Australian Cattle Dog

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Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Cattle Dog
FCI Standard No. 287
Origin :

Australia

Alternative names:

Australian Cattle Dog, (Australian) Heeler, Blue Heeler, Hall's Heeler, Queensland Heeler

Withers height:

Males: 46–51 cm, bitches: 43–48 cm

List of domestic dogs

The Australian Cattle Dog is an FCI recognized dog breed from Australia ( Group 1, Section 2, Standard No. 287 ).

description

A sleeping light brown dog with a white puppy between its forelegs
A white puppy, the spot around the eye was visible at birth

The Australian Cattle Dog is a compact, robust and very agile dog. It is 43 to 51 cm tall and weighs 16 to 25 kg. The predominant colors are red speckled as well as blue, blue speckled and blue mottled, always with tan markings . Sometimes there are badges on the head and base of the tail.

Australian Cattle Dogs are born white and do not get their actual color until they are a few weeks old, but masks and spots are visible from the start. The coloring of the skin on the paw pads of the puppies provides a first indication of the expected color of the fur. Blue or black paw pads indicate blue dogs, red or brown paw pads indicate red. The greater the proportion of pink skin, the lighter the fur of the growing dog will be.

The current description in the FCI standard is:

“The general appearance is that of a strong, compact, and symmetrically built working dog who has the ability and the will to do his assigned job, however arduous it may be. The union of substance, strength, balance and efficient, strong muscles must give the impression of great flexibility, strength and endurance. Any sign of clumsiness or weakness is a grave mistake. "

According to this description, the Australian Cattle Dog is a tough, tireless, and intelligent working dog. He is sometimes reserved with strangers. In the original breeding of the settlers, only the best cattle dogs and guards were used. The breed has their characteristics to this day.

The Australian Cattle Dog shows - like many other dog breeds - a very broad spectrum of behavior. While some animals are easily manageable, others require a good understanding of breed specific behaviors to do justice to them. Males can be very rank conscious. Insecure and inconsistent people shouldn't have a cattle dog. Special responsibility is required when dealing with other dogs, as males in particular like to respond to a challenge.

use

A sheep in a paddock, to the left, only half in the picture, a second sheep. On the right a dog is running up from behind, with its mouth open and ears up
Australian Cattle Dog at work with sheep. Cambden, NSW, Australia 2006

The original use of the cattle dog was to herd cattle. The required working method differed significantly from that for herding sheep: It was undesirable and dangerous for the dogs to bark at the cattle from the front. One reason for crossbreeding with dingoes in early Cattle Dog history was that dingoes rarely bark. Good "silent heelers" approached the cattle silently and always grabbed the rear leg of the cattle on which the weight was resting, namely from behind, because grabbing from the side was too dangerous. Immediately after grabbing them, they lay down flat to avoid being kicked by the cattle. It was considered a mistake if the dog did not take hold of the loaded leg, as this increased the risk of being kicked. It was also undesirable for a dog to crawl up to the cattle and bite upwards, because this reduced the working speed.

As far as Australian Cattle Dogs are used in cattle husbandry, these requirements have not changed to this day; They are also available as sheep keeping dogs. The behavioral characteristics necessary for this are still present in Australian Cattle Dogs.

A dog jumps over a green and white obstacle towards the photographer, the body is elongated and the tail is high
An Australian Cattle Dog doing agility

As a family dog, the Australian Cattle Dog is demanding and should be kept busy beyond daily walks, for example through dog sports such as agility , obedience and dog dancing or as a riding companion dog.

Origin and history

The origins of the breed

The vastness of the areas of Australia that were newly settled at the beginning of the 19th century and used for cattle and sheep farming meant that cattle had to be driven hundreds of kilometers to other grazing grounds or to be sold. This was a dangerous and time-consuming activity, on the one hand because there were no suitable cattle dogs, and on the other hand because of the ferocity of the cattle living in the open countryside, which also had dangerous horns.

The Australian Cattle Dog was bred by the early settlers in Australia for driving cows . The first imported dogs probably looked similar to the ancestors of the Old English Sheepdog . However, these animals were not adapted to the hot climate, and their long fur was completely unsuitable for Australian vegetation.

In addition, these dogs had been bred for generations to herd and herd sheep . Their habit of striking the sheep from the front and barking at the same time made the cattle break away as they drove. This was undesirable because of the great danger posed by a continuous herd of cattle and the resulting reduction in meat quality and milk yield. The dogs were also extremely endangered by the cattle's horns or their kicks.

In the early 1830s, the young landowner and cattle breeder Thomas Simpson Hall (1808-1870) began the systematic breeding of a polled cattle and a suitable cattle dog on his estate in Dartbrook near Muswellbrook, New South Wales. In the early 19th century, a new breed of cattle called Durhams or Shorthorns had been bred in County Durham, UK . Some of the cattle were born without horns and, with the help of relatives living in the UK, Thomas Hall was able to import some beef cattle, which he used to breed his hornless cattle.

Like many of the early settlers in Australia, Thomas Hall was an admirer of the dingo . Also with the help of relatives in Great Britain, he imported blue-spotted drover dogs (working dogs of drover dogs) from the county of Northumbria. With these dogs and the offspring of captured and tamed dingoes, he began the systematic breeding of his cattle dogs, later known as "Hall's Heelers", from around 1832 . Detailed information on the number of crossings and backcrossings does not exist, but a satisfactory result for Hall was achieved by 1840. The dogs bred by Hall were so well suited for the work that until his death in 1870 there was no reason for further changes, nor were "Hall's Heeler" given to interested parties outside the family and Hall's employees.

The way to the show dog

As recently as 1865 there was a class for sheep and cattle dogs at a dog show in Melbourne , in an exhibition report it was stated that “there is no more intelligent dog than the collie” and that the cattle dogs are the most valuable animals in Australia. A breed description did not exist, the "cattle dog" was defined by its work performance and "Collie" was a general term for herding dogs at the time. The request was expressed that cattle dogs should be presented with a certificate of their work performance at shows, since these, and not their appearance, represent the value of such dogs.

A man of about 30 years of age with a dark coat and a black hat, a bowler hat, on his head. He kneels on the floor and pats a medium-sized dog
Robert Kaleski wrote the first breed standard for the Australian Cattle Dog

According to his own information, the later journalist and writer Robert Kaleski (1877–1961) was one of those who tried to breed the "Blue Speckle Cattle Dog" from the 1880s onwards , at that time this was the name for "Red Speckle Cattle Dog" today's Australian Cattle Dogs. The butcher Fred “Pialla” Davis brought some “Hall's Heelers” to the family-run slaughterhouse in Canterbury, New South Wales, around 1870 after Thomas Hall's death. They were excellent cattle dogs, but the color was unsatisfactory, either all red like a dingo, or with brown-gray spots and black flecks.

Kaleski, Alec Davis, the son of Fred Davis, John George "Jack" Bagust (-1909) and his brother James Henry "Harry" Bagust (1860-1914), all from Canterbury, wanted the Hall's Heelers to be an attractive but pure breed breed. Therefore, they crossed different breeds of dogs, including very likely black and tan Australian kelpies "for work performance", until the modern Australian Cattle Dog was born. Around 1910 they tried to limit the black color of the dogs to the head, saddle and a spot at the base of the tail and to keep the legs completely red with the red color. In the 1880s, a blue “Hall's Heeler” could be crossed into the breeding lines of Kaleski and others, from which all dogs of the blue color variety are said to have descended.

Reliable knowledge about the breeds from which the Australian Cattle Dog emerged are reserved for genetic studies . In addition to Thomas Halls cattle dogs and his dingoes imported from Great Britain, crossbreeding with kelpies is considered safe. Other breeds mentioned are Dalmatians and Bull Terriers, but contemporary and later reports are largely contradicting and anecdotal. At the beginning of the 20th century there were club disputes in the Cattle Dog clubs in Australia and New South Wales . In the course of the dispute, numerous newspaper articles were written, some under a pseudonym, in which more or less far-reaching claims were made about the breeds of dogs crossed into the Cattle Dogs. Most of these publications do not stand up to careful scrutiny.

What is certain is that the crossbreeds carried out by Robert Kaleski and others had the aim, on the one hand, of producing a visually attractive dog whose external appearance could be assessed at dog shows according to a set standard. On the other hand, decades later, Kaleski stated that their primary goal was to preserve the Australian Cattle Dog as a breed of working dog, and that they only crossed dingoes occasionally. In addition to the group around Kaleski, there were breeders in remote parts of New South Wales and Queensland who continued to breed the original Halls Heeler without crossing other breeds.

Blue Heeler - Canada Line

The first breed standard

In 1903 Robert Kaleski published the first standard for the Australian Cattle Dog in the "Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales" , in which he describes its appearance as that of a small, stocky blue dingo. In 1906, in an informal meeting of some breeders of Australian Cattle Dogs, it was determined how they should be evaluated at dog shows in New South Wales in the future. The breed standard was later adopted by the breeders' association in New South Wales. The standard has been amended twice.

The breed standard of 1903 required the following for the blue color:

  • Head: broad between the ears, pointed muzzle, full under the eyes, strong and muscular on the jaws.
  • Ears: short and pointed, set wide apart, with lots of muscle at the base. They should stand up like a cat's.
  • Eyes: brown, alert and alert. Shoulders: strong, with plenty of room for free movement.
  • Chest: deep, but in proportion to the body. Legs: strong bones, strong muscles.
  • Back: straight, with well arched ribs and strong loins.
  • Hindquarters: strong and muscular, with long thighs for high speed, no dewclaws.
  • Tail: decent length. Height: about 20 inches for males, slightly smaller for females. Hair: short, straight and very dense.
  • Color: head black or red, body with dark blue back, sometimes with black saddle and black spot on the base of the tail. Or lighter blue, occasionally speckled with white hairs on the lower part of the body. The legs are bluish, speckled with red spots, and the tail is light blue, sometimes with a white tip.
  • General appearance: that of a small, stocky dingo.
  • Mistakes: oversize or undersize, high-legged, ears bent or not set up at all, over- or undersize, anything that slows down speed

There was definitely criticism of this breed standard, for example with regard to the lack of information about the paws. Against the opposition of many who believed that the shape of the feet, apart from the expected hardness of the pads of the paws, had no influence on fitness for work, the standard was changed in this regard.

Impending doom

Already at the turn of the century, Australian Cattle Dogs were popular because of their attractive appearance, which led to the loss of the quality of working dogs in the lines that were only bred for external appearance. The story of the red and blue speckled Cattle Dogs was first written down in Robert Kaleski's newspaper articles. With his book "Australian Barkers and Biters" published in 1914 , the Australian Cattle Dog was also introduced to a larger audience. This further increased the division of the breed into show and work lines, but at the same time the Australian Cattle Dog was by no means a " fashion dog ". In the middle of the 20th century, dogs of both colors became increasingly rare. Robert Kaleski was therefore of the opinion in the early 1950s that the New South Wales Department of Agriculture should set up a breeding program for Australian Cattle Dogs to save the breed.

A light brown dog, a dingo, photographed from the side and looking to the right
A dingo in Myall Lakes National Park, Australia
Australian Cattle Dogs with red fur

Australian Cattle Dogs in the USA

From the 1940s, the veterinarian Alan McNiven from Sydney had crossed Australian Cattle Dogs with dingoes in his dog breeding "to improve the breed", aiming for a proportion of one sixteenth to one eighth of "dingo blood". The Australian Kennel Club disapproved of McNiven's attempts at crossbreeding and struck his dogs and their offspring from the stud book after their pedigree became known. After the Second World War, some dogs from this breed came into the possession of the Californian horse trainer Greg Lougher, who had spent part of his military service in Australia. Lougher set up a small breed with his dogs in California , and from the late 1950s the Californian veterinarian Jack Woolsey and a few colleagues also bred Australian cattle dogs on a commercial basis. The first dogs came from McNiven / Lougher, later purebred Australian Cattle Dogs imported from Australia were crossed.

Hereditary diseases

The Australian Cattle Dog is a robust, easy-care, and generally healthy dog. However, the breed is affected by hereditary blindness, which can develop over the course of life, even in old dogs, and by congenital deafness to an above-average degree.

The American Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association , an organization of veterinarians who are committed to animal welfare, last listed 182 dog breeds in 2012, to which a total of more than 400 distinguishable hereditary diseases were assigned. 22 hereditary diseases observed for the Australian Cattle Dog were given, but the list did not contain any information on the frequency of occurrence in individual dog breeds.

Generalized progressive retinal atrophy

The generalized progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is an incurable progressive death of the retina, with the result of blindness. The disease was first described in dogs in 1911, and in humans it has long been known as retinopathia pigmentosa . The disease, which can be triggered by multiple genetic defects, affects numerous dog breeds, and many of the triggering genes have already been identified.

As part of an evaluation of diagnoses from 1965 to 1995 from a database maintained by Purdue University in Indiana (USA), it was found that Australian cattle dogs had an almost 13-fold increased risk of progressive retinal atrophy compared to the average for all dogs. Several forms of gPRA exist in the Australian Cattle Dog, the most common being the autosomal recessive inherited progressive rod-cone dysplasia (PRCD) caused by a defect in the PRCD gene , which also occurs in at least 20 other dog breeds. Genetic tests are available for these diseases, with which the causative damage to the genetic material can be detected regardless of the presence of clinical symptoms. This is also important because the signs of the disease often only appear at an advanced age. By using such genetic tests in dog breeding and the selection based on them, the predispositions for the diseases can be largely removed from the breeding lines within a few generations.

Congenital sensory deafness

Hereditary deafness is known as congenital or innate sensory deafness (in the English-language literature Congenital Sensorineural Deafness - CSD ) in more than 80 dog breeds, it occurs as unilateral and bilateral deafness, whereby the unilateral deafness is often not recognized. The disease is caused by the fact that the hair cells in the cochlea atrophy and noises can no longer be picked up and passed on to the brain. It is considered certain that the disease is linked to the genetic coding of white color and different color patterns. Extensive analyzes of the pedigrees of Dalmatians and other dog breeds as well as molecular genetic studies have so far not been able to explain the exact inheritance with certainty. Only in the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog , which is closely related to the Australian Cattle Dog , was it possible to identify a chromosome as the carrier of the defective gene; it was not possible to narrow it down to a specific gene. A genetic test for testing breeding dogs for the presence of the genetic make-up for the disease is not yet available. A diagnosis of the disease is possible even in puppies using brain stem audiometry , so that deaf dogs can be reliably identified and excluded from breeding.

In a study on deafness in various dog breeds, test results from approximately 300 Australian Cattle Dogs from the years 1986 to 2002 were evaluated, of which 12.2% were deaf on one side and 2.4% on both sides. The proportion of deaf dogs was only higher in Dalmatians and was only exceeded by white bull terriers in the case of one-sided deafness . However, in the course of this study, dogs were also examined that were presented by their owners because they were already suspected of being deaf. The result was confirmed in an evaluation of data collected between 1996 and 2008 by the University of Queensland (Australia) with around 900 Australian Cattle Dogs. Here 7.5% of the dogs were unilaterally deaf and 3.3% bilaterally deaf, and in this study dogs were excluded that had been presented for examination by their owners because of suspected deafness. This study did not reveal any association between coat color and deafness in the Australian Cattle Dog. However, the disease is more common in dogs without a mask or without dark pigment spots on the body, and bitches can be affected more often than males.

Hip dysplasia

The hip dysplasia (HD) is found at the Cattle Dog. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) found 4.5% excellent and 15.5% dysplastic hip joints in 3511 dogs. In the ranking of the breeds most frequently affected by HD, it ranks 62nd out of 168 breeds examined.

Other hereditary diseases

A number of other hereditary diseases have so far been described for the Australian Cattle Dog, including a hereditary degenerative nerve disease (polioencephalomyelopathy) and canine ceroid lipofuscinosis . In addition, there is a tendency to a genetically determined weakness of the eye lens suspension system and thus to a lens displacement , possibly with secondary glaucoma . There is a genetic test to detect this eye disease.

Hereditary Diseases and Pedigree Dog Associations

The current breed standard of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale lists aggressive or overly fearful behavior and clearly demonstrated physical or behavioral anomalies as disqualifying errors by Australian Cattle Dogs at shows. With regard to hereditary deafness and blindness or other hereditary diseases of the Australian Cattle Dog, insofar as they are only available as an attachment, the standard does not provide any information; a negative genetic test for the system for progressive retinal atrophy or a test for deafness is not a prerequisite at international level for breeding approval. However, various national breed associations require tests for these diseases prior to breeding approval, for example in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and Australia.

literature

  • Richard G. Beauchamp: Australian Cattle Dogs. Everything About Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Breeding, Behavior, and Training. Barrons Educational Series, Hauppauge NY 2007, ISBN 978-0-7641-3649-8 .
  • Katherine Buetow: The Australian Cattle Dog. An Owner's Guide to a happy Pet. Howell Book House, New York NY 1998, ISBN 0-87605-446-7 .
  • Noreen R. Clark: A dog called Blue. The Australian Cattle Dog and the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog, 1840-2000. WriteLight, Blackheath, NSW, Australia 2003, ISBN 978-0-9581934-3-6 (standard work).
  • Cheryl Ann Edwards: Australian Cattle Dogs. Old Timers. CA Edwards, Heathcote NSW 1995, ISBN 0-646-20813-6 .
  • Angela Goode: Working Dogs. Stories from all around Australia. ABC Books, Sydney 1993, ISBN 0-7333-0327-7 .
  • John Holmes, Mary Holmes: The Complete Australian Cattle Dogs. Maxwell Macmillan International, New York NY et al. 1993, ISBN 0-87605-014-3 .
  • AJ "Bert" Howard: Hall's Heelers. In: Russell Mackenzie Warner (Ed.): Over-Halling the Colony. Southwood Press, Sydney 1990 ISBN 0-908219-07-5 .
  • Andrea Kreusch: Australian Cattle Dog. (Character, upbringing, health). Cadmos, Schwarzenbek 2009, ISBN 978-3-86127-868-9 .
  • Narelle Robertson: Australian Cattle Dogs. TFH Publications, Neptune City NJ 1994, ISBN 0-7938-1085-X .
  • Anatoly Ruvinsky and Jeff Sampson (Eds.): The genetics of the dog. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon, UK 2001, ISBN 0-85199-520-9
  • Eva Holderegger Walser: Australian Cattle Dogs, history, standard and character. Self-published, Raat 2006, ISBN 3-033-00889-5 .

Web links

Commons : Australian Cattle Dog  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ROBERT KALESKI: Australian barkers and biters. Chapter III. The Australian Cattle Dog. Part 2, in: The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. August 2, 1921, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI): Breed standard No. 287 of the FCI: Australian Cattle Dog  (PDF) , accessed on September 2, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c without author: Australian stock dogs. Evolution of "Silent Heelers". Collie crossed with Dingo. In: Chronicle (Adelaide, South Australia). January 7, 1932, p. 12.
  4. ^ Robert Kaleski: Cattle Dogs. Requirements of a Good One In: Mornington Standard. October 3, 1903, page 1.
  5. ↑ a b Gabriele Metz: A power association for a power dog. The Australian Cattle Dog Club Germany eV In: Our pedigree dog. The official magazine of the VDH. Edition 02/2011, pp. 6–10, online PDF 465 kB ( Memento of the original dated August 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.unserrassehund.de
  6. ↑ a b c d A. J. "Bert" Howard: Hall's Heelers - Origins of the Cattle Dog in Australia. Online , accessed September 3, 2013.
  7. ^ A b c Noreen R. Clark: A dog called Blue. The Australian Cattle Dog and the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog, 1840-2000. WriteLight, Blackheath, NSW, Australia 2003, ISBN 978-0-9581934-3-6 .
  8. ↑ a b Robert Kaleski: Australian barkers and biters. Chapter III. The Australian Cattle Dog. Part 1, in: The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. July 26, 1921, p. 7.
  9. ^ Robert Kaleski: Cattle Dogs. In: Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle. September 8, 1903, page 4.
  10. ↑ without author: The Victorian dog show. In: The Sydney Morning Herald. November 2, 1865, p. 3.
  11. ^ A b Robert Kaleski: Our prosperity rests on dogs. In: The Sunday Herald. April 2, 1950, p. 9.
  12. ^ A b Robert Kaleski: Our dogs are not what they used to be (They're better). In: The Sunday Herald. March 18, 1951, page 40
  13. ↑ without author: Cattle dogs and others. How to judge them In: Australian Town and Country Journal. October 10, 1906, p. 37.
  14. ^ Robert Kaleski: Cattle dogs. In: The Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales. August 1903, quoted from: without author: Cattle dogs. In: The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. August 14, 1903, p. 9.
  15. ↑ without author: Cattle Dog standard. In: The Sydney Morning Herald . June 15, 1910, p. 4.
  16. ^ "Planets": Barkers and Biters. Robert Kaleski's great book. In: The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. April 24, 1914, p. 9.
  17. ↑ Without author: About Barkers and Biters. In: The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. May 3, 1921, p. 4.
  18. ↑ Pavel Bucek et al .: Ročenka chovu ovcí a koz v České Republice za rok 2007 (Yearbook Sheep and Goats in the Czech Republic 2007). Českomoravská společnost chovatelů, as and Svaz chovatelů ovcí a koz v ČR, Prague 2008, ISBN 978-80-904131-1-5 , p. 72 (in Czech).
  19. ↑ Without author: Dingo pups do well in USA In: Western Herald (Bourke, New South Wales) May 15, 1959, p. 6.
  20. ^ The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (Ed.): Guide to congenital and heritable disorders in Dogs. Includes Genetic Predisposition to Diseases. The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, Davis (CA) 2012 Online PDF 120 kB , accessed August 27, 2013.
  21. ↑ a b c Regina Kropatsch. Molecular genetic studies in dogs: genome-wide analyzes of generalized progressive retinal atrophy and mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal studies on genealogical ancestry. Dissertation, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 2011, pp. 9–22 Online PDF 2,650 kB , accessed on August 27, 2013.
  22. ↑ Elaine A. Ostrander , Francis Galibert and Donald F. Patterson: Canine genetics comes of Age. In: Trends in Genetics, vol. 16, No. 3, 2000, doi: 10.1016 / S0168-9525 (99) 01958-7 , pp. 117-124.
  23. ↑ Konrad Kohler, Elke Guenther and Eberhart Zrenner: Animal models in retinitis pigmentosa research. In: Clinical monthly sheets for ophthalmology, vol. 211, 1997, ISSN  0023-2165 , pp. 84-93.
  24. ↑ Simon Petersen-Jones: Advances in the molecular understanding of canine retinal diseases. In: Journal of Small Animal Practice , vol. 46, 2005, ISSN  0022-4510 , pp. 371-380, online PDF 345 kB , accessed on August 27, 2013
  25. ^ C. Richard Dorn: Canine Breed-Specific Risks of Frequently Diagnosed Diseases. Unpublished, Columbus (OH) 2002, online PDF 180 kB , accessed on August 27, 2013.
  26. ^ Sheila Crispin: Hereditary eye disease and the BVA / KC / ISDS Eye Scheme: an update. In: In Practice , vol. 30, 2008, ISSN  0263-841X , pp. 2-14
  27. ↑ a b Simone G. Rak and Ottmar Distl: Congenital sensorineural deafness in dogs: A molecular genetic approach toward unraveling the responsible genes. In: The Veterinary Journal , vol. 169, 2005, ISSN  1090-0233 , pp. 188-196.
  28. ↑ Susan F. Sommerlad et al .: Congenital Sensorineural Deafness in Australian Stumpy-Tail Cattle Dogs Is an Autosomal Recessive Trait That Maps to CFA10. In: PLoS ONE, vol. 5, No. 10, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0013364 , article e13364, online and online PDF 625 kB , accessed on August 27, 2013.
  29. ↑ George M. Strain: Aetiology, prevalence and diagnosis of deafness in Dogs and cats. In: British Veterinary Journal , vol. 152, 1996, ISSN  0007-1935 , pp. 17-36.
  30. ↑ a b George M. Strain: Deafness prevalence and pigmentation and gender associations in dog breeds at risk. In: The Veterinary Journal , vol. 167, 2004, ISSN  1090-0233 , pp. 23-32.
  31. ↑ Susan F. Sommerlad et al .: Prevalence of congenital hereditary sensorineural deafness in Australian Cattle Dogs and associations with coat characteristics and sex. In: BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 8, 2012, doi: 10.1186 / 1746-6148-8-202 , article 202, online and online PDF 2,410 kB , accessed on August 27, 2013.
  32. ↑ OFA Hip Statistics ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 3, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.offa.org
  33. ↑ Ori Brenner et al .: Hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy of the Australian cattle dog. In: Acta Neuropathologica, vol. 94, No. 1, 1997, ISSN  0001-6322 , pp. 54-66.
  34. ↑ Philip A. Wood: Animal model: Ceroidosis (ceroid-lipofuscinosis) in Australian Cattle Dogs. In: American Journal of Medical Genetics, vol. 26, No. 4, ISSN  0148-7299 , pp. 891-898
  35. ↑ Andrea Steinmetz: Glaucoma - how to recognize and how to treat it correctly. In: Kompaktvet No. 9 (2013), pp. 2-3.
  36. ↑ Fédération Cynologique Internationale: FCI Standard N ° 287. Australian Cattle Dog, Online Word Document 965 kB ( Memento of the original from November 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 27, 2013 (breed standard from December 5, 2012, English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fci.be
  37. ↑ Australian Cattle Dog Club Germany eV: Overview of the Zuchtzulassung (ZZL), online ( memento of the original from September 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 27, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.acdcd.de