Australian Cattle Dog

Sheepdogs & cattledogs

Medium

Median 14 y

FCI group 1 · Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Cattledogs) · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (19.3 kg)

Median survival across 167 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 11–16 y

The Australian Cattle Dog, or simply Cattle Dog, is a breed of herding dog developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. This breed is a medium-sized, short-coated dog that occurs in two main colour forms. It has either red or black hair distributed fairly evenly through a white coat, which gives the appearance of a "red" or "blue" dog.

Alert

Hardy

Work-driven

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

15.9–22.7 kg

Female

15.9–22.7 kg

Breed club figure (the American Kennel Club)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 15.9–22.7 kg and females 15.9–22.7 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 15 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

No Australian Cattle Dog cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later.

The median is 14 y. Median survival across 167 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 11–16 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.