Dakotah Shepherd

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Dakotah Shepherd breed of dog is not considered to be either a mixed breed or a pure breed dog. It is actually a breed that is in transition with efforts being made to see it as a fully registered breed. The Dakotah Shepherd is still fairly new and was created by crossing the Kelpie, Border Collie and Heeler breeds with English Shepherds in an attempt to create a versatile farm dog. The breed was developed by the Triple M Ranch and efforts have been made to establish a breed standard and a registry for these dogs. Currently, they are not accepted by any breed clubs. This dog stands between 17 to 21 inches and weighs between 25-50 pounds.

It is a medium sized dog with a wedge-shaped head and a slightly tapered muzzle. Ears are set high and can either be pricked or fooled. The dog has level top line and long tail that usually hangs low. Coat can be variable in length and texture. It can be long and thick or short and dense double coat. It mostly comes in saber or black and tan colouring with or without white markings on the feet and blaze on the head.

This dog is NOT recognized by AKC or any other major kennel club.

Color

The Dakotah Shepherd can be found in a range of colors but the most common is either sable or black and tan, with or without white on the feet as well as a blaze on the head.

Coat

The Dakotah Shepherd can have either a short, dense double coat or a long thick double coat. What ever the length of outer coat, the undercoat is always soft to touch. The coat is made to provide ample protection from weather.

Personality

The Dakotah Shepherd is a very loving, affectionate and gentle dog. It is loyal and obedient to its master and family. The dog is very gentle, patient and playful with children of all ages. It can get along well with other dogs and pets in the family. Very intelligent and smart, the dog is very easy to train. It is a multi-utility dog that can be used as herding, watch, therapy and agility dog. It is very friendly and loving to its family but vary of strangers. The breed is known to be protective of its family. Like all dogs, the Dakotah Shepherd needs early age socialization and training. They need fair amount of exercises to keep their energy levels under controllable proportions. This is a working dog that will be happiest when it is given some work to do. The Dakotah Shepherd makes a very amiable and docile as well as loving dog for all the family.

Care

This dog is a low maintenance breed apart from shedding season. Its coat will need once a week brushing. During shedding season, the dog may need 3-4 times brushing a week. Grooming needs will increase in hot climatic conditions. The dog can get away with fewer baths a year than most breeds. Nails should be trimmed and ears should be checked for infection.

Training

The Dakotah Shepherd is an easy to train dog. It is obedient and wants to please its owner. It will respond to positive training sessions. It is a smart dog that learns fast.

Activity

Developed from herding breeds, the dog has lots of energy and willingness to do work. It will need at least 60 minutes of medium to high level exercise to keep this dog happy. It is not a dog to lay around you indoor. This working breed will need to be assigned some tasks to complete. The dog is best suited to families with a large yard where it can play and run freely. It may not suit apartment life style specially if the owner is a reluctant and less energetic person.