Australian Cattle Dog Rescue MN

Australian Cattle Dogs were developed to work alongside the cattlemen of Australia. Derived through careful crossbreeding over a 60-year period, the ACD is the result of the introduction of various breeds – including the Dingo, Australian Kelpie, and Blue Smooth Highland Collie to add specific traits. While imported herding dogs struggled with the Australian outback, ACDs could move livestock over any terrain and in almost any weather.

The Australian Cattle Dog is extremely intelligent, courageous, and ever vigilant. ACDs take things seriously, have a high prey drive, and consider themselves indestructible.

Their primary person is the center of their universe and as ‘velcro-dogs’, they want to stick by your side at all times. This intense bond with the primary person can lead to protective and territorial behaviors.

ACDs respond well to structured, positive training methods and are capable of learning complex tasks in only a few repetitions. Though they are physically tough, they are emotionally sensitive and take all corrections to heart.

ACDs thrive when given something to do. Their ‘job’ can be something as simple as retrieving
a ball or as complex as formal obedience competitions. The more you give them to learn and do, the happier they will be. ACDs excel at agility, flyball, dock-diving, herding, disc-dog, and obedience. They also participate in weight pulling, schutzhund, therapy-dog, and search-n-rescue – they will do whatever you ask them to do.

When not provided with ‘jobs’ - ACDs might direct their vast reserves of energy into potentially destructive pursuits.

ACDs carry recessive piebald alleles, or variant genes, that have been sometimes linked to congenital hereditary deafness. They may develop progressive retinal atrophy or hip/elbow dysplasia.