General characteristics, locality of origin, ancestors and breeding theories of the Australian short-tailed herding dog, popularization, recognition and name change. The Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog is a well-proportioned, robust dog with pointed, erect ears and long legs. A feature of the breed is the frequent lack of a tail. When the tail is there, it is rather short and docked. The coat is medium, straight, dense and hard with a speckled or spotted blue color.
The birthplace of the Australian short-tailed herding dog and the history of ancestors
The origin of the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is a hotly debated mystery. The breed was developed to a limited extent in rural areas and was bred exclusively as a working animal. These factors, combined with the fact that it predates the first records of dog breeding, means that no one is sure how and when the breed was created or who developed it.
The usual claim is that the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog is the oldest purebred dog in Australia. The claim is quite possible, but it cannot be said with certainty until the researchers present convincing evidence. There are many theories and stories about the development of this breed, although the evidence to support any of them is scarce and unreliable at best.
All versions agree with four key points: these dogs were bred in Australia and first appeared in the first half of the 19th century, they were the result of the intersection of British herding dogs and the Australian Dingo, the variety was bred to graze cattle and sheep.
The history of the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog dates back to 1788, when the first British colony was established on the Australian mainland. From the earliest days of European settlement in Australia, the herding industry and wool production have played an important role in both the country's economy and the British Isles.
For hundreds of years, British herding breeds have been identified as the most highly skilled and most efficient livestock breeds. These dogs were well suited to work in their homeland. When British herders first immigrated to Australia, they brought with them the canines that have served them and their ancestors for countless generations. However, extremely loyal and reliable working and highly skilled British herding dogs lived poorly in their new homeland.
Adapted to life in cool England and the cold Scottish Highlands, these dogs, the forerunners of the Australian Short-tailed Shepherd Dog, were very poorly adapted to the climatic conditions of Australia. Temperatures in Australia often rise to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and remain that way for hours on end. British collies and shepherds did not tolerate this kind of weather and often died of heatstroke. Numerous diseases thrive in hot climates, including many that have not been found in the UK or were extremely rare.
In addition to numerous diseases, Australia is also home to more parasites and biting insects. Australian wildlife is also significantly more dangerous than Britain, where the red fox and river otter are the largest surviving predators, neither of which are a threat to the adult shepherd. Australia is home to many species willing and able to kill both dogs and livestock, such as the Dingo, monitor large lizards, massive crocodiles, wild pigs, the world's most venomous snakes, and, according to legends, the thylacine (marsupial wolf) or Tasmanian Tiger.
One of the most developed countries in the world, Great Britain was densely populated, had a good road system and generally passable territory. During the 1800s, Australia was arguably the least developed country on Earth, essentially without roads and countless square miles completely uninhabited by humans. Even sheep and cattle in Australia were much more difficult to work with. While cows and sheep in Britain were extremely tame and flexible as a result of reproduction and close contact with humans, livestock in Australia was half wild due to the need to survive in small numbers and the fact that many animals only saw humans up close a few times a year.
The difficulties imposed on British herding dogs, the ancestors of the Australian short-tailed herding dogs, were extreme in remote European settlements. Herders working on hundreds of acres in Australia often had herds of sheep more than a hundred miles from the nearest major settlement. Before the invention of railroads and automobiles, the only way to bring a product to market was with the help of horses and dogs. The farmers needed dogs that could work at a fast pace and in extremely high temperatures for many hours in a difficult terrain and uneven terrain. And also have resistance to disease and parasites and the ability to cope with dangerous wildlife in Australia.
However, there was one type of dog, the predecessor of the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog, very well suited for life in the Greater Southern Continent - the Dingo. Although their origins have been lost in time, Dingos were first brought to Australia sometime between 4,000 and 12,000 years ago by sailors from Indonesia or New Guinea. Once on the Australian mainland, Dingo was wild and finally returned to a completely wild state.
Leading a solitary life in Australia, the Dingo develops in its own way, like other canines, such as wolves, which are usually considered a unique subspecies. Dingos are correctly adapted to life in Australia and have successfully settled the entire continent, even in the most severe regions. To survive, Dingos are hunted regularly. Although, it is possible that a separate subspecies of these canines produced fertile offspring with all domestic dogs (including British shepherds) and wolves.
Breeding theories for the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog
The most popular and generally accepted theory of the origin of the Australian Short-tailed Herding Dogs is that they were bred by a man named Timmins, whose name appears to have been lost in history. Timmins was supposedly a farmer who owned a lot of cattle and sheep. It is known from many sources that Timmins lived and worked during the early colonial period mainly in Bathurst, New South Wales.
Following the example of many early Australian settlers, the farmer Timmins possessed the Smithfields. Now generally considered extinct, the Smithfields were a grazing breed that originated in southern England, very similar to the Old English Shepherd, of which they may have been ancestors. The dogs were named after the Smithfield market in London, where they were most commonly used. At one point, there were two varieties of Smithfield, one with a natural tail and the other with a longer tail.
Timmins allegedly crossed his Smithfield with Dingo to get a dog with the best qualities. The resulting dogs, the forerunners of the Australian short-tailed herding dogs, bit the legs of the cattle lightly to get them to move and became known as the "Timmins Biters". They allegedly had a chunky Smithfield tail and a red Dingo coloration. The creator considered his dogs to be very hardworking and extremely adapted for Australian life. However, they tended to bite so hard that they could damage the livestock they were driving, and were wild and difficult to train.
To address these issues, Timmins crossed his dogs with Merle Blue Smooth Collies. The puppies still had a short tail and remained efficient and environmentally friendly, but they were less stiff and more trainable, and some had blue instead of red. Timmins and other breeders focused their efforts on blue dogs, on the assumption that they had smaller Dingo genes and therefore became more docile, although the red color never completely disappeared.
There is another popular theory regarding the origin of the Australian short-tailed herding dogs. Some argue that it is a descendant of the same group of dogs that gave birth to the Australian Cattle Dogs. In 1802, the Heller Hall family moved from Northumberland, England to New South Wales and became the owner of a huge cattle ranch.
The family subsequently imported herding dogs from Northumberland for help in the new home. The exact nature of these dogs is unclear, but they were almost certainly collies. The Hall family may have later crossed them with the Smithfields. Learning that their canines had the same problems as other British working dogs in Australia, they crossed them with Dingos, which the farmers kept as home pets. The offspring turned out to be exactly what the family wanted, and they became known as "Hall Heller".
Improved by the early 1840s, these dogs had advantages over other dogs. Therefore, they were not implemented, but cherished, passing from ancestor to ancestor until the death of the family ancestor Thomas Hall in 1870. Believers in this theory argue that those dogs that remained closest to the original Hall Heller subsequently became Australian Short-tailed Herding Dogs. They were equally crossed with other breeds and from them the Australian Cattle Dog was born.
There is little evidence for these leads, but it seems that Timmins' origin theory is more plausible than Hall's origin. In fact, neither one nor the other is completely accurate, especially with regard to specific details. Regardless of how the breed originated, the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog developed into one of the leading domestic animals in its homeland towards the end of the 19th century.
The species was widespread throughout Australia and was used quite often as a working dog, but it was probably never as popular as the Australian Cattle Dog. Although they are used for similar purposes and probably sometimes overlap with Australian Cattle Dogs, they are recognized as different breeds, or at least species.
Popularization of the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog
Short-tailed herding dogs have appeared in Australian dog shows since at least 1890. Most of the early performances covered two breeds in the same classes, and before World War I the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog made up almost 50% of the Cattle Dog records.
In 1917, the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) recognized both dogs as separate breeds, initially calling them Australian Cattle Dog and Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog (without the word Australian). The Australian Cattle Dog has become a fairly popular show star due to its good looks, although it was generally employed as a working dog. Meanwhile, its short-tailed relative remained almost exclusively a working animal.
As a result of the large numbers of American troops stationed in Australia during World War II, the Australian Cattle Dog was introduced to the United States of America, where it became quite popular as a working dog and companion animal. However, the short-tailed shepherd dog remained virtually unknown outside of its country.
In line with the 20th century, the Australian Cattle Dog has almost completely eclipsed the short-tailed herding dog in terms of popularity and social recognition. Interest in members of the breed has almost completely disappeared. By the 1960s, there was only one family that had fully registered herding short-tailed dogs from Australia, Mrs. Iris Hale of Glen Iris Kennel. A number of other breeders continued to breed their dogs as working animals, but did not register them, possibly crossing with other breeds and Dingos.
Restoration, recognition and name change of the Australian Short-tailed Shepherd Dog
By the 1980s, it was clear that the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog was on the verge of extinction, at least as a purebred dog. In 1988, the ANKC announced a radical breed rescue program - a canine remodeling scheme. Individuals, similar to purebred short-tailed herding dogs, were found throughout Australia. Primarily, but not exclusively, they were working herding dogs.
These animals were judged on how closely they meet the “A” breed standards, which is the highest requirement. A descendant of two A-graded dogs was allowed to register as a purebred Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog. The Reconstruction scheme proved to be very successful, significantly increasing the number of registered breed members while maintaining physical appearance and performance.
As the breed grew, few short-tailed herding dog puppies began to be exported to other countries, most notably New Zealand and the United States. In 1996, the United Kennel Club (UKC), the second largest dog registry in the United States and worldwide, was fully recognized by Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog as a member of the Herding group. In 2002, the ANKC officially changed the breed's name to the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog, and the International Federation of Cynology granted temporary recognition for the breed.
In 2006, the breed conversion scheme was officially completed and no new non-pedigree dogs will be added to the registered population. However, the number of breed representatives has increased so much that now the species is in a fairly safe position and is not subject to the danger of extinction. In addition, a significant population of non-purebred short-tailed representatives remains in the countryside as working animals.
In contrast to most of today's canine species, the Australian Short-tailed Cattle Dog is considered almost exclusively a working animal and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. In recent years, several owners have started keeping members of the breed primarily as companion pets. But, this variety has high requirements for extreme exercise and physical stimulation, which are difficult for the vast majority of families to provide.
The position of the total population of the breed in their homeland is now quite stable, but these dogs are almost unknown in other parts of the world. If the breed becomes popular in various countries, it will almost certainly establish itself well in countries such as the United States of America, which have many herding breeds, and perhaps highly appreciate and use the talents of the Australian Short-tailed Herding Dog.
