|
General
Appearance:
|
The general appearance is that of a strong
compact, symmetrically built working dog, with the ability and willingness
to carry out his allotted task however arduous. Its combination of
substance, power, balance and hard muscular condition must convey the
impression of great agility, strength and endurance. Any tendency to
grossness or weediness is a serious fault.
|
|
Characteristics:
|
As the name implies the dog's prime
function, and one in which he has no peer, is the control and movement of
cattle in both wide open and confined areas. Always alert, extremely
intelligent, watchful, courageous and trustworthy, with an implicit
devotion to duty making it an ideal dog.
|
|
Temperament:
|
The Cattle Dog's loyalty and protective
instincts make it a self-appointed guardian to the Stockman, his herd and
his property. Whilst naturally suspicious of strangers, must be amenable
to handling, particularly in the Show ring. Any feature of temperament or
structure foreign to a working dog must be regarded as a serious fault.
|
|
Head And
Skull:
|
The head is strong and must be in balance
with other proportions of the dog and in keeping with its general
conformation. The broad skull is slightly curved between the ears,
flattening to a slight but definite stop. The cheeks muscular, neither
coarse nor prominent with the underjaw strong, deep and well developed.
The foreface is broad and well filled in under the eyes, tapering
gradually to form a medium length, deep, powerful muzzle with the skull
and muzzle on parallel planes. The lips are tight and clean. Nose black.
|
|
Eyes:
|
The eyes should be of oval shape and medium
size, neither prominent nor sunken and must express alertness and
intelligence. A warning or suspicious glint is characteristic when
approached by strangers. Eye colour, dark brown.
|
|
Ears:
|
The ears should be of moderate size,
preferably small rather than large, broad at the base, muscular, pricked
and moderately pointed neither spoon nor bat eared. The ears are set wide
apart on the skull, inclining outwards, sensitive in their use and pricked
when alert, the leather should be thick in texture and the inside of the
ear fairly well furnished with hair.
|
|
Mouth:
|
The teeth, sound, strong and evenly spaced,
gripping with a scissor-bite, the lower incisors close behind and just
touching the upper. As the dog is required to move difficult cattle by
heeling or biting, teeth which are sound and strong are very important.
|
|
Neck:
|
The neck is extremely strong, muscular, and
of medium length broadening to blend into the body and free from
throatiness.
|
|
Forequarters:
|
The shoulders are strong, sloping, muscular
and well angulated to the upper arm and should not be too closely set at
the point of the withers. The forelegs have strong, round bone, extending
to the feet and should be straight and parallel when viewed from the
front, but the pasterns should show flexibility with a slight angle to the
forearm when viewed from the side. Although the shoulders are muscular and
the bone is strong, loaded shoulders and heavy fronts will hamper correct
movement and limit working ability.
|
|
Body:
|
The length of the body from the point of
the breast bone, in a straight line to the buttocks, is greater than the
height at the withers, as 10 is to 9. The top line is level, back strong
with ribs well sprung and carried well back not barrel ribbed. The chest
is deep, muscular and moderately broad with the loins broad, strong and
muscular and the flanks deep. The dog is strongly coupled.
|
|
Hindquarters:
|
The hindquarters are broad, strong and
muscular. The croup is rather long and sloping, thighs long, broad and
well developed, the stifles well turned and the hocks strong and well let
down. When viewed from behind, the hind legs, from the hocks to the feet,
are straight and placed parallel, neither close nor too wide apart.
|
|
Feet:
|
The feet should be round and the toes
short, strong, well arched and held close together. The pads are hard and
deep, and the nails must be short and strong.
|
|
Tail:
|
The set on of tail is moderately low,
following the contours of the sloping croup and of length to reach
approximately to the hock. At rest it should hang in a very slight curve.
During movement or excitement the tail may be raised, but under no
circumstances should any part of the tail be carried past a vertical line
drawn through the root. The tail should carry a good brush.
|
|
Gait/Movement:
|
The action is true, free, supple and
tireless and the movement of the shoulders and forelegs is in unison with
the powerful thrust of the hindquarters. The capability of quick and
sudden movement is essential. Soundness is of paramount importance and
stiltiness, loaded or slack shoulders, straight shoulder placement,
weakness at elbows, pasterns or feet, straight stifles, cow or bow hocks,
must be regarded as serious faults. When trotting the feet tend to come
closer together at ground level as speed increases, but when the dog comes
to rest he should stand four square.
|
|
Coat:
|
The coat is smooth, a double coat with a
short dense undercoat. The outer-coat is close, each hair straight, hard,
and lying flat, so that it is rain-resisting. Under the body, to behind
the legs, the coat is longer and forms near the thigh a mild form of
breeching. On the head (including the inside of the ears), to the front of
the legs and feet, the hair is short. Along the neck it is longer and
thicker. A coat either too long or too short is a fault. As an average,
the hairs on the body should be from 2.5 to 4 cms (approx. 1-1.5 ins) in
length.
|
|
Colour:
|
Blue -
The colour should be blue, blue-mottled or blue speckled 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 and extending up the front to breast and throat, with tan on
jaws; the hindquarters tan on inside of hind legs, and inside of 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. Black markings on
the body are not desirable.
Red Speckle
- The colour should be of good even red speckle all over, including the
undercoat, (neither white nor cream), with or without darker red markings
on the head. Even head markings are desirable. Red markings on the body
are permissible but not desirable.
|
|
Sizes:
|
Height: Dogs 46-51 cms (approx. 18-20 ins)
at withers Bitches 43-48 cms (approx. 17-19 ins) at withers
|
|
Faults:
|
Any departure from the foregoing points
should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault
should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
|
|
Notes:
|
Male animals should have two apparently
normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
|
>> BACK
|