All about 'Lady" the Australian Cattle Dog

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Hi there.

The first picture is of my female ACD...Lady.

This picture is of her at 6 years old right after we moved into our new apartment.  It was actually quite a distressing time for me because I worried about how she would adjust.  We had just moved from the home she grew up on which was very different than the city apartment.  I bought her when she was 6 weeks old and she grew up with me while I was managing a 100 acre horse farm with about 60 horses.  We would spend 9-10 hours a day at the farm every day.  It was the perfect
environment for both of us.  

She of course had all the herding instincts of her ancestors and was very helpful when we needed to rotate horses through pastures, halter-break weanlings and informing the farm crew when there was a horse in trouble.  This was all very challenging for me as I needed to learn how to guide her instincts and behaviours so that they would work for me in an appropriate manner.  

She loved my farm crew but, as is typical of the breed, definitely thought she was my assistant manager of the barn.  She was a bossy bitch but rarely crossed the line and when she did my crew had been given clear instructions on how to bring her down a notch.  

I was curious about her pedigree since I know that the origins of the breed are not well understood.  What I have been able to determine is that she has only a little bull terrier in her and she shows quite similar traits of what the "Hall's Heeler" developed into.  As is noticeable in this picture, she has more dark colouring than the strong "bluish" hue that many ACD's have.  She has quite a bit of tan or ginger colouring up her legs and on her face and neck which I'm told is more common in Heelers that are more closely related to the Dingo lineage.  She also has a good sized black spot on her side and back.  

She is very feminine, and "plain faced", doesn't have an eye patch which I like better.  You can definitely see the distinctive "Bentley Mark" and the whitish/blue end at her tail, also characteristic of the legendary Tom Bentley dog.

Back to our move...she has actually adjusted very well.  In fact, I think she may be handling the new environment better than me some days.  She seems fairly content as long as we are together.  Since it has only ever been just the two of us she and I have a very strong bond yet she doesn't and never has had any anxiety issues when I leave her although she is deliriously happy when I return.

Another trait she has which I have found rare when compared to other ACDs is that she has never had any interest in herding people or children.  She especially avoids children as much as possible, unless of course they have something to throw so she can fetch.  Fetching is probably her favourite activity, except for herding horses.

As is also common of the breed, she will fetch and retrieve until she collapses with exhaustion.  She avoids confrontation with other dogs and rarely finds a dog she has any interest in playing with, again avoiding them as much as possible, she truly detests puppies.  She is a brilliant dog and excels at obedience.  We have been active in agility but I think she gets bored because she learns and advances through the courses much faster than I do!  We have started learning how to herd cattle which is also challenging because they respond much differently than horses.  She's learning quickly though.

The 2nd picture was taken when Lady was 7 years old on one of our vacation camping trips on one of Northern Michigan's beautiful state campgrounds.  She is quite at home around the campfire and  We sleep in a tent she loves roughing!!  She helps me when I pick blueberries
although I haven't been able to keep her from eating them.  She loves to graze on vegetation.

Sorry for the long story but I can just rattle on and on about her and never get tired of it.  I love showing her off to anyone who can stand it.

Thanks, Marci - Michigan.

Thanks Marci for a great story