Australian Cattle Dog. Charlotte Schwartz

become arthritic.

      Hip dysplasia can only be confirmed with an x-ray, but certain symptoms may indicate a problem. Your dog may have a hip dysplasia problem if he walks in a peculiar manner, hops instead of smoothly runs, uses his hind legs in unison (to keep the pressure off the weak joint), has trouble getting up from a prone position or always sits with both legs together on one side of his body.

      As the dog matures, he may adapt well to life with a bad hip, but in a few years the arthritis develops and many dogs with hip dysplasia become crippled.

      Hip dysplasia is considered an inherited disease and only can be diagnosed definitively by x-ray when the dog is two years old, although symptoms often appear earlier. Some experts claim that a special diet might help your puppy outgrow the bad hip, but the usual treatments are surgical. The removal of the pectineus muscle, the removal of the round part of the femur, reconstructing the pelvis and replacing the hip with an artificial one are all surgical interventions that are expensive, but they are usually very successful. Follow the advice of your veterinarian.

       BREED STANDARD FOR THE

       AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG

      The standard of perfection for a specific breed of dog gives detailed information about how the breed should look. The physical conformation of a breed is described by the parent club of that breed and usually includes more than just a cursory explanation of the dog’s general appearance.

      Behavioral characteristics are often included in the description. Statements that help to define the breed are important to anyone seeking a representative example of that particular breed. Words like “an impression of strength and agility” help clarify the typical example of a breed. Characteristics such as “suspicious of strangers” and “dedicated to home and family” enhance one’s understanding of just what makes up the total dog of any given breed. The standard of perfection is superbly spelled out for the Australian Cattle Dog.

      Once the parent club composes the standard, kennel clubs around the world use that as a guideline by which to judge dogs of that breed. Thus, physical conformation plus personality and behavioral traits all add up to create the blueprint for the breed’s future.

      In the case of the Australian Cattle Dog, breeders have been so specific regarding the breed standard that whole pages of descriptions have been written about the breed. It is obvious that the originators of the Australian Cattle Dog wanted to be very clear in their definition in order to avoid future mistakes in identifying the AuCaDo. Thus, with a clearly spelled out description, future breeders would have specific guidelines to follow in producing succeeding generations that were exact replicas of the original dog.

       WHERE DOES A STANDARD COME FROM?

      Did you know that AKC breed standards are written by each breed’s parent club? Those standards are then used by dog-show judges to determine the dog or dogs that come closest to that criteria in their task of choosing the winners on any particular day. Standard are also used by breeders in creating breeding programs to produce the highest quality puppies that will grow up to become correct representatives of their breed.

      For example, in its description of the ears, specific mention is made of the inside of the ear: “…ears should be fairly well furnished with hair.” The reason? In the dirt and dust of the outback, hair on the inside of the dog’s ears helps to keep foreign matter from getting into the ear canal.

      In reference to the feet, the standard writers included mention of the nails: “Nails must be short and strong.” It is essential that the dog have short, strong nails to give him traction when herding cattle in the rough terrain of a farm or ranch property. Long delicate toenails would break and cause great suffering to the illequipped dog.

      This attention to detail has served the breed well ever since the original standard was written by Robert Kaleski in 1902. The breed standard was first approved by the Australian Cattle Dog Club of America on June 12, 1979. The current standard, which is presented here, was revised and approved on January 11, 1999. Committed to the breed’s ability as well as conformation, the parent club also has a Working-dog standard that describes the purpose, intelligence, trainability, posture, approach, eye, grip and bark of the AuCaDo. This can be viewed on the website (www.acdca.org).

       Judges use a “hands-on” approach in examining each dog for correct structure from tail to teeth.

THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB BREED STANDARD FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG

      General Appearance: The general appearance is that of a strong, compact, symmetrically built working dog, with the ability and willingness to carry out his allotted task however arduous. Its combination of substance, power, balance and hard muscular condition must convey the impression of great agility, strength and endurance. Any tendency to grossness or weediness is a serious fault.

      Characteristics: As the name implies, the dog’s prime function, and one in which he has no peer, is the control and movement of cattle in both wide open and confined areas. Always alert, extremely intelligent, watchful, courageous and trustworthy, with an implicit devotion to duty making it an ideal dog.

       An Australian Cattle Dog in profile, showing correct type, balance, structure and substance.

      Temperament: The Cattle Dog’s loyalty and protective instincts make it a self-appointed guardian to the Stockman, his herd and his property. Whilst naturally suspicious of strangers, must be amenable to handling, particularly in the Show ring. Any feature of temperament or structure foreign to a working dog must be regarded as a serious fault.

      Head: The head is strong and must be in balance with other proportions of the dog and in keeping with its general conformation. The broad skull is slightly curved between the ears, flattening to a slight but definite stop. The cheeks muscular, neither coarse nor prominent with the underjaw strong, deep and well developed. The foreface is broad and well filled in under the eyes, tapering gradually to form a medium length, deep, powerful muzzle with the skull and muzzle on parallel planes. The lips are tight and clean. Nose black.

      Eyes—The eyes should be of oval shape and medium size, neither prominent nor sunken and must express alertness and intelligence. A warning or suspicious glint is characteristic when approached by strangers. Eye color, dark brown. Ears—The ears should be of moderate size, preferably small rather than large, broad at the base, muscular, pricked and moderately pointed, neither spoon nor bat eared. The ears are set wide apart on the skull, inclining outwards, sensitive in their use and pricked when alert, the leather should be thick in texture and the inside of the ear fairly well furnished with hair. Mouth—The teeth, sound, strong and evenly spaced, gripping with a scissor-bite, the lower incisors close behind and just touching the upper. As the dog is required to move difficult cattle by heeling or biting, teeth which are sound and strong are very important.

      Neck: The neck is extremely strong, muscular, and of medium length broadening to blend into the body and free from throatiness.

       Head study, showing correct structure, balance and type.

       Australian breeder, judge and breed expert Narelle Robertson, awarding Best in Show at the 2000 Australian Cattle Dog Club of America Specialty to Ch. Yarrabee’s