First things first, I don’t own an Australian shepherd. I don’t even own a dog. I live in an apartment, in New York City, with an 18-month-old boy and at the moment my 1,000-square-feet can only handle one semi-tame animal. This puts me at a decided disadvantage against Grayson, who lives with a pack of 11 UK labs in a log cabin he built himself from trees his dogs felled using only their teeth. So while I have spent the past year reporting a book that features an Australian shepherd, in the process becoming a major fan of the breed and a believer in its all-around awesomeness, I can hardly argue from any experiential perspective against a guy who has hunted, fished, skied, hiked, camped, spelunked and forest-fire-fought (yes, I know – not an actual term) with his dogs. Grayson’s labs fetch him beers from the fridge, belay him when he’s rock-climbing, and, on cold, damp nights in the bush, lie still and flat in a line, forming a warm, living mattress on which he sleeps. So, yeah, how do I beat that?
I’ll tell you how. By reminding him that he’s the one who told me that Aussies were the world’s best adventure dogs in the first place! He said this as we were collaborating on a only partly serious Man’s Guide to Dogs for GQ*, and I was singing the breed’s praises as a tireless, enthusiastic partner in all things active. On top of everything else, Grayson told me, Aussies are ideal for Outside Magazine types because they’re the only dogs you can reliably bike with. They can and will (happily) keep up for rides that last all day, have only limited chase instinct (their job, after all, was to contain cattle, not pursue it), and unlike other herding dogs, don’t have a bite or nip instinct. Thus, according to Grayson, the Australian shepherd makes the ultimate adventure dog. That alone means I win, but in the interest of a good argument, I will add a few further scraps of evidence.

1. Nearly all dogs get tired, eventually. Labs, as much as they really, really (really) want to stick with you, will eventually wear out and want a beer and a down-filled LL Bean bed. Aussies, on the other hand, are tireless. They will run until you can’t anymore, and then they will run more.

2. Aussies were bred to herd just about everything, including cattle. These are animals that don’t always enjoy being harassed, and have horns and hooves they don’t hesitate to deploy. Aussies had to learn to dodge said weapons, and any dogs that were afraid of large, angry animals were removed from breeding programs. Thus, today’s dogs are pretty much unfazed by things like bears and mountain lions.

3. There is no more athletic dog on earth. A good Aussie can outrun a speeding bullet, leap a three-story building, and swim the English Channel. It is one of the few breeds you will find excelling at every recognized AKC dog sport: agility, obedience, tracking, dock jumping, etc.

4. They’re really smart, consistently near the top of all dog intelligence rankings.

5. They love their owners. A lot. Which means that even if they don’t 100% love whatever it is you’re asking them to do, they’ll do it, and will be happy just because you’re happy. The breed’s nickname, after all, is the Velcro dog.

*that certain people took way too seriously

Josh Dean is an Outside correspondent and the author of the forthcoming SHOW DOG, which HarperCollins will publish in February 2012.

Wait, how long do I have to keep this thing on?

Nope that’s Sadie’s birthday hat. Yep, she turned two years old today, only two days after stepping on broken glass and cutting the artery in her left front leg. Luckily, her owner, Outside’s Alex Aufman, was able to staunch the bleeding and rush her to the ER. The much bigger break, though, was that the glass didn’t cut a tendon, which could have caused permanent damage. As is, Sadie escaped with a handful of stitches, a slightly diminished ego, and a new party hat that’s getting decorated tonight!

The Aspen Pack

Reina, chocolate Lab
Sara, border bollie (black and white… BIG ears)
Abel, big golden retriever
Kaya, the smallest black Lab
Jane, medium black Lab (and the prettiest)
Dante, big-headed black Lab
Gus, black, white, and brown Australian shepard
Booker, brown and white Aussie

Not pictured….
Caleb The BIGGEST black lab
Lhotse german shepard

Bozzie

Bozzie is a 2 year-old Labradoodle who lives in Alameda, CA. He loves running, sniffing, playing with the neighbors and going on long walks along the Bay. His most unusual quirk: he has nyctophobia (he’s afraid of the dark) and refuses to venture outside after sunset. He also refuses to enter darkened rooms and if the skies start to darken while he’s outside, he walks super close to his owners.

The call of the open road

I adopted Cosette in 2007 from the Little Big Dog Rescue group. I’m still not certain what kind of dog she is, but when the rescue group originally found her at 8 weeks she was suffering from severe demodectic mange, had lost the majority of her fur and could barely walk. She and I are pretty much attached at the hip, and she has accompanied me on filming assignments all across the country. She loves traveling, running, hiking, and sleeping anywhere soft.

—Allison Otto
Bisbee, Arizona

Lauren from Maine writes: My dogs are the cutest and you’ve lost your mind if you disagree! The pup is Eider. He’s nearly eight weeks old and hails from just outside of Oxford, MS (wink, wink).  He enjoys naps, snacks and more naps.  And snacks.

The one who can fly is Orli.  She is four years old and her hobbies including running full tilt around our house, then resting her head on our tables and counters.  Why?  Because she can.