Australian Cattle Dog Breeder?

Michiyo-Fir

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#1
A friend of mine is looking for an ACD, she's had 4 ACDs in the past but she's been saying most of the breeders she can find now are purely show breeders that don't do anything else with their dogs and the type of dog is changing in a way that she doesn't like.

She's looking for working lines with a slightly less stocky body (she says this is introduced through show breeding and that if you visit farms down south, most of their ACDs are a bit more slender with longer legs). She also prefers a bit less heavy and bulky, with not such a blocky head (she says this has also increased from show breeding).

She doesn't care if the breeders show or not (actually prefers no show titles), but the breeder must work either on a farm, or prove themselves in trials.

I did a quick google search but couldn't come up with anything, do you guys know anyone? Or where she could contact?


Edit: she's looking for this type
 
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stardogs

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#4
The AuCaDo forum (http://www.aucado.us/forums/) is also a great resource - they'll be able to recommend good rescues if she's open to that as well.

She may also want to look into Stumpy Tailed Cattle Dogs - they tend to be very similar to ACDs temperament-wise but are leggier.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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#5
She may also want to look into Stumpy Tailed Cattle Dogs - they tend to be very similar to ACDs temperament-wise but are leggier.
Actually she's thinking about switching over to stumpies because most stumpy breeders are working breeders. But she's so attached to ACDs she thought she'd give it a try first. See if she can find the type she likes that actually work their dogs.
 

stardogs

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#6
Does she need an intact dog? If not, even if she needs a working dog, I do know of several rescues that can herding test their fosters if needed and rescue often sees the much leggier ACDs.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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#7
No she doesn't need an intact dog but she wants some pretty specific things and also she lives in Canada (BC) so I don't know how many rescues are willing to adopt that far. Many breeders allow their puppies to be shipped I think.
 

stardogs

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#9
Yes Stephanie can certainly help I'd think - she's in Ontario. She's also on AuCaDo as that's how I met her myself! ;)
 

Michiyo-Fir

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#11
My friend said she wants a puppy from this breeder that she found herself.

She wants a puppy out of their farm bred cattle dogs, not the AKC ones. I think they breed both AKC types and farm dog types without any registration.

Hmm...I'm definitely not sold on this breeder but she doesn't care that much about health tests and stuff like that despite the warnings I've given her since she's always had farm dogs from ranches in the area.

http://www.ksranchheelers.com/

I'm still going to encourage her to talk to people on AuCaDo though.
 
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#12
Good luck. That breeder is putting a lot of false information on her website. There is no such thing as a "chocolate gene" in cattle dogs. Mixing reds and blues will only produce reds and blues. I highly suspect a few of her dogs to be mixes. Don't know what the stigma is against AKC cattle dogs. They are supposed to be built stocky to take a kick from a cow. I can refer you to quite a few AKC breeders who fully health test their dogs AND do herding. I hate to post links to websites on a public forum, but it seems your friend is sold on just having a "non-AKC" dog. I'd tell her to go to rescue or just spend $50 in the local paper.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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They are supposed to be built stocky to take a kick from a cow. I can refer you to quite a few AKC breeders who fully health test their dogs AND do herding. I hate to post links to websites on a public forum, but it seems your friend is sold on just having a "non-AKC" dog. I'd tell her to go to rescue or just spend $50 in the local paper.
To be honest, if you look at purely working cattle dogs on actual ranches in Texas, most are MUCH leggier than the show bred dogs, also they do not have the giant bulky head. I mean the people that do not care even the littlest bit about conformation and purely breed dogs for future generations of working dogs, with leftover pups that go to fellow farmers and ranchers. I have told her that many AKC breeders do herding as well. But she doesn't believe in the standards of AKC herding at all. She said to me that she thinks, any dogs with any prey drive and training, including retrievers can do AKC herding because it's more about placing the dog and having the dog walk in such a way than actual herding because the sheep are so used to the procedures and patterns. I really have no comment on this since I haven't observed either AKC herding or actual farm/ranch herding and I have absolutely no knowledge about herding.

I think you might be right that she doesn't want an AKC dog. She doesn't believe that working dogs/breeds should EVER be bred for the show ring which to me is quite extreme. Although I love dogs bred to work, I have no problems with dogs bred for the show ring as long as they're being bred responsibly and not to extremes.

I had told my friend that this breeder doesn't look like the best of choices either, considering what little information they provide and the number of Fair (not good or excellent) hips dogs they have.

She's now saying she wants to go to Alberta, where her grandparents live and just drive to the more rural areas with farming communities and pick a pup from any working farm that happens to have cattle dog puppies.

Edit: Actually, here it would be the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club).
 
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#14
That's all well and good, but I do live in Texas, and yes farm dogs are stocky. Not all of them, but there are stocky big headed farm dogs. A personal friend of mine took her farm-bred ranch dog and finished him in AKC conformation.

This is truly a breed that has not deviated much from the original purpose. The majortiy of AKC conformation dogs still have instinct for herding and the drive and temperament to do it day in and day out. I have owned 3 AKC registered cattle dogs and all of them came out of working stock. My oldest bitch's mom was a ranch dog (finished AKC ch). Her owner competed in team roping and the dog went to rodeos and helped with moving stock, no AKC herding titles. Her dad was an AKC Ch as well as titled in herding and was a ranch hand at home in his everyday job. My male's parents are both AKC ch's and titled in herding in AKC and ASCA. Both of them work on the breeder's cattle/sheep farm too. There are perfectly good, standard-fitting dogs out there who have jobs and do herding. I'm not necessarily talking about AKC herding either. All of mine have been worked on sheep, but I don't have time to trial, nor do I live near a herding trainer or have access to sheep and cows. They all have instict though, and all have proven biddable to training.
 
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#15
I'm not trying to jump on you or personally attack you, but to me it's like asking the breed to split. The standard is put into place for a reason. Find a breeder you like who has stable working dogs. If she's just set on a lanky dog, one will come along, there's a small one, or a tall one, or a lanky one in every litter. Doesn't mean they won't herd, just means they probably wouldn't be considered pick of the litter because they don't represent an all around standard-fitting cattle dog.
 
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#16
This may be a bit OT: but can someone tell me what's the proper temperament for an ACD? We get "heelers" in occasionally for baths and whatnot. I've only met one that was friendly. Most are almost painfully shy and neurotic. I've seen some drop deuces because they're so stressed at being out of their home environment and handled by strangers. I get the impression that they're "one-person" dogs, but how much of this is the breed itself and how much is poor breeding/handling/socialization?
 
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#17
This may be a bit OT: but can someone tell me what's the proper temperament for an ACD? We get "heelers" in occasionally for baths and whatnot. I've only met one that was friendly. Most are almost painfully shy and neurotic. I've seen some drop deuces because they're so stressed at being out of their home environment and handled by strangers. I get the impression that they're "one-person" dogs, but how much of this is the breed itself and how much is poor breeding/handling/socialization?
The majority of heelers you see down south are poorly bred and ill temperamented. I think a certain level of psychosis comes with all herding breeds <g>, but the less socialization these guys get, the worse they are.

Just from being on this board, I kind of think they need the "fila-treatment". Get em out, get em out young, get em out a lot. The more people, animals, noises, situations they encounter the better. This breed tends to take matters into their own hands and thats a horrible thing if the dog doesn't know what normal situations are. They also need to be taught that they do not control everything. "Hate getting your nails done? Oh really? Well, now I'm grinding em twice a week." If you let them push you once they will do it again. I can't say honestly how my dogs would do out of my hands, but if I hold them, the vet/techs/whoever can do anything they want. When my oldest had cancer, I held her on the table while my vet took lung aspirations with no sedation. It says in the standard "must be amenable to handling in the show ring" and "approaches strangers with a suspicious glint". I'd bet the majority you see (just knowing what part of the country you live in) have never left the farm. They can really become psychotically shy without socialization, and like I said, if they have never been made to do anything they usually react badly.

This is NOT a dog for most people. Most loyal dog you'll ever own if you can earn the respect, but its a long and trying road. :)
 
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#20
That's always a possibility. And those that clearly aren't working dogs are probably just someone's pet that only ever gets out to see the vet and get groomed every 6 months. Okay, so suspicion of strangers is normal. I kind of figured that. But not fighting tooth and nail to avoid a bath. LOL!
 

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