AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOGS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21866, 20 August 1936, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOGS

TO THE EDITOB OF THE PRESS, Sir, —Some weeks ago there appeared in “The Press Junior” an article on the Australian cattle dog. As I have a purebred bitch pup, registered in the , New Zealand Kennel Club, bred by Mr Benson, late of New South Wales, now of Auckland, I have, through his help secured all the information regarding their origin. The writer of the previous article has some wrong information, as the pure blue or red specked are the direct cross from the Merles and Dingo, and bred on from that cross- The red colour of the Dingo is responsible for the tan in the blue mottled and the red spots of the true red speckled cattle dog of Australia to-day. The blue heelers have no Kelpie blood infused into them, as the cattle dogs were a distinct breed in 1865, when Hall perfected his experiments, and the Kelpie strain, purely sheep dogs, were imported by a Mr Allen, of Geraldra Station in 1870. The Dalmatian cross also were early discarded owing to a prevalence of undesirable features, such as lop ears and wall or white eyes; in the standard set-up for cattle dogs, dark brown eyes and pricked ears are essential. The photograph accompanying the article was not of a cattle dog, but of a modern red Kelpie, owned by Mr R. B. Fisher, whose dog’s name was Copper. He was winner of the sheepdog trials in Sydney in 1932. The Australian cattle dogs will probably make their appearance in the Agricultural and Pastoral Show this season. and should become very popular in New Zealand as at the Sydney Royal Show this year, cattle-dogs were second with 11b entries, only beaten by the popular Fox Terrier, 163 entries, out of a total number of 1273 dogs entered.—Yours, etC " F. W. FIECKEN. August 18, 1936.