Judging the Australian Cattle Dog

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, May 2018 issue.

Judging the Australian Cattle Dog

The first sentence of the excellent Breed Standard speaks volumes:

“The general appearance is that of a strong, compact, symmetrically built working dog, with the ability and willingness to carry out his allotted task however arduous.”

There is no mystery in judging this breed as there is no feature of the Cattle Dog that is overemphasized or exaggerated. If ever there was a “dog’s dog,” the Cattle Dog is that dog.

First and foremost, he is a working dog—a true stock hand and a great asset to his owner, as he has no peer in his ability to control cattle. This should be the primary mental picture you have in mind when judging the Cattle Dog. He must appear strong enough, athletic enough, fast enough, and brave enough to work cattle.

He must have strength in his head and teeth, well-laid-back shoulders that allow him to dive for heels and duck from kicks, a low, well-placed tail to help steer him, low hocks and strong hindquarters that allow him to spin and sprint, strong arched feet and legs to carry him miles, and an overall strength of body to endure well-placed kicks when the cow makes contact with his body.

His strength of character allows him to get back to work even after being kicked. He is an athlete, a cunning thinker, able to reason in ways that can be maddening, making him the best at his job. He is serious when it comes to work and protective of anything he claims as his own, but he’ll show his funny, silly side whenever it suits him. Most everything will be on his terms.

This is a breed that can be knocked cold by a kick, come to, shake it off, teach the offending cow who’s boss, and still earn a qualifying trial score. I’ve seen it happen.

When judging the Cattle Dog, approach him with complete confidence and work quickly. Allow your hands to confirm what your eyes have seen, and be done with it. He will tolerate your exam, but he isn’t likely to try to become your friend. A temperament foreign to a working dog must be regarded as a serious fault.

His head shows strength in both breadth and depth, keeping proportionate with his body. His skull is only slightly curved, with a slight but definite stop, and he is well-filled under the eyes. He has a strong, deep, well-developed underjaw. Be confident in checking his bite, and be aware that missing premolars may sometimes occur.

Teeth should show a scissors bite, evenly spaced, sound, and strong. Since he uses his teeth in heeling and biting, they are very important. Show dogs are often worked, and as a result, you may find broken or damaged teeth. These should be regarded as honorable scars and not faulted.

He has medium-sized, brown, oval eyes with a prized characteristic: a suspicious glint. That glint is difficult to describe but unmistakable when seen. When you get “the look,” you’ll know it.

Atop his strong head are moderately sized, pricked, muscular ears that incline outward. His ears will tell you what he is thinking, so pay particular attention to them.

His body is strong, enabling quick twists and turns as well as long distances across wide-open spaces. This dog can work in close quarters as easily as on the open range. He is credited with opening the outback of Australia, with its hostile conditions, as he is tough enough to take not only the punishment that can be dished out by rogue cattle but also the punishment of the elements. Think of him trailing cattle for miles on end, with the need now and then to bolt off to collect a stray, when evaluating his body and running gear. Any tendency to grossness or weediness is a serious fault, as either of these deviations will take away from his ability to perform his job.

His topline is level and strong, and his body is short coupled with well-sprung ribs and a deep, muscular chest, with a ratio of length to height as 10 is to 9. His legs, front and rear, have round bone, should be parallel, straight, and strong. In the front, he has a slight angle in his flexible pasterns, and in the rear, he is powerful with long thighs and well-turned stifles, with hocks well let down. Feet are round, strong, well-arched, with hard deep pads that must carry the load every step of the way.

His moderately low-set tail comes off a rather long croup and reaches approximately to the hock. At rest, it will hang in a slight curve but will raise during movement or excitement, though at no time should it be carried past a vertical line. Posturing dogs will hold their tails out to impress their rivals, but even then a correct set-on will be clearly evident.

Soundness in motion is paramount. For such a powerfully built dog, his gait is free, supple, and tireless. He looks like he can go forever—because he practically can. When trotting, the feet tend to converge at ground level. Many faults from the standard appear in the Gait/Movement portion and will be assessed on the move, with stiltiness, loaded or slack shoulders, straight shoulder placement, weakness at elbows, pasterns, or feet, straight stifles, or cow or bow hocks regarded as serious faults. If his movement is hampered, his ability to work is hampered, and no matter how good he looks standing, his value comes when he is moving to control cattle.

In my experience, the one question that is most commonly touched on by judges is that of color. This may be because the color is somewhat novel to Cattle Dogs. There is no preference in color, and both red and blue are to be judged equally. A good blue dog is every bit as prized as a good red dog. Blue is a distribution of black or blue hairs and white hairs, while reds are, well, red with white hairs. Blue dogs have tan markings that are distributed similarly to many black and tan dogs (e.g., Dobermans, Dachshunds), while red dogs do not have tan markings. Blue can range from a very light silver to a dark blue, but at no time should there be an absence of white hairs making the dog appear black. The same is true for red dogs, who must not appear solid red from an absence of white hairs. While these are rarely seen, they do occur and should be penalized in proportion to their degree.

The standard does differ between the two colors in other ways: “Blue may be blue, blue speckled, or blue mottled.” Mottle is described by Spira in “Canine Terminology” as “Basically a bi-colored pattern consisting of dark, roundish blotches superimposed upon a lightish background, giving an overall uniform appearance.” No such reference is given in the standard for reds. Most commonly seen are blue or red speckles. Again referencing Spira, speckle is described as “An alternative to the term ‘flecking’ or ‘ticking’ employed in many breed standards. When used for the ‘red-speckle’ variety of the Australian Cattle Dog, it consists of red color patches, spots, and/or dots distributed over a red roan background.” Further, black markings on a blue dog are “not desirable,” while red markings on a red dog are “permissible but not desirable.” I have never received a satisfactory answer on why this is so, but it is so.

Permissible markings are on the head, evenly distributed for preference. Breeding for head markings is not possible—you just “get what you get,” so little emphasis is placed on markings by breeders. Full or double-masked dogs’ heads may appear wider, and half-masked dogs can look different from side to side. Look at them closely to determine what structure is under that marking. Masked or plain-faced, there is no preference. White spots on the center of the head, referred to as “Bentley marks,” are very common and should not be faulted, even though this feature is not addressed in the standard. Tails can be speckled and sometimes they are ringed like a raccoon’s. Some tails will also have black or red spots on blue dogs or red dogs, respectively. Breeders discuss this at length, but they are generally dismissed as they are not on his body. Again, this is not addressed in the standard but should not be faulted.

Reds can also get blue or black casts across their coats, referred to in the fancy as “purples.” This color is not correct, but it isn’t something to get hung up on either. After all this attention to color, it has little bearing on the judging of the dog, and I only expand on it to this degree because it is so frequently discussed and questioned by judges. Remember always, first and foremost, this is a working dog, and while we want him to have correct color, its priority will come well after the physical attributes of the dog are considered.

All of these lovely colors occur on a smooth, double coat with a short dense undercoat. The coat is close, straight, and weather-resistant. People are often surprised when they find that touching the coat can feel luxurious, even though to their eye the coat may seem otherwise.

There are no disqualifications in the breed standard, so it is up to you to consider the degree of the fault and assess the seriousness in exact proportion to its degree. Respect his power and intelligence, honor his place in history, and always remember he is the very best at his job when it comes to controlling cattle. For those who are as loyal to him as he is to us, he is an ideal dog. To quote a friend, “He is the best dog you’ll ever have and the worst dog you’ll ever have, and it will be the same day.” Such is life with an Australian Cattle Dog.