I thought a blog on the Australian cattle dog is appropriate in celebration of my own recent trip to Australia. The Australian cattle dog had an important role in early Australian history as a cattle driver however despite the breed’s age it remains in touch with the wilderness today. Although the breed was established in the 1840s it wasn’t recognized by the American kennel club until 1979. Once called a heeler it carried the name of the place where it was bred for example Queensland heeler. This breed knows instinctively when to chase, herd, and it has the courage to challenge cattle when necessary. It also knows when to get out of the way and lie down so it doesn’t spook them.
Some of the key characteristics of the breed are their medium sized, tight well-muscled frame, and squarely built. Usually its tail hangs down however when their active it stands up or they can also have stumpy-tailed cattle dogs which have no tails. The breed has a rough, straight outer coat and a dense undercoat, the coat is either blue splashed with blackish blue or spotted red.
An Australian cattle dog makes an excellent guard dog and they are loyal and obedient but they are not good pets for young children because they have been known to attack when pestered. This breed is easy to maintain grooming wise, they only need brushed about once a week however they need a long vigorous walk twice a day to maintain their health after all this is a working breed.
Please leave a comment if you have any stories about the Australian cattle dog or information that I should add. Also, let me know if you have a question about the breed or my sources.
Comment if you have any requests for the next blog , thanks.