The Australian Cattle Dog was originally born in Australia. It was bred to help outback ranchers round up their cattle and to withstand the harsh outback conditions. The breed is loyal and devoted to its owner. The joy of owning an Australian Cattle Dog directly relates to the breed origin, why it was bred, the general appearance, its unique traits, simple diet and easy health care. According to Katherine Buetow in “ The History of the Australian Cattle Dog” she states, “There is continuing controversy over which breeds were actually used in its development. One of the difficulties in researching the history of this breed is that there was a lot of experimentation going on in trying to find the perfect combination of dogs to make up the ultimate heeler that could live and work in the Australian outback ”( 1). The Australian Cattle Dog was thoughtfully blended with several different dogs including the dingo, which is native to Australia, to heard cattle for ranchers on the Australian outback. Originally, ranchers let their cattle roam the outback for months or even years to fatten up before rounding them up and taking them to the market for sell. Since this round up could consist of hundreds of miles, they needed a dog that could go with them and survive the round up. This is when the Australian Cattle Dog was born (Sunset 1). The “Australian Cattle Dog” describes the breed as a unique blend of five different dogs. The breeds are the smooth-coated collie, Dalmatian, kelpie, dingo, and the bull terrier. This diversified blend that makes up the Australian Cattle Dog was obtained by many years of trial and error. There are the blue and red varieties called the Heeler or the Queensland Heeler. The heeler breed is designed to work with cattle, sheep, hogs, and fowl (Beauchamp 10). The trainability of the Australian Cattle Dog is a reflection of its intelligence and strong desire to plea...
