Found a pup

[JACB Dorper]

Heel low:

Tara here from Canada...former secretary, historian, elections and breeders' code of ethics chair for our country's ACD Club...bin there, done lots...even made the specialty T-Shirts a few years ...cow dogs are MY breed of choice...decades of devotion.

IMHO...that be a Heeler gal...some call them Montana or Texas HEELERS...some ACDers get their fur all in a rough when you call Australian Cattle Dogs a HEELER but whatever. Tis a beloved dawg mix of some sort.

At one time, I had wanted to do a project where we had photos of actual crosses on Australian Cattle Dogs...fur rescue purposes eh...BUT...and a big butt I have...the variance of expression made it dang so hard to say, this be this crossed with that. Plain simple guesses...so that project of photo IDing a breed crossed with another dog breed ceased. Good intentions but no thumbs up!

So your pooch, is likely a cross/mix of ACD and Border Collie given her shape and the colour variation she expresses. Gut feelings, eh.

She would likely have a Blue ACD/Heeler parent as in Blue, Black & Tan...you will note on your adopted girl, she has a grey colouration (black and white hair mix) in the areas where an ACD would have a"t" (Agouti pattern) tan points. We CAN have a dominant blue like in the Stumpy Cattle Dog too (not seen as often as the recessive blue,black&tans a"t"/a"t") in ACDs but rare to see nowadays.

All progeny of purebred/registerable ACDs may get body patching...some more than others. We prefer them as masks evenly on the face...Dingo tail spot and ring a dings on tails, but body patching is not preferred on blues or reds.

Canuck ACD Breed Standard

There are two recognized colours in the breed:

Blue - The color should be blue or blue mottled with or without other markings. The permissible markings are black, blue, or tan markings on the head, evenly distributed for preference, the forelegs tan midway up the legs, the hindquarters tan on the inside of the hind legs and inside of the thighs, showing down the front of the stifles and broadening out to the outside of the hind legs from hock to toes. Tan undercoat is permissible on the body, providing it does not show through the blue outer coat.

Red - The colour should be of good even red speckle all over, including the undercoat (not white or cream), with or without darker red markings on the head.

Even head markings are desirable. Solid red or solid black markings on the body are not desirable.

These are five of our seven wild roses...

Left is red male HyBlade (reg ACD)
Center red is Fixins (reg ACD)
Foreground is Strya (Heeler - see her Micky Mouse mark?)
Back middle is Stoggar (Heeler)
Far right is blue,black & tan Makins (reg ACD mother of Fixins)​

Loved and owned by what we suspect were/are two ACD/Border crossed girl dogs...Stoggar and Styra Foam. I never whelped these two so again, just well educated guesses at what these dogs were as far as breeds go.

Styra Foam​

Fixins purebred, Foamy is a mix
Fixins HATED pretty much all other dogs and people - but her and Styra were best girlfriends
​

Styra​

Foam Dome...see the dotty dots...see the tan points where an ACD would be tan​

In my experiences, mixes of the Border Collie and ACD have lots of kewl mottlings...dotty dots...mottling is a lighter base with coloured dots...speckling is coloured base with lighter dots.


Now on to Stoggar...our first ACD mix er upper...

I am forbidden by my own demise...to walk shelter dogs...I simply cannot DO this...not well...

2000 - Stoggar the Doggar AT the kill shelter with some of her pups
​

Me no go to do work AT shelters...can't go! I would bring home anything and everything I made EYE (0h my eyes) contact with...blighme...HELP!

Stoggs - July 12, 2001
​

August 20, 2012​

Stogs ears began over the years to go UP...Flying Nun??
So we figure in HER particular case (not others)
Poor nutrition was her issue...recall she whelped nine pups in the Shelter--
At the very least, calcium would have gone to babes outta her very bod
took her literally YEARS to get those ears on up...fly, be free??​

This article I wrote for the Calgary Humane Society as part of the ACD Breed profiles--lessen surrenders for dog breeds being what they were suppose to be bred for as the BREED. The ACD was the top 9th surrendered breed in 1998 - these articles helped reduce the ACD from top 9th to top 7th in 1999...my website has all the profile articles...the Good vs. Bad is a huge long one that goes bit by bit over the characteristics one expects in Australian Cattle Dogs...tis in their breedings...not all are like this but majority have some level or other.

Off my dog dog website...

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ranchrat/index.html

Lotsa resources there...have printed this as a booklet and it is phone book size...no tearing it in half with your bare hands, eh.

Australian Cattle Dog
Ideal Owner ​

​

By Tara Lee Higgins​

Canine owners must provide some basic necessities; food, water, shelter, medical care and most of all, love. Over and above basic dog provisions, the Australian Cattle Dog requires:

Owner's Attention and Companionship: The ACD's most desirable place is right beside you. This breed does not make a good isolated backyard dog; they prefer human contact even over canine company. The best reward is your companionship; the worst punishment is to be separated from you. If your ACD had it their way, your pack would never be split up. Be there as much as you can for your ACD. It is what makes them the happiest.

Daily Exercise Period: The ACD must be physically encouraged every single day of their lives. Rain, snow, sleet or hail, it does not matter the weather! They need it like oxygen and thrive on physical exhaustion. Bred to work all day long, it is what they were meant to do. If you are athletic, your ACD will keep stride for stride with you, but no intensive work or jumps until young ACD's growth bone plates meet (about 18 months old or seek professional advice from your veterinary). If you are more of the couch potato sort, you can still get out and about with your ACD and provide them with enough exercise to keep them healthy. Take out a tennis ball and a racquet. It takes almost no effort to send that tennis ball screaming down a field and your ACD will love you for it. What will cause 90 percent of your dog problems is directly related to how physically tired your ACD is. A fully exercised ACD is a content ACD, content to be a Siamese Twin to a couch potato. If you cannot exclusively commit an hour a day (or more until your ACD reaches the age of two years) to your ACD, try another dog breed. It is that simple.

Outgoing Attitude, Willingness to Try Out New Things, Teamwork: The ACD thrives on using its gray matter and is an independent thinker. An ACD does NOT tie out well on a chain and will not sit quietly as the world rushes by. Your ACD has to have a job, be it in a contained area watching over your property, herding your stock, or participating in dog sports. Changes in duties keeps your ACD challenged, so you both are encouraged to try many kinds of activities to keep yourselves amused. See the "ACD's Excel at" series in the complete ACD Profiles for ideas of what you both may try.

Firm but Consistent Training: Patience and understanding are the keys to training. It is your fault if your ACD does not understand what you are trying to train it. Work at it in different ways until you can convey what you want to your ACD to do. Brief, simple training sessions are the best and keep it fun, for both of you. The sky is the limit on the possibilities, so do not hold yourselves back. Obedience training your ACD must begin from day one and you should socialize your ACD with other dogs, livestock, pets, wildlife, children, crowds; most every type of creature/situation that you can think of. Ongoing repeated exposure in the socializing and training of your ACD will help to ensure your dog remains a well adjusted canine throughout its lifetime. Expect your ACD to test your ground rules regularly, it is just their nature.

Even Tempered/Intelligence: Lose your temper and you may as well call it a day. The ACD does not react positively to someone who has a firecracker for a temper. Get physical with your ACD and you are in for a match of both wits and strengths. I put my money on the ACD coming out the winner. What makes the ACD such a tough herding dog is also what makes them meet a fist with a snarl and a bite. You can whip your ACD into doing your will and you might think you are the winner of this battle, but you have lost the war. The ACD can be controlled, but physical force is not the method that will work. An occasional light swat on the butt can work to embarrass your ACD and get its attention, but it is mental control that you need to have power over your ACD's actions. Be smarter than your dog.

Sensibility/Stewardship/Caring: Your ACD will leap without looking, so make sure you are there to catch them should they fall. Your ACD feels indestructible and will disregard its own self-preservation to assist its owner. You are responsible for making sure your ACD does not injure itself in its attempts to please you or when it is obsessed in trying to reach an objective. ACD's have a high pain tolerance and it is not uncommon for them to continue working even with broken bones. Thankfully they also mend quickly, but keep your ACD sensible.

Truthfulness: Lie to your ACD and they will call your bluff every time after. Trust is something you must maintain. If you say "biscuit" and you have none on you, start running for one. Your word is golden and can work miracles with your ACD. Let them down one too many times and their trust in you is gone.

Financially Stable Owner: It would seem unthinkable that someone would get a dog and then not be able to afford to keep them properly. A dog requires not only your time and effort, but also your money. There will be food bills (though Cattle Dogs are easy keepers), medical costs (both preventative, age, and accidents), equipment costs (dog houses, crates, chew toys, collars, pens, fences, etc.), training costs, dog sport activities, or even having to relocate if the neighbours complain about your dog barking. Whatever the reasons, your ACD is relying solely on you to provide for them. The repayment of your ACD's loyalty and love is a thousand times more dear than money.

Responsible Dog Owner: An ACD can be a most beautiful thing or your worst nightmare. All that physical power and mental capacity can be both a blessing and a curse. Contain your ACD when you are not there to watch over the dog. A wandering ACD can get into much trouble and cause great havoc. Train your ACD bite inhibition to avoid severe dog bites--ACD's are a very mouthy herding breed and should be taught to restrain this instinctive behaviour. Obedience/Canine Good Citizen train your dog so it is a pleasure to be with around other people and animals. Spay or neuter your ACD if you are not a breeder. Ethical and moral decisions are numerous with responsible dog ownership. An ACD owner is even more aware of correct ownership behaviour because their dog has the ability to excel at whatever they do, be it bad or good conduct.

Person with Previous Dog Ownership Experience: The ACD is a real "dog person's dog" and is not a low maintenance pet. I do not know if someone who has never owned a dog could fully appreciate the diamond in the rowf that every ACD is. It takes a unique owner to make that diamond glisten; and sparkle and dazzle it will. An ACD is a dog, only more so and as the owner of this extra special breed, it is your own stewardship to your canine that is being tested, not the ACD. For each and every ACD is as brilliant as your polishing allows them to be.

Australian Cattle Dog
Ideal Home​

​

By Tara Lee Higgins​

I am sure if dogs had it their way, all living rooms would have biscuit trees, T.V.'s that played only dog food commercials or animal videos, fake fur couches would be THE interior fashion statement and a trickling brook would run right through the middle of it all. Unfortunately, this doggie dream would be impractical to most human situations. The ideal ACD home would make ALLOWANCES for the dog(s).

Sleeping Quarters: Kennel or crate, dog or human bed. If you would feel comfortable in the area your ACD is sleeping in (draft free, dry, warm, quiet), then it should be fine for your dog. The ACD has powerful jaws and can shred most blankets. Consider using fake fur as ACD bedding to keep down on the wear and tear.

Grooming Facilities/Health Provisions: The bathtub is just fine, though a detachable shower head is kinder to the owner's back muscles. Lake, kiddie pool, hose, or sprinkler are good for summer clean up. Remember that the ACD is famous for its wash and wear fur coat but, it still means your ACD will need a regular brushing (use a tight metal "flea" comb for the downy undercoat and a rubber horse curry comb will loosen the long outercoat) and the occasional bath to remain sweet smelling and huggable. Teeth can be brushed daily or a vet may remove the tartar build up biannually. Inspecting your ACD's paws often is good to detect cuts and abrasions and dry, cracked pads can have human hand cream applied to alleviate the dryness. Most ACD's require regular nail clipping, especially their front dew claws which do not wear as constant as their other nails. Watch for changes in behaviour as well as physical ones. Condition score your ACD daily, watching for sudden weight gains or losses as an initial warning sign of health problems.

Exercise Area: This one is a MUST. Your ACD is a very, very active breed and needs daily exercise to coexist with humans. Woe to the owner who misses a day's exercise. You will pay by having to play extra hard the next day! The ACD does not fare well without an area for pedal to the metal all out running, or swimming, or Flyball, or sledding, or herding or whatever you two can dream up! Just make sure your ACD is physically and mentally tuckered out. Both of you will sleep better for it. And if you think that a walk around the block is going to suffice, think again. An ACD's daily exercise requirement schedule is going to require some effort. I recommend you have convenient access to safe, off leash areas for complete exercise freedom.

Safe Containment Area: In a perfect ACD world, the owner would never go anywhere without their faithful Blue or Red along. Unfortunately, this is not reality. Owners must be able to leave their ACD at home (or take them to a doggie day care) where they are safe from harming themselves and their surroundings. It can be an X-pen with a top and a rubber floor mat with non-tippable water and a crate to nap in. It can be a dog kennel & outdoor run or even a safe room (just dog proof it). Do not chain your ACD, many ACD's die from choking/strangulation, and you also expose your dog to all sorts of unsafe conditions (wandering animals, malicious people, severe weather, etc.). Containment is a major issue in acquiring your ACD and it is your responsibility to ensure your ACD's safety and those affected by your dog's actions. Never leave a collar or item on your ACD that might cause them to get caught on something and hurt. Have your ACD microchipped or tattooed if you are worried about lack of identification, but keep the collar off the dog when they are alone.

Transportation: Your ACD does not have to go with you EVERYWHERE but you will need to take them to the vet, out to dog events and just as your side kick. If your ACD is not strapped into a seat with a safety harness, then your ACD should be contained in a crate. This preserves both you and your dog's safety while driving.

Home Location: You will note that I will not tell you that a farm/ranch is THE place for an ACD. Not all ACD's need to be home on the range herding stock to be a complete canine. An ACD is just as much at home in the city as it is in the country. The key to your success is managing to keep your ACD both physically and mentally active each and every day. An urban apartment dweller may own a content ACD, but they will have to try harder than their rural counterparts. Sometimes an apartment dweller may have more time to devote to their dog than a rancher/farmer. The environment that an ACD needs is one full of stimuli, access to exercise and caring. Adaptability is just one of the many attributes your ACD is graced with but you must be able to provide the proper inputs to receive the correct outputs. Ranch/farm life is more ACD friendly, but every ACD owner must be obligated to spend time with their dog, no matter their geographical area.

I highly suggest whomever takes on your girl...reads the blurp above...prewarned is better than the girl bouncing from home to home...messes them up pretty fierce and best one finds a dog in need a FOREVER home.

An ACD is for LIFE...that is my mantra on the breed...for their life and they ARE the true meaning of living for a human...the right humans tho!

There won't be a dry eye in the room, so if you wanna not tear up...don't read this next one I wrote about our Stoogies...love yah sweetness...waiting fur us at the Rainbow Bridge... (and I do mean, don't read this if you don't want to ).

Stoggar the Dogger
By Tara Lee Higgins - March 17, 2004 ​

Please be forewarned, this one has a tissue warning...

Heel low:

Well it's been four years today. Happy St. Patrick's and happy anniversary Stoogie the Doogie!

It's been four years since you were allowed to come home from the kill shelter; dumped there because you were not "fat," but pregnant with nine lively puppies you brought bravely into this world. Four years of watching you start as a blubbering mass of mottles, scared of your own shadow, savagely scarred around the neck by some unimaginable collar or chain, a huge gash on your thigh has long ago been vetted and healed, but you will never quite sit right because it has permanently harmed you. You dropped like a shot if a person lifted their arm, in greeting or to do chores, that raised voices could mean joyous celebrations, not an impending beating for something you never understood or deserved.

But that has all long since passed and now you lovely dear are a raring good ol' girl who barks for the bally (yeh, you didn't even know what toys were for!), grabs that floppy right out of the air whipping it on past poor HB's snapping jaws; growls and snaps but drops it for Fix, bounding so high in the air when we come home to greet you, exuberantly zesty while herding your sheep, curling up on your dog bed close to the woodstove, chewing your own 4th of the "rawhide" take of the day, running and barking and being part of the pack, belonging and needing and receiving and giving and loving and having it returned because you are what you are and you are just right exactly the way you are.

You still have the nightmares, you whimper and cry in your sleep. But we come and place a steady concerned hand on you...and out of the terror you climb, blinking & squinting at us with your kind eyes...behind is left the trouble and you remember where you live now. Your belly is always full of good food, tho you will never be trustable with snacks on the coffee table. We do not mind, for we know you will never unlearn how to fend for yourself...how to crawl under house steps and find heat near where people live. How to roust in a garbage bag for any scraps that are edible...how to judge the pace of someone's walk, the tone in their voice, and that glint in their eye...you have seen pure hatred; uncalled for and unwarranted. That you are always the last to come in the house, not because you are not welcome, encouraged or that you do not have a spot, but because you will never completely believe that this is your place and that YOU live here and that the mat at the door reads also for you too.

You will never be the whole and complete dog that you could and should have been allowed to become. There will always be times you snap back and regress, but each time it is easier for you to come back from where you were. You know we will not ask more

of you than what you can handle...that we will wait and if you are never ready for some things, it does not matter.

That only four months ago, while you instantly came when called, you never once ever came by your own free will to my spouse, even tho he is kind and careful to be gentle around you...but now he finds you sitting at his feet, peering up into his eyes, saying, "Pet me, I am no longer afraid because you are a man! I now know not all men will beat me, raise a hand to hurt me or shout at me so that I am fearful. Please pet me, I know you mean me no harm."

Stoggar still does not completely relax when sitting in my lap...she paws at me, like she is testing me to see if this is real. "Can I feel the vision I am seeing...am I allowed here, is this what being part of a family is?" She never takes for granted what her life has brought her...I sometimes wonder if she knows she never has to go back to a shelter, that when it is her time to go, there will be people there who love and cherish her...that we will hold on to her dearly and not want her to leave us. That in her world of being, pedigrees and blue blood and standards don't matter or count. That her being here has meant something, that we are not complete without her...that she as one individual matters and has made all the world of difference.

You are my pouncing pepperpot in my Australian Cattle Dog flavours...salty dog HyBlade, spicy Fixins and sugary Makins; where would any of us be without your presence my dearest Stoggar the Dogger. Thank you for sharing four years of your life with us, we have reaped way more than we have sown.

Doggone love yah my Stooges...we love you--forever and ever and ever...

Tara Lee Higgins & the Australian Cattle Dog Rat Ranch Crew

Thanks for being kind, generous and thoughtful to a dog in need...there be pearls in heaven to adorn your crown when they call you up there.

<<HUGS>>

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Alexz7272]

FOUND THE OWNER! He went to the local humane society where I had already submitted a found dog listing! He was super friendly and tried to give me hay as a 'reward' but of course I told him no. I have three pups, I would hope someone would help them too
He was baling his hay field when he noticed she had wandered off and he had no idea where. We think that because I have a Jeep Wrangler & he has a Jeep Wrangler, that is why she jumped in with me. Her name is Sheila and she is mostly deaf and 14 years old. I am going to meet him in person this weekend at his farm, 5 minutes from me! We have a passcode lock for our house so I just gave it to him so he could go get her immediately. I watched on the cameras and she was SUPER happy.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

That makes me so happy. I knew she wasn't a dump! So glad she has been reunited with her owner. So kind that he offered hay, you know he must've been a good guy

We have several folks that hay fields near us, as they drive their tractors by a few dogs would always follow. Such good dogs, never messed with anybody's livestock or dogs. Sometimes they would take a shortcut through the neighbors land but for the most part they were always right behind the tractor. I think everyone loved to see it.
You could tell the dogs just love it.

 

[OneFineAcre]

 

[babsbag]

I am glad she found her owner, that is a heart warming story. My old lab wandered off one night during a storm, she was 12. I called the humane society and told no labs had been picked up even though a local business saw them, so I went and looked and there she was. Boy she was happy to see me. Happy ending for all.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I am glad she found her owner, that is a heart warming story. My old lab wandered off one night during a storm, she was 12. I called the humane society and told no labs had been picked up even though a local business saw them, so I went and looked and there she was. Boy she was happy to see me. Happy ending for all.

You just brougjt back a sad memory for me
Bandit
She was 14 and about half deaf
Breed: I always referred to her as a "porch setter"
35 lb long black haired dog
She was an indoor dog but started to have kidney/ bladder control problems
I put her in the back yard one day and we had a storm and she got out
She got hit by a car
It was so bad
We had her when Rachel was born and Rachel was about 6 when it happened
One of the saddest days in my life
I bawled my eyes out
I'm so glad this story had a happy ending

 

[Alexz7272]

@OneFineAcre
I'm sorry

 

[OneFineAcre]

@OneFineAcre
I'm sorry

It was good that I thought about her
I haven't in a while til Babs mentioned her dog getting out
She was a good girl
I know Bandit is an odd name for a girl
Long story
I hope she visits me in my dreams tonight

 

[babsbag]

@OneFineAcre They steal our hearts....sorry your story didn't have a happy ending.

The night of that storm I had three dogs and the gate blew open and when we got home the Dalmatian was waiting on the front porch, the Golden Retriever was in her dog house, and Smokey was gone. I spent hours and hours searching for a black dog in the dark in a city where she could have been anywhere. I was soooo mad when animal control said they hadn't picked up any labs and there she was just waiting for me in the very first kennel at the shelter. Big, old, black lab with a white muzzle...DUH!!! So glad I went and looked. Not sure why she was not wearing her collar that night, we always had collars on our dogs back then.

Really made me smile that this old girl was reunited with her family.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I'm glad you triggered the memory
She was a good friend for a long time