Australian Cattle Dog

Coat and looks how to spot one

short, smooth, weather-resistant double coat

A dense, short undercoat sits under a straight, hard, flat-lying outer coat, roughly 2.5 to 4 cm long on the body and a little longer on the neck and underside. The dog itself is sturdy and compact, a touch longer than it is tall, and built for agility and staying power over long days of work.64

Personality what they are like

Alert, clever and brave, the Cattle Dog tends to attach itself firmly to its own people and quietly appoints itself guardian of home and family. It is naturally reserved with strangers but should accept being handled calmly. It likes to have a job to do and is quick to learn, sometimes quick enough to stay a step ahead of its owner.6485

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Very high. The Royal Kennel Club suggests more than two hours of exercise a day. Beyond walks and runs it enjoys purposeful work and mental puzzles; herding trials, agility, flyball, canicross, disc dog and skijoring all suit the breed.752

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Low maintenance. A weekly brush keeps the short coat in order. The undercoat is shed heavily about once a year (twice a year in unspayed females), when more frequent brushing helps.752

Home where they are happiest

Best suited to an active household with room to move, such as a home with a secure garden or rural space, and owners who can supply daily work, training and play. The weather-resistant coat copes with outdoor life in heat and rain.745

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A complete, balanced food formulated for medium-sized dogs and matched to life stage (puppy, adult, senior), with portions adjusted to the dog's workload and body condition.5

Company who they like around

Forms a strong bond with its family and likes to be involved in what they do. Early, varied socialisation helps, because the breed is naturally wary of unfamiliar people and its herding instinct can show as nipping or rounding up of children or other pets.657

The story where it all began

When cattle stations spread across colonial Australia in the 1800s, the herding dogs brought from Britain struggled with the heat, the huge distances and half-wild cattle. Around the 1840s James Timmins tried crossing droving dogs with dingoes, but the result was too rough on stock and the attempt was dropped. At about the same time Thomas Simpson Hall of Dartbrook station in the Upper Hunter Valley crossed blue speckled Highland collies with dingoes, producing quiet, heel-biting workers that became known as Hall's Heelers. In the 1870s George Eliot developed a similar strain in Queensland. During the 1890s Sydney breeders, notably the Bagust brothers, refined the type with limited Dalmatian and black-and-tan Kelpie blood, and Robert Kaleski promoted and wrote up a standard (the first official one was issued in 1903 through the NSW Department of Agriculture). The breed was accepted by the FCI in 1972, by the Canadian and American Kennel Clubs in 1980, and by the UK Kennel Club and the UKC in 1985. Hall's Heeler is also considered the ancestor of the separate Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog.23641

Recognised by the official bits

FCI

Standard No. 287, Group 1 (Sheepdogs and Cattledogs), Section 2 (Cattledogs); definitive acceptance 20 Mar 1972; current standard published 8 Oct 20121

AKC

Herding Group; recognised September 19802

Canadian Kennel Club

Recognised January 19802

UKC

Herding Dog Group; recognised 19854

The Royal Kennel Club

Pastoral Group; recognised 198511

Popularity Ranked 47th among AKC-registered breeds12