Australian Cattle Dog

The Australian cattle dog is of moderate build. Smart, hardy, independent, stubborn, tenacious, energetic and untiring.

Daily Care

Grooming Tips

The Australian Cattle Dog doesn’t need much attention in grooming, trim nails regularly, and brush him periodically, to keep him clean and healthy.
He has a double coat and sheds his undercoat twice a year. During shedding season, brush more frequently to remove the dead hair, every few days he will need a thorough brush and a warm bath.

Exercise Tips

The Australian Cattle Dog is extremely intelligent, agile and untiring, he learns very quick in training. You can give your Australian cattle dog some treats by stuffing it to his toys, to give him more encouragement.
As it was using for herding cattle, this active breed needs every day’s exercise. Let him walk at least twice a day, and more than 45 minutes each time. He can be a great companion if you are a jog-lover.

Feeding Tips

Because the Australian Cattle Dog is an athletic and energetic breed, it prefers a lot of exercises, a large and nutritious diet should be prepared for it. And clean fresh water should be available all the time.
You may find it hard to keep the Australian Cattle Dog’s weight earlier in its life. A healthy amount of diet and plenty of exercise are very important.

Health Tips

The average life span of the Australian Cattle Dogs is 12 to 16 years. They have fewer health concerns than most dog breeds. The most common health issues may include hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, luxating patella, heart disease, epilepsy, liver shunt, and inherited deafness, skin allergies, hypothyroidism.
At 3-6 years old, it may occur progressive retinal atrophy, but it can be tested with a simple DNA test. Other eye diseases are glaucoma, cataracts, and occasionally retinal dysplasia.
Some health tests are recommended:
Hip Evaluation, Elbow Evaluation, Ophthalmologist Evaluation, BAER Testing, PRA Optigen DNA Test, PLL DNA Test.

Trainability

The Australian Cattle Dog needs socialization and obedience training from a very young age. It is important for him to be more appropriate as a lovely family dog, not just a working dog.
The owner should prepare for a large time commitment to training ACD. But it is fun to spend time with this intelligent and energetic breed. He learns very quick in training. You can give your Australian cattle dog some treats by stuffing it to his toys, to give him more encouragement.

History

The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD), or simply Cattle Dog, has been nicknamed a “Red Heeler” or “Blue Heeler”, “Queensland Heeler”. It is a breed with a goal of being the perfect herding dog.
In the early 1800s, Australia’s first cattle dogs were the Smithfield, imported from the British and could not meet the challenges of the Australian interior. And the stockmen began a long process of breeding a more suitable herding dog to the environment.
ACD has been proved to be an excellent choice for herding in practice. And its popularity grew rapidly throughout the 19th century. Eventually, it became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well.