Archive for the ‘Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog’ Category
The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is a bobtailed, medium sized breed of dog. The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog was developed in Australia to herd cattle, and descends from crosses between European herding dogs and the Australian dingo.
The Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is a normally proportioned, rugged dog with pricked (standing up) ears and long legs. The breed’s most distinctive feature, for which the breed is named, is the frequent lack of a tail. When there is a tail, it is quite short, no longer than 10 cm (4 ins), and never docked. The coat is medium length to short, straight, dense and harsh. The coat color is a speckled red or speckled blue. Size is 46-51 cms (18-20 ins) at the withers for dogs, with females slightly smaller. The Australian Cattle Dog is a related breed (with a long tail) that is similar in appearance to the Stumpy, but the Australian Cattle Dog is proportionally heavier and less leggy.
The ideal temperament of the Stumpy is described in the breed standard as alert and watchful, as well as responsive to its owner and reserved around strangers, but also notes that “it must be amenable to handling” at shows, which implies that it is extremely independent, and that handling may be difficult. All working dogs need early socialization with people, and consistent training and activity throughout their lives.


