 25 percent Australian Shepherd.” That would be a mutt.

In contrast, crossbreeds or designer breeds have parents who belong to different breeds and are both purebred.

So, the Lab Aussie Mix is a crossbreed, since he’s the offspring of a purebred Labrador and a purebred Australian Shepherd.

By these definitions, you cannot create a Sheprador by crossing two Shepradors together.

The parents have to be one pure Labrador and one pure Australian Shepherd.

What Does An Aussiedor Look Like?

The interesting thing about designer dogs is that they have no uniform appearance.

A Sheprador, for instance, can take after his Labrador or Aussie Shepherd parent.

That said, looking at the common characteristics of the Labrador and Aussie can give you a good idea on how to determine if a puppy is an Aussiedor.

For starters, both the Labrador and Aussie have double coats.

The outer coat protects the dog from the elements, while the undercoat keeps the dog warm.

Since both breeds have this type of coat, it’s likely their offspring will have the double coat too.

Ears also look uniform across Aussiedors. Both Aussies and Labradors have floppy, triangle-shaped ears, so you can expect the same ear shape in their offspring.

The Australian Shepherd size can reach up to 58 cm (23 in) at the shoulder, while the Lab stands up to 62 cm (24.5 in).

That being the case, expect your Shepherd Lab Mix to be more or less the same height.

Aussiedor colors vary widely. He can take after his Labrador parent, who is black, chocolate or yellow.

Or he can inherit the coloration of his Aussie parent, who is red, black, red merle or blue merle.

Speaking of merle, you might want to stay away from Lab Shepherd Mixes sold by breeders who breed double merle Aussies.

Dogs that have two copies of the merle gene tend to suffer from deafness and eye diseases.

If your Aussiedor has a parent with the double merle gene, chances are he’ll inherit his parent’s genetic disorders too.

Lab Australian Shepherd Mix Temperament

Personality-wise, the Aussie and Labrador have a few things in common.

Since the Aussie is a herding dog, and the Labrador is a retriever, both of them need constant physical activity.

In other words, if you’re the sedentary laidback type, you might want to think twice before having a Lab Shepherd Mix on board.

However, there are differences between Labrador and Aussie temperaments.

Where Labs are outgoing and eager to please, Aussies are reserved and territorial.

The latter makes sense since a herding dog shouldn’t be okay with a wolf being anywhere near his flock.

That means the Aussiedor can be an extrovert (like a Lab) or an introvert (like an Aussie).

The former is okay, but the latter may pose some challenges.

For example, if your Sheprador thinks that your visitor — an aunt whom you haven’t seen in a long time — is a threat, he might display aggressive behavior towards her.

Luckily, it’s possible to nip any aggressive tendencies in the bud.

If you socialize your Aussiedor early on (i.e. get him used to being around as many strangers as possible), he shouldn’t have a lot of reservations around people he doesn’t know.

Then again, if you want your Aussiedor to double as a guard dog, you can socialize him only with people that you’re comfortable with.

As for the others, your Aussiedor is sure to warn you about any suspicious individuals.

How To Train An Aussie Lab Mix

Like his parents, the Aussie Lab Mix is a quick study.

His intelligence shines brightest when he’s trained under a positive, reward-based system.

For example, Aussiedor pups have a tendency to bite and nip, owing to their Aussie parent’s herding instincts.

It’s actually kind of cute — until you feel that pain in your heels from his surprisingly sharp teeth.

Instead of yelling at your dog, “No, stop (biting)!”– you can redirect his attention somewhere else.

Grab a chew toy, wave it in front of his face, and let him grab it.

If he chews on the toy for a while, and he doesn’t return to biting you again, pat him on the head and say “Good boy!”

Eventually, you’ll have to “graduate” your Aussie beyond the basic commands.

He’s a smart dog, and like all smart dogs, he’s going to seek out more intellectually-stimulating activities.

One easy (and fun!) way to train him is via the Muffin Tin game.

As the name implies, you’ll need a muffin tin, a few treats, and a number of tennis balls that match the number of holes in the muffin tin.

Basically, the game goes like this:

Put treats in select holes on the muffin tin.
Cover all the holes with tennis balls.
Put the muffin tin with the treats and balls in front of your pooch, and watch him fish out the treats as fast as possible.
Time him.