Australian Cattle Dog
Temperament:
The Australian Cattle Dog is one of the most popular dog breeds. He is a reliable herding dog and a faithful and loyal companion.
With his strong stature and patterned coat, he is particularly handsome. His self-confidence and intelligence make him a demanding four-legged friend. He belongs in experienced hands.
Characteristics
The Australian Cattle Dog is a medium-sized dog. He has a strikingly compact and strong stature. The coat is smooth and has a short and dense undercoat.
It differs from other dog breeds by its characteristic coat colors. These are due to a genetic defect. It came the Blue Merle Collie in the breed. There are the variants blue spotted, speckled, red spotted and red speckled.
The puppies have a white coat at birth. Sometimes there are already barely visible spots. The typical markings appear only later.
The powerful Cattle Dog is exceptionally intelligent, self-confident, alert and courageous. He shows a reliable sense of duty. According to his breeding, he has a pronounced herding and protective instinct. His strong urge for activity and movement is also striking.
For his well-being, the bundle of energy needs extensive employment. This must be meaningful and varied. It should do justice to his intelligence as well as his urge to move. It should be selected according to age and constitution.
Intelligence games, dog sports and guarding tasks are best suited. Possible choices are: Obedience, Agility, Flyball, Swim training, Dog Frisbee, Dog Dancing.
This dog is very intelligent and people-friendly. That is why he likes to help in therapeutic treatment of mentally impaired people. Likewise, he can be used in the rescue of people in distress.
The adult quadruped is equipped with a pronounced following instinct. He is a wonderful companion when riding a bike or jogging. With the right exercise, he runs extensively.
If the smart four-legged friend lives in the family, he can be well integrated into the pack. He has a lot of fun in joint activities. He tends to commit himself to a familiar person. In this he corresponds to the shepherd dog.
Do strangers approach his PackThe cattle dog shows a natural behavior. He is protective. With inadequate education, he can develop a strong rejection. It can come to attitude problems.
The Australian Cattle Dog notices insecurities in the pack leadership very quickly. If these remain, he likes to take the lead. A consistent education is necessary. This consists of clear announcements on the basis of a respectful and friendly coexistence.
Puppy play lessons and other dog schools offer help and tips in raising your four-legged friend. In addition, the dog receives important contacts to different conspecifics.
Special attention should be paid to learning commands and obedience. Playing with other dogs promotes social behavior. The togetherness runs more harmoniously. The dog and also the owner get to know and respect each other.
Coat care:
Shedding:
Energy level:
Trainability:
Children suitable:
The right food
An Australian Cattle Dog is an unproblematic eater with normal requirements. However, the breed is considered "greedy". Adjust the daily amount of food to the physical constitution and activities.
The weight of an adult animal is about 20 kilograms. In contrast, a four-month-old puppy has half of its final weight. Proper nutrition takes place in puppyhood. It continues in adolescence and in the adult dog.
The dog is related to a predator and has a high energy consumption. The food should be accordingly high quality food. This consists mainly of animal proteins. It contains all the necessary nutrients and vitamins.
Do not feed leftovers, bones, high-fat foods and sweets. Good dog food does not contain additives, flavor enhancers, dyes, allergens and fatteners .
Now and then a dry chewing article offers a tasty change to the quadruped. In the trade you can get beef teeth, beef ears and rumen. By chewing your quadruped strengthens his teeth and chewing muscles.
The popular treats will help you educate and motivate the dog. Choose them wisely and use only high-quality products. Make sure that your dog always has unrestricted access to fresh water.
Australian Cattle Dog Care
The Australian Cattle Dog wears a smooth, dense, short-haired and weather-resistant coat. This is considered easy to care for and requires moderate and simple grooming.
Usually it is enough to trim the coat with a brush once a week. An exception arises during the change of coat. This takes place 1 to 2 times a year. During this time you can remove excess hair from your pet. It is best to brush it several times a week.
A gentle dog wash after swimming gets rid of the pongy coat smell. Special shampoos are available in stores for this purpose. The subsequent toweling allows the fur to dry faster.
In addition to the coat, the claws also need good care. If they do not wear off naturally, they can be shortened with special scissors. But be careful not to cut too deep! If necessary, this care is done by the vet.
Not to be forgotten is the regular inspection of the eyes and ears. Often these are covered with dirt. For cleaning you use an ear cleaner. Sometimes a little water on a soft cloth is enough.
Changes on the skin can indicate disease and parasites. TO SEE are: Spots, scabs and blood. Treatment at the vet is absolutely necessary.
Hereditary diseases can also occur in the Australian Cattle Dog. These are related to the coat color. The white coat carriers often suffer from deafness. This is caused by missing color pigment cells in the inner ear.
Some dogs get the eye disease lens luxation (PLL). The consequences are cataracts and if not treated, complete blindness. Other diseases are: Nervous disease polioencephalomyelopathy, skeletal - hyperthyroidism (DISH) and spondylosis.
Nowadays there are possibilities to detect the predispositions of diseases. Genetic tests, hearing tests and x-rays are used for this purpose. A serious breeder presents them to the prospective buyer.
Suitable accessories
To make the pack member feel comfortable in his home, he needs suitable bowls for food and water. For a painless and unhindered walk, use the right harness.
Also, a cozy blanket or basket is ready for your friend to rest. The best place is where there is no draught and he has everything in view. Most often, the dog chooses his favorite place himself.
For the occupation and against boredom help species-appropriate play utensils. Also advisable is a transport box or a device for strapping. These serve the safety of the dog when driving in the car.
With a species-appropriate attitude of the Australian Cattle Dog, he needs enough exercise. In nature this is the most fun. A rural house with a garden is preferable to a small city apartment.
Origin & History
Early Australian settlers bred the pedigree dog. He preferred him for driving the large herds of cattle. In 1830, cattleman Thomas Hall brought blue-patterned working dogs to Australia. He bought the so-called Drover Dogs from drovers in northern England.
Hall started crossbreeding again. He crossed with the native Dingo and the breed Hall's Heeler was born. Later, genes from the Bull Terrier, Kelpie and Dalmatian also entered.
The result was an extremely robust and agile working dog. This could also drive the semi-wild cattle herds of Australia for kilometers. And this even under the most difficult climatic and scenic conditions.
In the 19th century, the Australian Cattle Dog developed into the most important drift dog breed on the Australian continent. In 1897, the blue breed (Blue Merle) participated in a show for the first time. In 1903, the breeder Robert Kaleski named the first breed standard.
In 1979 the Cattle Dog came to the attention of the FCI. The Fédération classified him in the register of breed dogs. He came into the group 1 "Herding and driving dogs" and in it into the section 2 "Driving dogs".
