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Interior Redecorating
The British,
who colonized Australia, arrived in what is now known as Sydney
on Australia's east coast on January 26, 1788. For some time
the non-native population of Australia was gathered in and
about Sydney, where land holdings were rather small, the distances
traversed taking cattle to market were not great and those
cattle were familiar with the sight of man and dog.
The working
dogs brought to Australia by subsequent British settlers did
not always take well to the warmer Australian climate, but
they apparently worked the docile cattle efficiently. The
most popular herding dog at the time was the Smithfield, a
big, black, cobby, bobtailed dog with a long, rough coat.
In 1813,
when immense grazing lands to the west of Sydney were opened
to the public, drovers and cattle owners thought they had
died and gone to paradise, but this paradise also had its
peccadilloes. The Smithfield dogs, which had controlled the
herds effectively in Sydney, were overwhelmed by the outback's
difficult terrain, its huge, unfenced areas, and the effect
it had on domestic cattle -- which was to turn them into half-wild
creatures at best. To make matters worse, the Smithfield's
constant barking kept the drovers' horses and cattle in constant
agitation, which frequently made the cattle stampede and run
off their condition. Thus, the cattlemen set about developing
a dog intelligent, rugged and courageous enough to meet the
back of beyond's job description. This task, was not, as they
say in Australia, a walkover. It did not happen overnight
or without struggle.
Worried
About the Worrigal
For many
centuries before Australia was colonized, a predator descended
from the Asian wolf had a fanghold on the back of beyond.
This wolflike dog, which existed simultaneously in the wild
and in the camps of Australian aborigines, was called the
Worrigal or dingo. Aborigines are said to have socialized
dingoes by taking them from their nests before their eyes
had opened and hand-feeding or even suckling them. These efforts
produced a relatively tame dog, able and willing to track
and to hunt.
Meanwhile,
the wild dingo living in the outback existed on a diet that
ranged from kangaroos to small rodents. The arrival of the
stockmen and their herds, which by now included sheep, added
a daily special to the menu. In no time the dingo was so fond
of the taste of sheep--and so adept at self-service--that
the stockmen's herds were in danger of extinction. Thus, ranchers
hunted and killed the dingo without mercy.
As much
as the ranchers despised the dingo (to this day dingo
is Australian slang for a bad, cunning person), they grudgingly
respected its aptitude for survival: The wild dog's tenacity
and courage were boundless; it was such a swift and silent
hunter that its prey's first encounter with a dingo was nearly
always its last; it possessed great intelligence, excellent
conformation and an incredibly rugged constitution; and it
was not troubled by Australia's frequently inhospitable temperatures
and feral environment. Therefore, instead of eliminating the
dingo, the ranchers decided to incorporate its lines into
their blueprints for a better cattle dog.
Into
the Mix
The first
domesticated dogs to whom dingoes were bred belonged to Thomas
Hall, who lived near Sydney. In 1840 Hall had imported a pair
of blue-merle, smooth-coated collies from Great Britain. When
they proved no more adept at coping with Australia's harsh
environment and wild cattle than the Smithfield had, Hall
decided to include dingoes in his breeding program. The resulting
offspring resembled small, sturdily made dingoes in all respects
save color. Dingoes were normally red-fawn or white. The crossbreds
were red-speckled or blue-mottled.
The collie-dingo
hybrids worked silently, and instead of working at the heads
of the cattle, as most sheepdogs do, they worked from the
rear, snapping at the heels of cattle when necessary. This
tactic kept the cattle moving forward and prevented them from
challenging the dogs head on.
The downside
-- there is always a downside in breeding -- was the collie
dingo cross's inclination to treat the ranchers' horses much
as they treated cattle. This inspired Jack and Harry Bagust,
brothers from the Sydney area, to breed one of these hybrids
to a Dalmatian imported from Great Britain. Their aim was
to introduce the Dalmatian's rapport with horses into the
gene pool. The offspring from this cross were born pure white.
Like their Dalmatian parent, they did not develop coat color
-- either red or blue-speckled -- until they were three weeks
old. This characteristic remains with the Australian cattle
dog to this day.
The horse-friendly
disposition of these crosses was obtained at the cost of some
herding ability. To restore that quality, the Bagusts introduced
the black-and-tan kelpie, an Australian sheep-herding breed,
to the equation. (Whether bull terriers, known for their jaw
power and tenacity, were also added to the equation is a matter
of speculation.)
The
Superdog Emerges
The ranchers'
collective blueprint eventually turned into a dog that combined
the dingo's athletic conformation, rugged constitution and
silent way of working with the best qualities of the other
contributing breeds. Word of this superdog's unique abilities
spread rapidly. The breed became so popular among Queensland
ranchers that it came to be known as the Queensland heeler
or Queensland blue heeler. Sometimes that name is shortened
to blue heeler, which is also the nickname for police officers
in the land of Oz, a nickname for Australia.
By the
turn of the century all that remained to formalize the Australian
cattle dog's popularity was for someone to draw up a standard
for the breed. That service was performed by Robert Kaleski,
a cattle dog fancier, whose standard was initially endorsed
by the Cattle and Sheepdog Club of Australia, then by the
Kennel Club of New South Wales in 1903. Kaleski's standard
remains at the heart of the official standard adopted by the
Australian National Kennel Council in 1963. About the same
time Kaleski drew up his standard, Australian cattle dog became
the breed's official name.
Reverse
Immigration
The Australian
cattle dog's herding ability was its ticket to ride, and in
time the immigrants' creation emigrated to lands around the
world. Eventually cattle dog admirers brought their dogs into
their homes and the American Kennel Club's (AKC) show rings,
to which the cattle dog was formally admitted on September
1, 1980. By 1996 the Aussie, with 1,969 new registrations
for the year, stood 63rd among the 143 breeds the AKC then
recognized. Dedicated cattle dog breeders and owners are adamant,
however, about retaining the breed's natural abilities as
a tireless worker and unsurpassed herder. Indeed, considering
the amount of work that went into developing and perpetuating
those characteristics, it would be a shame to see them sacrificed
on the altar of popularity.
The
Australian Cattle Dog Today
Though
more stocky and compact than its dingo ancestors, today's
Australian cattle dog still carries some physical resemblance
to them. The cattle dog breeds true in color, and even though
some variations in shade are acceptable, the only recognized
colors are red-speckle and blue-speckle.
The Aussie's
outercoat is moderately short and weather resistant while
the undercoat, which insulates against both heat and cold,
is short and dense. The cattle dog requires little grooming
other than routine brushing to remove dead hair and debris
from the coat.
Versatility
A cattle
dog will join its owner(s) in practically any outdoor activity.
Not even those owners whose energy levels register at the
decathlon level need worry about depleting the cattle dog's
energy. An Aussie can be a star in the pasture or the show
ring. Agility courses and obedience trials are a snap for
the cattle dog, so are intense sessions with Frisbee or flyball.
The more involved and proficient an Australian cattle dog
becomes in any or all of these activities, the more apt it
is to be a pleasant and devoted companion.
Evaluating
Puppies
Anyone
considering an Australian cattle dog should confine his or
her search to breeders who have a long-standing reputation
for producing mentally and physically sound dogs. Although
the American Kennel Club standard for the breed says that
cattle dogs should be "suspicious of strangers," this protective
characteristic develops as the dog matures. As a youngster
the cattle dog should be as friendly as one would expect a
well-bred and well-cared-for puppy of any breed to be. Prospective
Aussie owners should not select a shy puppy that runs away
or one that appears sick and listless because they feel sorry
for it. Trying to compensate for what good breeding and good
care has not provided will only result in heart ache and veterinary
bills.
Coloring
Outside the Lines
The Australian
stockmen who crafted the cattle dog out of several breeds
were looking for the ideal dog. As so often happens, however,
the search for -- and especially the perpetuation of -- the
ideal often introduces a few less-than-ideal characteristics
to a breed. In the cattle dog's case, these are hip dysplasia,
luxating patella, progressive retinal atrophy, hypothroidism,
hemophilia A and deafness.
Hip
dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint resulting
in a poor fit between the head of the femur bone and the
hip socket, in which the femoral head normally lies. This
condition can be alleviated by surgery.
Luxating
patella is a dislocation of the small, flat, moveable
bone at the front of the knee. An inherited tendency, luxating
patella can be aggravated by excess weight and, more likely
the case in Australian cattle dogs, strenuous exercise.
The condition can be corrected by surgery.
Progressive
retinal atrophy (PRA) is the wasting away of the vessels
in the retina. Initially manifested as night blindness in
young dogs, as PRA progresses, its victims become totally
blind. Australian cattle dogs carry two forms of PRA: early
onset, which strikes before the age of two; and late onset,
which usually is not detectable before the age 6 or more.
Hypothyroidism
is an endocrine disease that results in the abnormally low
production of thyroid hormones. The symptoms of hypothyroidism
include lethargy, mental depression, weight gain and a tendency
to seek out warm places. Hypothyroidism can also affect
the coat and skin, causing hair loss and excessive dandruff.
Hemophilia
A, a sex-linked recessive trait carried by females and
manifested in males, is a blood-clotting disorder brought
about by a deficiency in certain substances responsible
for normal blood coagulation.
In addition
to determining -- as much as one can determine -- the occurrence
of inherited problems in a particular line of dogs, anyone
who is considering an Australian cattle dog or any dog, should
ask the seller or provider of that dog who will be responsible
for the vet bills if a radiant-looking puppy should be victimized
by an obviously inherited condition later in its life.
Rick
Beauchamp is a freelance writer and judge licensed with
both the American Kennel Club and the United Kennel Club.
He is author of many dog books including Australian Cattle
Dog, A Complete Pet Owner's Manual.
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