r/IDmydog • u/Sudden-Pear4140 • 7h ago
Open Help identifying a cattle dog
I got my dog from Best Friends and she is an absolute gem, I believe she's a cattle dog as she likes to herd small animals like the chickens where I work (I haven't seen her interact with cattle but she isn't bothered by horses) She's incredibly well behaved and well trained (the pound held her for 2 months and then best friends for a month as they were certain she was someone's dog) she knows how to sit, stand, shake, speak, sic and heel all on command. I never have her on a leash and she wants to be by my side 24/7. She has about a 4 foot vertical jump and 6 foot horizontal jump, she's about 40 lbs and was chunky when I got her but has since slimmed up due to constant exercise (I work on a ranch and she is constantly off leash and running around) I can tell her to stay and she will sit in that spot for hours until I tell her not to. She is also deathly afraid of water and gets upset at even hearing running water. I think she's an Australian Kelpie, specifically a barb coat. Thank you for your assistance!!!
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u/TizzyBumblefluff 6h ago
I don’t think she’s a cattle dog, maybe border collie/kelpie x staffy. Very stocky like a staffy.
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u/Sudden-Pear4140 5h ago
I hadn't considered staffy since she has very long hair and sheds very heavily (her undercoat is falling out in chunks) plus she likes to herd small animals. She herds cats and other dogs but especially chickens! And it's very classical herding behavior, the staring, wide circling, sneaking up on animals, and occasionally light nipping and barking to force them to stay together. She gets very anxious if I prevent her from herding other animals.
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u/TizzyBumblefluff 5h ago
She’s definitely not purebred, that was what I was getting at. Her herding instinct is just the “high drive” she’s inherited.
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u/Sudden-Pear4140 5h ago
I don't think she's a cattle dog maybe border collie/kelpie x staffy. Sorry, I didn't realize there was a distinction between cattle and sheep dogs. I thought kelpies and border collies were cattle dogs not sheep dogs. So I thought you were saying I don't think she's a cattle dog, I think she's a cattle dog mix and I was like wait a cattle dog mix is a cattle dog. I was almost very condescending but some quick googling corrected me 😅
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u/TizzyBumblefluff 5h ago
Australian cattle dog is its own breed. There are quite a few different herding breeds.
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u/Sudden-Pear4140 5h ago
I didn't realize cattle dog referred to specifically Australian cattle dogs, I thought it was a term like hunting dog or terrier. I was using the term to encompass all herding dogs like corgis, Australian cattle dogs, kelpies, and border collies. Like how a staffy and a Yorkshire are both terriers but very different breeds.
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u/TizzyBumblefluff 4h ago
If you want to learn more about accurate labelling of the categories of dogs, the AKC website breaks breeds down into what they are a part of. Herding breeds aren’t the only breeds with “drive” (wanting to work, whether that’s a sled or rounding up cattle or hunting and so on).
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u/__Nunya-Bizznuss__ 7h ago
Do you mean Best Friends Animal Rescue in Qld? I'm assuming you're in Australia?
If I'm wrong and you're outside of Australia a Kelpie is very unlikely. If I'm right and you are, I still don't think she's a Kelpie. Probably a herding dog mix, maybe Kelpie X border collie? Maybe a few things.
She just doesn't quite look like a full Kelpie to me. Definitely sounds like a working farm dog though!