Australian Cattle Dog Information
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During the early colonization of Australia, the people were mainly located in the area that is now Sydney. The distance involved in taking cattle to market wasn't very far, and dogs that were brought from other countries by the early settlers worked the cattle easily.
The settlers began to spread out a bit, and in 1813, large grazing lands were opened up. Properties were often unfenced and hundreds or thousands of miles in size. The cattle on these lands were wild and uncontrollable, and the people needed a dog that had much more stamina and would work quietly but forcefully when needed.
Around 1830, a drover mated one of the original working dogs with a Dingo. The offspring were red, bobtailed and named Timmins biters. Unlike the original dogs brought for working cattle, these dogs were silent but proved to be far to headstrong, and were biting too severely.
Another landowner in Queensland also experimented with Dingo and blue merle collie crosses. These dogs produced excellent workers. The other land owners were very impressed with these dogs and began purchasing puppies. Some who purchased puppies mated them with a Dalmatian. This crossing changed the merle to red or blue speckle. The puppies were born white and developed their coloring at about three weeks of age. These dogs were useful for minding the horses and gear, but some of the working ability had been lost.
Then these new dogs were mated with the black and tan Kelpie, and the result was a compact and active dog, identical in type and build to the Dingo, only thicker set and markings found on no other dog in the world. These blue dogs had black patches around the eyes, black ears and brown eyes, with a small white patch in the middle of the forehead. Only the puppies closest to the ideal were kept, and these became known as the Australian Cattle Dog.
Today, the Australian Cattle Dog isn't used for cattle much, but is primarily a pet. They typically thrive best being the only dog in the home, and are very close to their family. They tolerate friendly strangers, but are never overly interested in them- they tend to be very suspicious. Some may be fear biters, especially if not properly socialized, and do not like any quick movements from strangers.
They do pretty well with children, but keep in mind that they may nip at the heels of children in order to 'herd them' into the house. This is very common in the breed, and an instinct you're not likely to break.
Most aren't really very welcoming of strangers- they're not typically aggressive, but they're not the type of breed to instantly fall in love with every person they see, such as a Golden Retriever.
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If your Cattle Dog is left alone for too long, he may resort to destructiveness out of pure boredom, so it's especially important to have plenty of toys to occupy himself during the times you are away.
They also need plenty of outdoor time. You don't need to have a huge farm to keep an Australian Cattle Dog happy, but he should be exposed to the outdoors on a regular basis- long walks, one-on-one time outside playing with his family, trips to the dog park are all great ways to keep your dog happy.
Males should be 18-20 inches tall, females 17-19 inches tall. Their coat can be blue or red speckle, and is a double coat. The outer coat is moderately short, straight and medium texture, with a short dense undercoat.
Australian Cattle Dogs are prone to Hip Dysplasia and eye problems. Due to an inherited deafness problem, the parents should also have their hearing tested to show normal bilateral hearing. Purchasing your Australian Cattle Dog from a reputable breeder will help to assure that you are less likely to have these problems with your Australian Cattle Dog puppy.
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