Australian Cattle Dog Breed

Australian Cattle Dog Breed

The Australian Cattle Dog comes without any trace of weakness or fragility. An excessively heavy or cumbersome build is also undesirable, as it limits agility, a necessity for any good cattle-working dog. Symmetry and balance are also essential and no individual part of the dog should be exaggerated or draw excessive attention. Even when bred for companion or show purposes, it should have well-conditioned, hard muscles.


A female Australian Cattle Dog should measure approximately 43 to 48 cm (17 to 19 inches) at the withers. A male Australian Cattle Dog should measure about 46 to 51 cm (18 to 20 inches) at the withers. An Australian Cattle Dog is a well-muscled, compact dog with a dense coat of coarse, rather oily hair with a slight ruff, and fine, almost woolly, winter undercoat. It has a naturally long tail, generally carried low, with a slight white tip. An Australian Cattle Dog in good condition should weigh approximately 14 to 27 kg (30 to 60 pounds).


Australian Catle Dog Temperament
Like many working dogs, Cattle Dogs have high energy levels and active minds. They need plenty of exercise and a job to do, so non-working dogs need to participate in dog sports, learning tricks, or other activities that engage their body and mind. Some individuals find repetitive training frustrating and dull, so owners should aim to make training sessions varied and more exciting in order to keep their dog interested. Cattle Dogs who do not receive the appropriate exercise and entertainment will invent their own, often destructive, activities. These dogs are, by nature, wary. They are naturally cautious, and grow more so as they age. Their cautious nature towards strangers makes them perfect guard dogs, when trained for this task.
The Australian Cattle Dog ranks 10th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being one of the brightest dogs ranked by obedience command trainability.
Cattle Dogs drive cattle by nipping at their heels or tails, but they have also been known to round up other animals.


To relieve the urge to nip, the Australian Cattle Dog can be encouraged to pick up and chew a toy or stick that is thrown for them. Any toy left with the Australian Cattle Dog needs to be extremely robust if it is to last.

The Australian Cattle Dog enjoys living with other dogs with whom it is familiar, working well in combination with other Cattle Dogs, Australian Kelpies, and Border Collies. Because of their plucky nature, the establishing of a pecking order can result in a few scuffles and bites.


Common health problems of Australian Cattle Dog Breed

Australian Cattle Dogs, like other animals with young that are born white, have a higher incidence of deafness.
Common in Australian Cattle Dogs is an autosomal recessive eye blindness known as Progressive Retinal Atrophy. Cattle Dogs have the PRcd strain, or progressive rod-cone. This causes the rods and cones in the retina of the eye to deteriorate later in life, and the dog becomes blind. The disease can be spotted on a CERF eye exam later in life, but the best diagnosis is a blood test, developed by Optigen.


Dogs should also be checked for hip and elbow dysplasia. Based on a sample of 69 still-living dogs, the most common health issues noted by owners were musculoskeletal (spondylosis, elbow dysplasia, and arthritis) and reproductive (pyometra, infertility, and false pregnancy), and blindness.

Source (WIKIPEDIA)


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