Sheepdog - Definition and Overview

A Sheep dog is a type of domestic dog whose original purpose was to herd or guard sheep. Many sheep dogs are now kept as domestic pets.

There are several types of sheep dog, including:

• Australian Cattle Dog
• Australian Kelpie
• Australian Shepherd
• Carpatin
• Collies
• Catalan Sheepdog (Gos d'atura)
• Ciobănesc de Bucovina
• German Shepherd Dog
• Icelandic Sheepdog
• Mioritic
• Old English Sheepdog
• Pyrenean Shepherd
• Shetland Sheepdog or Sheltie (pictured at right)

Sheepdogs are just one category of herding dogs.

See also sheepdog trials.