Australian Cattle Dog

Breed Type: Herding
Weight: 35 to 45 lbs
Height: 18 to 20 inches for Males, 17 to 19 inches for Females
Coat type: Weather-resistant, short and little rough outer layer of coat and thick and short inner layer.
Color: Puppies are born white and get their color within few weeks that can range from blue-mottled to red-speckled. There can be other markings too.

Australian Dogtle Dogs are also known as Queensland Heeler, Blue Heeler, Red Heeler and Australian Cattle Dog. They are actually a breed of shepherd dog developed in Australia for droving cattle. They are basically average sized short-coated dog. They are also very agile and intelligent. The average life span of this breed is 11-12 years. They are highly dominating in nature and require excess physical activity to stay fit and active. They are also very organized and obedient, that is why they were declared the winner of 'Obedience Competition Championship' by the American Kennel Club.

History
The exact origins of the Australian Cattle Dog are not known. However they are identified as a distinct breed from as early as 1897. The genetic links of this breed can be linked Dingo, a wild dog prevalent in Australia. Dingo wad bred with primitive stage of Collie dogs, in 1840, the Thomas Hall crossed a couple of Blue Smooth Highland Collies with Dingoes. The cross resulted into a litter of puppies which they called �Hall�s Heelers�. These Hall Heelers had strong, indefatigable, controllable, strain of dog. These Hall Heelers were them bred with some Bull Terrier to make them a little aggressive. The resulting breed from the cross of these two were slightly heavier and more muscular than its parent, they were named as Australian Dogtle Dogs.

Appearance
An Australian Cattle Dog is well built with no traces of weakness or fragility. On an average they are 17-20 inch in height and about 14-19 kg in weight. They have two basic coat colors -blue and red. They generally have a stripe of white hair in between their forehead which is called 'Bentley Mark'. They have naturally long undocked tail with a white tip slightly curved at the end. They have rather oily hair with a slight frill; the coat is almost woolly and winter undercoat.

Personality
Australian Cattle Dog is quite hardy types and used as farm workers all over the world. Running, chasing, herding and playing with owners is almost must for them. They are naturally suspicious of strangers and strange dogs. Intelligent, willing to work, obedient, loyal and independent types these dogs need patient training. They bark seldom and are ideal for pets and children, if they are given social training while they are still young.