Are cattle dogs noisy? Get Your Pet Thinking

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Chewing and/or Destroying

  • This is another huge general doggy trait that we all just love our puppies for. They will chew on your things. No matter what. Ive never met a dog that didnt destroy something their owner liked/loved/needed/owned. Case in point: my phone charger. Colin and I finally had some time to ourselves and decided to go out to dinner together. We put our dog in the kitchen, behind a baby gate. When we got home, the dog was no longer in the kitchen, the baby gate was knocked over and my phone charger no longer worked. Our eight-week-old puppy, somehow unbeknownst to me, broke down a sturdy baby gate and completely chewed through all the wires inside my phone charger cord. Talk about getting revenge for leaving him home alone for two hours.

    • Australian Cattle Dogs Can Be a Lot of Work

    It was a Sunday night when my boyfriend Colin and I brought home our brand new puppy. Wed been waiting to get a puppy for years and finally settled on an Australian Cattle Dog. Now, before you go judging Colin and me for picking this breed as our first dog, I want you to know that I extensively researched this dog more than I studied for my finals during all four years of college.

    I read so many articles, books, blogs, etc., saying that ACDs are better for experienced owners. Those sources also stated that ACDs should not be in an apartment, as they need vigorous exercise and plenty of it.

    Well, folks, Colin and I are “technically” first-time dog owners. Weve had family pets, but we have never actually raised a dog on our own before. And guess where we live? Thats right—an apartment. And before you “tsk” at me, I was well aware of these warnings about first-time owners and apartment life before we even put down a deposit for our puppy. And the fact that I was aware of these warnings has made me slightly more patient when it comes to training this amazing dog.

    Even though I knew that we didnt have the ideal lifestyle for an ACD, we knew that this was the dog for us. We knew that he has a fit and active lifestyle, and though neither of us are members of Crossfit or currently sporting a six-pack, we were (and are) dedicated to giving this new dog the kind of workout that he needs both physically and mentally every day.

    Going along with these demands of his breed, we realized right away that this would be a challenge. This idea probably scares a lot of dog owners. Its hard enough to train mellow dogs not to chew up your entire house and tear your flip-flops into pieces. However, these more mellow dogs are the kinds of dogs Colin and I had known in our lifetimes thus far. We both had some experience with the Chihuahuas, Beagles, Labs, and Miniature Pinschers of the world. We wanted a dog that was different. We even had a unique and different name picked out for him: Yusuke (pronounced: You-skay).

    Lots of families choose to get Labs, Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Chihuahuas, or similarly well-known dog breeds. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. A lot of the best dogs Ive ever known were one of those breeds. We just knew that we wanted a standout dog. What can I say? We wanted the kind of dog where people stop and honestly dont know what breed our dog is. Its exciting for us to introduce people to this new breed they may not have known much or anything about. We were up for the challenge of this dog. We had been looking them up online for months and melting over the adorable photos of them. Have you seen how cute those puppies are? I think theyre cutest when theyre sleeping.

    Australian Cattle Dogs are cutest when theyre dozing.

    Am I right? Adorable. Im not exaggerating when I say that five to ten people a day stop me and ask me what breed he is and tell me hes the cutest dog theyve ever seen. When I take him on walks, I have yet to run into one person that doesnt stop and pet him. And if they start to walk by me, I can see on their faces that theyre waiting for me to ask if they want to pet him. And I always do, and they always break into a smile and pet him and (as always) ask me what kind of dog he is. I can tell in some peoples voices that they have no idea what a “red heeler” is. Most people do, but some seem to still be a little lost until I say hes a herding/working/cattle dog.

    All cuteness aside, why did we choose such a challenging dog? Well, you need to know that I am a very honest person and dont really like to beat around the bush. So I wont lie to you, there are days when I wonder why I didnt just get a pug and call it a day. Im not saying I dont love Yusuke, but sometimes puppies have a way of getting on your very last nerve. Or at least, Yusuke has a habit of getting on mine.

    Size:

    Weight Range:

    Male: 35-45 lbs. Female: 35-45 lbs.

    Height at Withers:

    Male: 19 in.

    Female: 18 in.

    Howling and Shrieking – Cattle Dog Style!!

    An extremely alert and intelligent dog, the Australian cattle dog is loyal to owners and wary of strangers. The breed is very energetic and not suited for apartment living. Australian Cattle Dog At a glance

    Australian cattle dogs thrive when they have jobs to do. They tend to become destructive when bored.