Any Cattle dog owners??

[shandoggy1]

Hi,
I have a 14 week old red Australian cattle dog. He has been so easy to train. I have him housebroken and obedience trained he sits, stays, comes, gives paw and rolls over. I was told by many that they are very easy to train and one of the smartest breeds, I just didn't realize how easy and fast they learn he is amazing!! I would love to hear from anyone who has one as well.

Thanks, Shandog1

[lucylou2]

Hi - I have a cattle dog. She is a blue heeler. She may be mixed with something - I'm not sure. We got her from a rescue. She is either mixed or simply the "runt". She weighs about 35 lb. and seems to be done growing.

She has been a handful to train! I think it has been harder to train her because we also have a boxer/shepard, Tia, who is 2 1/2 yr. old (about 60 lb. or more). They actually get along pretty good. Lucy (cattle dog) thinks she is just as big as Tia. She herds her by nipping at her legs. Tia is the only one she herds - I haven't been able to break her of it, but at least she isn't herding the rest of us! LOL

Tia is very protective of Lucy. They definately keep me busy. I also have 2 human kids - a 13 yr. old son and a 17 yr. old daughter, so life is always busy. I'll try and attach a picture of my girls. It is an older one - Lucy has gotten a little bigger, but she still looks pretty much the same.

I tried to put a picture of them here, but I can't figure out how??

[rmci]

Cattle dogs are very intelligent, but they also get bored quickly & can get into a lot of trouble. Good luck to ya

[DexyDoo]

As you can see, Dexter is a Blue Heeler mix. He is very smart and thinks he's smarter than me at times. You are right, they are very easy to train, but are also very stubborn dogs. If you haven't notice, they also like to herd everything. After a long day of being gone, Dexter meets me at the back door to jump up and kiss me on the face. Then again, when we run he likes to nip my ankles. I think it's the herding in him, but also b/c he's so excited. These dogs do require a lot of exercise. Dexter loves to go running or ride along the side of the bike. However, he doesn't like little kids too much or moving objects (kids on bikes or toys moving).

As someone else said, they can be very destructive. He actually got bored the other day and decided to tear his bed inside his crate. Just be sure to exercise them and you will not have a problem.

[shandoggy1]

I did alot of research on the breed before I got him. I know that if they get bored they will be destructive. However, with my activity level he is why the breed fit my lifestyle and that is why I got an ACD. It is scary but he is actually on the mellow side for his breed he is very laid back. I'm sure as he gets older that will change, but I can't wait till he can go for the 4 mile walks I do daily right know he is to young (4 months) and I only walk a mile with him.

[totherescue]

Hi, I own a full blooded blue ACD. My husband rescued him at a mere 18 weeks old. We didn't know much about the breed at the time but very quickly did our research on how to rehabilitate this breed. We are his 3rd family. "Bear" was seriously mistreated and tormented by the kids, left to live in a crate in his own feces and urine, had no socialization, and didn't like much of anything. He would run to his crate, open the door, and let himself in if he felt any unsecurity. We bonded very quickly and I am now the only person he doesn't want to bite. He would become very fear aggressive and act like he was gonna tear you up. Needless to say we had to take the crate away in order to socialize him. He took to our Harley (collie mix) right away, and had a great time herding all of us back into the living room ! Poor Harley had blood spots on his ankles and the kids pants were getting shorter before I finally broke him enough to stop doing damage. Once these dogs are traumatized it can be irreversable. I love him and I refuse to give up on him, but everyone else that knows my Bear says he should be put to rest. I take ample amounts of time wearing him out just to calm him down enough to want to even bother listening to training commands. PERSISTANCE is key. A quick, very stern "HEY" gets him to stop what he's doing to look at me, followed by a deep "NO", and an explaination of why you are telling him NO. They are highly intellegent and like to pretend that they don't understand you as to try to get away with the behavior again ! Bear is coming around very slowly. I don't ever leave him unattended with anyone, not even my husband, and he rescued him in the first place ! If anyone would like more ideas or information, please feel free to email me at

[totherescue]

I almost forgot .... it is common for this breed to mature at 4 or 5 yrs of age. So, like all of us parents still waiting for our children to mature, owners of this breed will be doing the same !!!!!!!!!

[Cassiepeia]

Originally Posted by totherescue

Poor Harley had blood spots on his ankles and the kids pants were getting shorter before I finally broke him enough to stop doing damage.

What do you mean when you say you "broke him"?

Originally Posted by totherescue

A quick, very stern "HEY" gets him to stop what he's doing to look at me, followed by a deep "NO", and an explaination of why you are telling him NO. They are highly intellegent and like to pretend that they don't understand you as to try to get away with the behavior again !

When I first read that I thought you were serious about "explanation of why you are telling him NO". Then I thought, no she must have left out the smilies or 'lol' in it. Now I'm kinda confused.
You don't really think he understands you when you explain his wrong doing to him, do you? That's probably a silly question, but it's late and it just jumped out at me when I read your post.


Back to topic...My cousin had a beautiful red Cattle dog called Munya. He was a terrible owner and so she got little exercise, no training and no socialisation (meaning...she was highly aggressive to strangers & dogs, constantly on the look out for trouble and very dominating to most). However, she loved me and I loved her. Not once was she ever even a little dominating or aggressive towards me...probably because I was the only one who paid her any attention).
To this day, I wish I had been able to take her in after my cousin decided not to take an interest. Not sure I could have helped her much, but I would have loved to have given her a good home.
They're fantastic dogs, but not for everyone.

Cass.

[CTDog]

A friend of mine does cattle dog rescue and fosters. She has one of her own and constantly has one, two or three floating through her house. She says they are very smart...almost too smart for the average owner, are not good with kids under 8 and need heavy exercise and training. Many of the ones she sees have developed strange obsessive quirks but this can be overcome with time and most importantly a routine. I realize they are often kept on farms but the average owner should not let one hang around loose outside their home. They can be protective and territorial. They often hate the vet too LOL I work at an animal hospital and 4 out of 5 want to eat us upon exam and vaccinations LOL

My friend uses positive training techniques including clicker training. You want to be FIRM but kind and fair. You cannot beat this breed (whether verbally or physically) into submission. She thinks they are awesome and will never live with out one.

Good luck with your babe and where are the pics????

[shandoggy1]

Originally Posted by CTDog

A friend of mine does cattle dog rescue and fosters. She has one of her own and constantly has one, two or three floating through her house. She says they are very smart...almost too smart for the average owner, are not good with kids under 8 and need heavy exercise and training. Many of the ones she sees have developed strange obsessive quirks but this can be overcome with time and most importantly a routine. I realize they are often kept on farms but the average owner should not let one hang around loose outside their home. They can be protective and territorial. They often hate the vet too LOL I work at an animal hospital and 4 out of 5 want to eat us upon exam and vaccinations LOL

My friend uses positive training techniques including clicker training. You want to be FIRM but kind and fair. You cannot beat this breed (whether verbally or physically) into submission. She thinks they are awesome and will never live with out one.

Good luck with your babe and where are the pics????

I beg to differ with you Ctdog about ACD's not being good with children because "any" dog can be bad with children if they are not raised right. I have a 4 year old daughter and a six month old ACD who is very protective of us even at such a young age. Being a single mother and my ACD pup only being around females more than men he doesn't seem to care for men to much. I wanted him for protection and he is doing his job. I go hiking 4 times a week in the woods and feel very safe with both him and my GSD. I give him lots of excercise and plenty of stimulation. We also go to the local dog park 2-3 times a week for lots of socializing, ACD's can also be dog aggressive as it describes in most Cattle dog books I have read. ACD's are not a breed for the first time dog owner and obviously someone who is not active but to say they are not good with kids is like saying all "Pitbulls are monsters" and Rottweilers, Cane Corso, Dobermans, Am. bulldogs etc. Again, its all in how you bring them up.

[CTDog]

Don't shoot the messenger please. I said my friend (who has fostered dozens of cattle dogs) says they are too much for kids under 8 years old. I didn't say that myself
I love dobies and have two myself. Yes, in certain situations young dobes and kids get along great. Often times however, they are simply too much dog for kids under 8. When my daughter was young and friends came over and played, I had to be very careful of that protective instinct in my male. Often he didn't understand the others kids were not hurting "his child" and wanted to jump in protect. Protection is great sometimes...but a pain in the rear other times. LOL

[shandoggy1]

Sorry I shot you I didn't mean to LOL! I see what you were saying. I just hate when people say certain dogs aren't good with kids cuz I think it has to do with how they are "both raised"

[CTDog]

I agree. Now where are the pics? I love red cattle dogs!

[shandoggy1]

You can check him out in the pictures section of the forum. I can't figure out how to post them on regular forums

[Cassiepeia]

To post a picture in the forum here.... upload the image to a site like Photobucket or Tinypic and the site will give you an address to post in your message here (it should be contained within [img] & [/img] tags...if it's not, simply add them yourself). Then just copy and paste the address into your message.

Cass.