Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog (ASTD)

As its name suggests, the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog was bred in Australia for herding work, and its distinctive feature is its lack of a tail. These dogs are highly intelligent, loyal, hardworking, and incredibly resilient, capable of working for long periods in rugged terrain. Other names for the breed include the Australian Stumpy Tail Heeler and Stumpy.

Content

1 History of origin
2 Appearance
3 Character and behavior
4 Content Features
- 4.1 Care
5 Health and life expectancy
6 Where to buy a puppy
- 6.1 Price
7 Photos and videos
- 7.1 Video about the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog breed

History of origin

Much about the history of Australian bobtails remains a mystery. It is known that British colonists brought many sheepdogs to the mainland, but they were not adapted to the extreme climate, and many died from heatstroke or disease. Farmers were faced with the task of developing a new breed that would meet all these requirements.

Timmins Bathurst achieved significant success in this. At the beginning of the 19th century, he began crossing English Smithfields with dingo.

The Smithfield is an old English breed of herding dog that was highly prized for its working qualities and could handle any type of livestock or poultry.

Many of his dogs excelled at herding cattle, but they were overly aggressive toward animals, earning them the nickname "Timmins nippers." Left alone with livestock, they were a recipe for disaster. Infusing them with merle collie blood solved this problem. In 2001, the breed received preliminary recognition from the FCI and received the official name Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog (ASTD). Stumpy-tailed Australian Cattle Dogs are very common in rural Australia, but few have pedigrees or are registered in the Stud Book.

Appearance

The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is a medium-sized, well-balanced, short-tailed shepherd. Its appearance is very similar to Australian heeler. Sexual dimorphism is expressed.

Height at withers: 43-51 cm
Weight: 16-23 kg.

The skull is broad and flat between the ears. The stop is prominent. The muzzle is strong, blunt wedge-shaped. The eyes are oval and dark brown. The ears are medium-sized, pointed, set high and almost vertical, and close together. The inside of the ear is well covered with hair. The earlobe is black. The bite is scissor-like. The neck is very strong, with a distinct crest, and is of medium length.

The body is almost square. The back is strong, straight, and broad. The loin is muscular. The chest is moderately wide and deep. The tail is naturally short (no more than 10 cm) and set high. The limbs are well muscled and have strong bone structure. The forelimbs are perfectly straight when viewed from the side. The hindlimbs are parallel when viewed from behind. The paws are rounded and strong; the nails are strong, short, and dark in color.

The coat is dense and double. It consists of a moderately short, coarse, straight guard hair and a soft, short undercoat. There is a small ruff around the neck. The hair on the limbs and head is shorter. Colors:

Blue - blue with speckles or spots. There may be black markings on the head or body;
red - red-speckled with or without red markings on the head.

Character and behavior

The bobtailed Australian Cattle Dog has a natural talent for herding livestock and is courageous, even-tempered, alert, and obedient. Highly intelligent and easily trained, it is also prone to independent behavior and requires extensive socialization. It has a strong protective and chasing instinct, making it a good watchdog, but can be prone to aggressive attacks toward other animals, strange dogs, and unfamiliar people. Another problem can be an insatiable desire to chase legs, especially if the dog's attention is directed toward a child or a neighbor's cat.

The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is intelligent, independent, proactive, and courageous. These qualities are highly valued in work, but make the breed unsuitable for inexperienced owners.

They are suspicious of strangers. While they may be friendly in normal situations, if threatened, they will become defensive, even if the opponent is significantly larger and stronger. They are very devoted to their owners and try to always be close, but they are unobtrusive and avoid sitting on their laps. They are often quite reserved in their displays of affection.

Content Features

The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is very hardy and hardworking, requiring constant activity. For this reason, indoor or apartment living is not ideal. Stumpys adapt well to various weather conditions and can work in extreme heat that would be dangerous for other dogs. They are undemanding in terms of diet. They will thrive on a farm or in a private home with a farmstead, as long as they are used for their intended purpose. At night, they may howl like a dingo.

These true athletes find it very difficult to provide sufficient exercise if they live in a confined area, and boredom and lack of exercise can lead to various problems: destructive and antisocial behavior, aggression, chewing, digging.

The AKPS can be a great companion for active people looking for a companion on runs, bike rides, and long hikes. It's also ideal for those with free time looking for a dog for sports like agility, flyball, and more.

Care

Care includes standard procedures:

From time to time the coat needs to be brushed to remove overripe hair, undercoat, grass residue and dirt;
Bathing as needed;
Claws wear down on their own. Only puppies, older dogs, and weak dogs require trimming.
The ears are examined once a week and cleaned as needed.

Health and life expectancy

Most Australian Stumpy Tails are healthy dogs, with a life expectancy of 12-16 years. They maintain excellent physical fitness and working ability well into old age.

A small percentage of the entire population suffers from hereditary diseases:

deafness;
hip dysplasia;
dislocation of the knee joint;
ophthalmological diseases (collie eye anomaly, cataracts);
tendency to demodicosis.

Where to buy a puppy

The Australian Stumpy-Tailed Cattle Dog is a rare breed, but is found in small numbers far beyond its native land. It is prized by farmers in the United States and Canada, and there are a few breeders in Europe. There is no information on kennels or imported dogs in Russia.

Price

Prices vary widely. In Australia, the average cost of a puppy from parents with excellent working qualities is $700. In the US and Canada, puppies can cost up to $1,500.