Australian Shepherd — an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of a real dog
An AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a real dog.

Australian Shepherd

Placed on this panel from 3 sequenced dogs, among 258 breeds.

Measured nearest to Collie, and nothing among the other 257 breeds is nearer. The smallest branch holding them both covers 1.4% of this tree.

The 12 breeds nearest to Australian Shepherd.

The line starts at the tightest pairing this panel holds and ends at the widest separation measured on it, so how far along these marks sit is the answer to how close Australian Shepherd really is to anything.

1Collie2Shetland Sheepdog3English Shepherd4Australian Kelpie5Cardigan Welsh Corgi6Australian Cattle Dog7Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever8Old English Sheepdog9Catahoula Leopard Dog10Norwegian Buhund11Icelandic Sheepdog12Xoloitzcuintli

Closeness is measured from the genomes, and nothing else. It has no units and no dates. Two breeds sitting close together means their lines separate late in this data. It does not mean either one came from the other.

3 sequenced dogs is a thin sample. This breed’s exact neighbours could move if more were added; the neighbourhood is steadier than the order within it.