Australian
Cattle Dog History
A "true
blue" Aussie, the Australian Cattle Dog's
prime function is the movement and control of
cattle in both confined and wide, open spaces.
Always alert, extremely intelligent, watchful
and courageous, this breed is a tribute to the
ability of the Australian stockmen who knew what
they wanted in a cattle dog and set about producing
it.
When
the first settlers arrived in Australia, they
brought with them their stock. Along with the
stock came the dogs they used to work that stock
in their country of origin. The dogs that accompanied
the settlers stock were used to different climates
and different conditions. The long haired, mostly
bob tailed "Smithfield " type of dog
that were basically a mix of breeds that used
to work stock of any sort at the Smithfield Markets
in England, were a disaster in Australia's rugged
type of country and climate.
About
1850 Mr. Thomas Hall, studmaster for the Hall
family, imported some Smooth-coated
Blue Merle Scotch or Highland Collies, which, were misnamed Welsh Heelers.
These dogs were "headers" that tried to force from the front
of the cattle, which often resulted in some being gored.
They also couldn't handle the climate or the conditions. These were crossed
with Australia's own fully acclimatized and genetically evolved dog,
the Dingo, reputed for his silent approach and endurance to heat. This
cross resulted with a successful type of dog known then as Hall's Heelers,
Merlins or Blue Heelers.
As
the Dingo trait is to creep silently from behind
and bite, the pups followed this style of heeling
and were welcomed by grazier and drover alike
for their ability to handle wild cattle, their
stamina to travel great distances over all types
of terrain, and their endurance in extremes of
temperature. The progeny were generally of Dingo
type, colour being either red or blue merle.
Hall continued his experimental breeding until
his death in 1870.
In
the early 1870's a butcher named Alex Davis proudly
displayed the ability of a pair of Hall's Heelers
at the cattle sale yards in Sydney. Two brothers,
Jack and Harry Bagust of Canterbury in Sydney,
were among several cattlemen to purchase pups
from Davis. They then set about to improve them.
Firstly, they crossed a bitch with a fine imported
Dalmatian dog. This cross changed the merle colour
to red or blue speckle. As with Dalmatians, the
pups are born white, developing their colour
gradually from approximately three weeks of age.
The main purpose of this cross was to instill
in the dogs a love of horses and protectiveness
toward master and property. Unfortunately, some
of the working ability was lost with this cross,
so, after admiring this ability in the Black
and Tan Kelpie, the Bagust brothers crossed the
Kelpie with their speckled dogs. This produced
highly intelligent, controllable workers, built
like thick set Dingoes and with peculiar markings
known to no other dog. Through selective breeding,
these dogs became the forebears of the present
day Australian Cattle Dog.
In
1893, Mr. Robert Kaleski took particular interest
in this breed, developing and stabilizing it, and
drawing up a standard of the breed. This standard
was endorsed initially by the Cattle and Sheepdog
Club of Australia, then the Kennel Club of New South
Wales in 1903. Kaleski's standard has been expanded
over the years, but the essence of it is still very
much a part of the official standard approved and
adopted by the Australian National Kennel Council
in 1963. Coincidental with the writing of Kaleski's
standard, the breed's name became official as the
Australian Cattle Dog. From these unique beginnings
the Australian Cattle Dog has developed into one
of the most popular breeds of dog in Australia and
can be found around the world today. |
