The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattledog

The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is a little-known breed used in the development of the Australian Cattle Dog. Stumpies are primarily found working stock in the USA, and unlike the ACD they aren't recognized by the American Kennel Club. This means they are still primarily being bred for their working ability rather than their appearance or tendency to win conformation shows. They're a bit like a grittier, more intense ACD.

The most striking feature of the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog is their natural bobtail. Most of them are born with tails less than 4" long, though they occasionally have a bit more tail. In comparison, Australian Cattle Dogs are supposed to have full tails. ACDs are not supposed to have their tails docked, but this is very common for working dogs in the USA. A possible explanation for this is that both breeds were imported from Australian to the American southwest at the same time, and early ranchers didn't realize they were separate breeds and though the natural bobtailed dogs had been docked.

Another major differences between the breeds is the colors, tan points are only allowed on Australian Cattle Dogs and not stumpies. Therefore the ACD can be red ticked, blue ticked with tan points, or just blue ticked. The ASTCD can be all red, or all blue, but not both at the same time.

Australian Cattle Dogs should be a bit longer from neck to tail than they are tall at the withers, giving them a rectangular outline. Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs are supposed to be equal in these measurements, giving them a square outline. This means stumpies have longer legs and shorter back than ACDs.

Developed in the 1800's in Australia, stumpies supposedly predated the Australian cattle dogs with tails and were used in their development. Australian kelpies were also used to develop the ACD, this is where the tan points came from. Stumpies were not derived from kelpies, and do not have tan points.

ACDs and ASTCDs have been crossbred quite a bit since the very beginning, and stumpies were in danger of going extinct as a distinct breed until the 1980's. The years of crossbreeding mean that an occasional stumpy with tan points crops up.

This is Sisci

After taking Xena back to her original foster mom, I brought home one of the Australian Cattledog puppies I have been working with since they were wee babies. In the litter of nine puppies there were a huge range of temperaments, from super-friendly personalities to spooky shy types. Most of the pups seem like they will top out around 40-50 pounds, except one.

3 weeks

This is Sisci. She started out as The Good Puppy. She was the puppy that sat all the time. By the age of three weeks she had already figured out that sitting made people happy.

As the litter gradually figured out how legs worked, Sisci began to lead the pack in coordination. Once she was fully mobile she became The Evil Puppy. Sisci was the first of her siblings to start chasing down other puppies to bite their legs.

5 weeks

By four weeks we were well-aware that this one puppy was turbo-charged and different from the others. She was definitely the Self-Appointed Fun Police, charging over to boss around any puppies who dared play too rambunctiously.

Sisci was also very focused on toys as soon as she discovered them. What could be better than carrying a ball or stuffed animal around?

The mother of these puppies is has a short tail. ACDs are sometimes docked by misguided and poorly-educated breeders, but some dogs are just born with naturally short tails. Sisci has a Natural Bob Tail, a tiny little nub. The rest of the pups either had full labby tails or short 4" tails.

12 weeks

Five of the nine puppies have now found homes of their own. Three of the four remaining puppies get along very well and love to play together. Sisci does not love the chaos of puppies at play. She had to be separated from the group regularly so the rest of the puppies could play.

18 weeks

I brought Sisci home as a new foster puppy to help work on her skills with cats. As a high-energy, high-drive, bitey 8-month-old puppy she could potentially become dangerous to small furry animals. So far, she's doing very well. Sisci has figured out which cat to avoid, and which cats she can try to entice into play. She plays very well with both Brisbane and Ru, and respects their space more than any foster dog I've had in the last two years.

Sisci is also going to be amazing at dog sports. Right now we're taking things easy on her growing body, but she is already crazy for frisbees and loves jumping into the pool.

8 months

She's going to be amazing at agility, right now we're working on the very beginnings of 2x2 weave poles. I already know that she likes lure coursing, but she won't be able to do the AKC Coursing Ability Test until she's at least 12 months old.

She's very physically sensitive and a whole lot like Brisbane. She has had an incredibly good foundation of experiences, especially as a tiny baby puppy. It will be a lot of fun to see what she can do!