Australian Cattle Dogs Are Monsters, You Don't Want One

Australian cattle dogs basically the worst breed ever. They are so bitey their urge to bite is wired to their spines somewhere before their brains so sometimes they short-circuit and just start biting whatever's in range. They have an unreal amount of energy, and working dogs will often run several miles behind a horse or vehicle just to get to the place they'll be working for the day. They are independent and freakishly intelligent, and will find problems to solve that you didn't even know existed. Cattle dogs are suspicious and often outright aggressive towards unfamiliar people and things, and treat everything as a potential threat. They bite people they don't like, they also bite people they do like. They bite out of affection. They bite when overstimulated. They bite. They bite. They bite.

Devils, I tell you.
Photo by Erin Koski

Why the Scare Tactics?

I was recently part of a dog breed discussion in which someone asked for breed recommendations that fit these criteria:

• Moderate energy level
• Intelligent and obedient
• Agility competitor
• Very low shedding
• Neat/not slobbery
• Great with children

Soon the breed recommendations were pouring in, mostly for very low-shedding breeds like poodles, schnauzers, and Chinese cresteds. However, a few people suggested border collies and Australian shepherds. When it was pointed out that these are, in fact, typically considered high-energy, moderate- to severe-shedding, child-herding breeds, some of these people stuck to their guns. Their logic was basically that their own dog doesn't shed that much, loves their kids, and is pretty mellow, and their friend's border collie is the same way so they sort of fit the criteria. Honestly, it was a bit like these people only saw "intelligent and obedient" and "agility competitor" on the list.

I am perplexed by this attitude, the same way I am perplexed when anyone instantly blurts out their favorite breed whenever someone asks for breed suggestions. There are a whole lot of different dog breeds out there, and no single breed is a perfect fit for everything.

I've found that most people who are very active in herding breed rescue tend to do the opposite, and try to scare people away from their favorite breed. When someone thinks they want a Queensland heeler, I want them to be prepared for the very worst of the breed. Sure, they're not all literally possessed by demons, but many are pretty awful compared to the common pet breeds. What I don't want is for someone to take the advice of a friend who owns an atypical fat, lazy, child-loving blue heeler, and end up with a turbo-charged, child-herding, perpetual motion machine.

Do Your Worst.

Herding dogs are not for everyone, particularly the most intense working breeds. A large number of the Australian cattle dogs that end up in rescue do so because they were a bad fit for their first home. They were destructive out of boredom. They bit the neighbor. They herd the children. The original owners and possibly even a succession of owners were expecting an average dog and ended up with an average ACD instead. I think the more we cattledog people play up their bad side, the fewer people will decide to bring one home in the first place. 

How Do I Change My Dog's Name?

Can you change a dog's name if they already know their name? Does the dog mind? How will they know? When I take a foster dog to meet potential adopters, they almost always ask whether or not they can change the dog's name. This makes perfect sense to me, I'm very particular about names and can't imagine owning a dog named Buddy, or Bella, or Cooper, or any of the other super-common dog names.

Photo by Erin Koski

Names can be more or less meaningful, depending on your point of view. For dogs, a name is largely a way to get their attention. We teach them that "this set of specific sounds means you". For some people, a regular old dog name is just fine. This is why there are so many Lucys and Lolas and Rockys at doggy daycare.

We name foster dogs and teach them their names so we can get their attention. In general, rescue people and foster parents aren't expecting adopters to keep the names we gave their dogs. We expect the new owners to give their dog a name that fits their family. Some people even have a list of potential names for their future dogs. I've met someone with a miniature poodle named Mothra and a chihuahua named Gamera, obviously they are someday going to name a dog Godzilla. I personally plan to name dogs Brontosaurus and Cthulhu in the future.

What's the best way to change a dog's name? If they don't react to their current name, you can go ahead and start calling them the new one. I like to say the dog's name as I'm giving them a treat. When I have multiple dogs in the house, I like to line them up and say each dog's name as I give them a treat so they learn their own name and don't just come to anything that sounds likely.

For dogs that know their name already, a gradual change can be more comfortable for everyone. I don't worry about changing a dog's name even if they've had it for years, mostly due to one of my human friends. She was adopted at the age of 18 months and arrived with the #1 most popular little girl name of the decade. Her parents, both professional musicians, wanted to give her a more unique and lyrical name. They added the new name to the end of her old name and called her that for several weeks before dropping the old name. It works for human kids, and it works for dogs too. Hellin the foster puppy, pictured above, spent two weeks being called Hellin-Kit by her new owners and now happily responds to Kit.

Changing a dog's name can feel a little weird, but it doesn't have to be awkward. I'm certain the dogs don't mind, and they're probably happier with a name that you are happy saying. Don't ever feel obligated to keep a rescue dog's name if there's something you'd like better. In rescue we tend to give the dogs upbeat, attention-getting names, or give whole litters matching names. These are really just placeholders, though.

Did your dog ever have a different name?

Quick and Quiet Crate Training

I've done a variety of fostering and transporting to help various rescues. Southern California shelters are perpetually overflowing with chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes. Meanwhile, there are plenty of places around the country where little dogs rarely show up in shelters at all. My theory is that cold winters limit their population. Obviously the solution for this problem is to export chihuahuas from our overcrowded shelters to places where tiny rescue dogs are in high demand. Some of our local rescues have teamed up a couple of times to drive dozens of chihuahuas to Montana. Merlin's Magical Carpet Ride is amazing, dogs that had been sitting in shelters for months got adopted within days of arriving.

When I lived a bit further south, I used to work with rescues in New York and Minnesota to pull dogs from Los Angeles County shelters and fly them to their forever homes. This was an adventure because I often had just over a week between pulling the dogs and taking them to the airport. The biggest challenge was getting them comfortable in their crates.

This little black and tan miniature pinscher is Wanda. She was picked up as a stray and ended up in a shelter in Los Angeles. Wanda was my biggest crate training challenge, she would hang out in the big crate in the livingroom, but her little airline crate was apparently terrifying. She absolutely refused to go in willingly, panicked and screamed hysterically for hours when forced in, and never calmed down on her own. Treats tossed in the crate and left with her always remained uneaten.

The beginning stages of crate training can be trying, especially if the dog really needs to be confined overnight. I've heard plenty of people told to just put the dog in there and ignore the screaming, but realistically we all need to get sleep. People in apartments or with less-tolerant housemates may not be able to wait through a weeklong extinction burst while their dog has a panic attack in the crate all night, every night.

With Wanda, the clock was ticking and I had to invent an entire new crate training method. The entire process took about three hours the first night, 15 minutes the next, and after that Wanda went into her crate with minimal fuss. I have only tried this with one dog, so if you attempt it please let me know how it goes.

The Quick and Quiet Method

1. Block the dog into a limited area, and make the crate the most comfortable option. I put the crate in a corner of the bedroom where Wanda could see me in bed, and then used a combination of furniture and baby gates to confine to an area of bare floor. Her options were to sleep on the hardwood, or go into the crate with her comfy blankets. If I had to do this in a carpeted room with a dog that didn't mind sleeping on the floor, I might try putting a fan in there to make the floor drafty and the crate more inviting. If the dog would go in the crate for food I would just toss something tasty in there and skip to Step 3.

2. Wait for a while. Wanda took maybe 15 minutes to decide that braving the crate was better than sleeping on the cold floor. I was extremely patient and just ignored her and read a book while she considered her situation.

3. With a less panicky dog I would have tried closing the door after they were in and settled, but this sent Wanda into hysterics immediately. She needed to learn to relax and stay put without the door enforcing the lesson. Instead, I decided to just stand in front of the crate so she couldn't get out. There was no door to frantically claw, just a person she trusted standing comfortably close. This might not work as well on a dog with a less developed sense of personal space, but Wanda seemed to find it comforting rather than confining.

4. When she finally settled down, probably 15-20 minutes later, I attempted to step back from the crate. Wanda popped up and tried to get out, so I again blocked the door with my legs. She settled a little faster, and eventually I was able to inch away again.

5. I learned not to move away too fast, but keep inching away, stepping back again to block her if she tried to leave. I probably spent well over an hour just standing there a couple of feet from her crate.

6. When I could climb into bed without Wanda stirring, I could also quietly close the door. The first time she woke up and we had to do the whole song and dance over again. With a light sleeper I might try pushing the door shut but not latching it. If housetraining wasn't a huge issue I could also have tethered her or just left her blocked into her corner for the night and then tried again the next night.