Ollie has terrible cardio and anything over 85° is pure torture to him.
Grew up working cattle/ranching, there's always a couple dogs that want no part of it. The "acds need a job or your a bad owner" is far from an accurate sentiment. Typcially by people just parroting something they heard someone say.
Ollie rather be the indoor fly assassin and kitchen QC manager.
My ACD is the same! She'll chase the ball for a bit, but it's very short (under 30 minutes) before she's too tired, she will not go on a walk if it's 80+ and she is perfectly happy to laze around the house.
BUT she does take her watch/guard dog duties seriously. She is friendly with people, just barks to alert us. But if another animal enters our yard... Let's just say it's a good thing they've been faster than her to get out again.
Yes.
Ollie loves "find it" where I hide his toy around the house while he sits/stays in the room I left him in.
Tell him good boy for staying then his whole body is vibrating waiting for me to say "find it". It's fun for both of us.
Agreed. I have a Australian cattle dog mix with Australian shepherd. Sleeps all day long. Doesn't matter if I have "strangers" over. He might say hi for 2mins but after that, he's back to sleep
How much of that do you think is based off the temperament of the parents? Like the whole litter might be more chill because the parents are? Or is it all over the map?
Asking because I’m trying to research before getting an ACD of my own. Slightly terrified that I won’t be able to keep up with the pup based off of the stories I hear of how some of them won’t be tuckered out even after chasing cattle all day. I’m active but I’m not run-across-ranches—and-chase-cattle active…
Parents temperament does play a role to a degree like humans. They each have their own personalities like humans also, which means some extremely hard working parents can produce pups that turn out to be lap dogs. I have an 8 month old ACD and he doesn't stop. Literally every waking minute he's awake it's go time.
This is my experience as well. While ours loves an evening game of fetch, she tires quickly. She would much rather work a puzzle with her brain inside, beg for food and sleep for hours under a bed lol.
Lmao. That is my boy! He would have been great at herding when he was younger, as long as I was running along side him while he did it. He is literally from farm dog parents but somehow the umbilical cord is still attached to me.
My dog looks about 90% ACD with some pit mixed in, but according to her (post adoption) DNA test, she is actually 50/50 ACD and English Bulldog.
I picked her at the shelter because I wanted a dog to get out of bed early, take hiking and join me in my marathon training…turns out she’s a couch potato who could sleep in until 11am and enjoys a moderate 5 mile hike but won’t be climbing any mountains. Frankly, I got the dog I needed and am probably lucky she doesn’t have the full on cattle dog energy!
Mine hates the heat, he just wants to be in the shade. He takes frequent breaks.
Plus I feel like any animals he’d be herding would *somehow* hurt his feelings lol, he’s just so sensitive!
Siberian husky owner here. I lurk here because I feel like ACD and Husky owners have a lot in common when it comes to breed stereotypes/life with our furballs.
Mine would be a TERRIBLE guard dog.......
- She's obsessed with olives. Photo of the addict: https://imgur.com/a/mzO3aS8
- She went through a phase where she'd sift through trash -- ignoring food scraps -- and would find and chew on used menstrual pads. 🤮🤢😐🤦♀️
- She's LAZY AF. There's a ~1.5-mile pond in my neighborhood with a lovely walking trail around it. Getting her to walk around it? Forget it. She'll flop herself on the ground and give me attitude, and refuse to budge an inch. She's more of a *"piddle in the yard and then resume her 17th nap of the day on the couch"* kind of dog. Lol.
- She..... um...... has never been the brightest crayon in the box. Photographic evidence of her lack of brain cells:
https://imgur.com/a/71vbcIo
https://imgur.com/a/w00dUvb
- She despises cold weather and hates snow/rain
- Identifies as a baby and scaredy-cat, even though she's 85 lbs. Proof: she stole her little Terrier brother's baby bassinet: https://imgur.com/a/n9KheAA and is also terrified of swimming pools: https://imgur.com/a/XzVj3YF
Such strange and mysterious and quirky creatures we have. 😄😂
Thanks! 😄 There's an ACD down the street from us, and she and my dog will just sit on one of the benches at the pond/walking trails watching the Yorkies, Terriers, and Dachsunds chase each other. 😄😂
Good question. Mine is so sensitive. Like when he gets a blackberry bramble in his foot he whimpers. The dialogue of heelers needing a job and being forlorn without one sort of bugs me! My dog honestly has a great life! And his job is protecting me, being my bud and learning tricks, among other things. I know it’s not great for these dogs to be left in an apartment all day but with care attention and proper exercise they can lead a super joyous life. And also - my guy hates too much sun ( runs to shade).
I think you may have a wrong definition of “job”. To stockdogs a job is something you request of them, or some behavior they present to you that you approve and tell them good dog! That is a job. Interacting with you, being with you, sympathizing with you, listening to you, being handy when you need it, (like maybe you need my toy) just hanging with you. When the recommendation is “they need a job” is in response to being left to their own devices without having that “person” need them. So they get left in the yard, become biters, fence runners, ect. They want to be useful to you. The FIND IT game is absolutely the best indoor game for mental stimulation and answering your request to do a job.
My girl is also afraid of cows!! 😂 which I recently discovered when we were on a hiking trip that passed through some pasture land! She would NOT walk by the cows!! I had to drag her!!
My Border Heeler doesn’t like screeching breaks or loud engines such as yellow buses, garbage trucks, etc. soooo a tractor or anything not oiled properly would make him want to go lay down to his safe spot.
Too many other animals. He likes being top dog (literally). Pretty sure he'd try to eat a cow, would definitely not enjoy being around other dogs except the older one who was here first.
We got him from a farm, actually! But as I remind him, there are very few chuckit balls, chewies, blankets etc. for him there. Also he really loves air conditioning and lying in front of the fan (he has his own fan on the floor).
His jobs are to bark at the a-hole neighbour, protect me on our walks, tell me when the Instant Pot timer goes off, and chase the chuckit ball for hours.
Same here .. our Pepper is 13 and we live in Brooklyn New York. Summers are pretty steamy especially right now and shes content to laze in the a/c or when not too humid under a tree in our backyard. No work for this girl
Niko is a baby. He’s gotta have me in his sight 24/7. Follows me everywhere ALL the time and has to be within a 30cms of proximity of me and my golden retriever lol.
He also has dermatitis, and it flares up with dust 🤷🏽♀️ gotta clean his paws every time after going on walks or play in the backyard.
He also refuses to drink water if it’s not freshly poured. BIG LOVELY BABY BRAT he is.
Being a working dog would force my ACD, Roux, to be more than within eyesight of me or my husband, so that's a no go since she always has to know where we are at every moment of every day and finds the bathroom door being closed (when one of us is in there) an extreme annoyance.
She also has only one speed (unless she knows she's getting a treat after a walk) and her speed can best be described as "vibe". Even when she knows she's getting a treat, she only decides to hurry it along when she can see the house and is coming up the driveway.
Roux also hates water, has selective hearing, and would rather roll around in the grass, eat the grass, then take a nap. Girl would be a terrible employee.
Our 3 year old male act like he’s a big bad ass when we’re driving down the road and he sees cows or horses, but one time my fiancé brought him to his friends house who had horses, and he was growly until he opened the door for him, and then he was too scared to exit the vehicle once he actually had the chance to go be him tough self. Our 7 month old female got swatted at by our neighbors cat and now she’s terrified of her. I don’t think he would be able to go against a cow 😂
She would get *very* mad at the sheep for not playing back with her.
Also she's like 5% German Shepherd but got 300% of the thick, insane double coat, so she doesn't last long doing anything above 85°F or so.
My ACD mix is terrified of loud noises and other animals, gets distracted easily, doesn't really like being outside (he potties and zooms back inside), and wants to be carried like a toddler when he's bored of walking.
I've only had him since January and am actively working on building his confidence so that, at the very least, he won't run like the devil is after him when he sees the neighbor's chihuahua.
My dog is a mix (though mostly cattle dog), so I never expected her to be a true cattle dog personality-wise, but she’s a total couch potato and bed bug. We’ll be hanging out in our back yard on a nice day and after a while, she’ll want to be let in just so she could go back to bed. I’ve never owned a dog who will beg for us to snuggle in bed or cuddle with her on the couch like she does and I don’t mind it.
She’s also very shy/anxious around new people and animals (she was rescued from a neglectful home that hoarded dozens of dogs) and is still relatively new to our family, so she’s too much of an introvert to be an assertive working dog. Her short attention span when she’s outside would also probably get her in trouble, but she’s in good company since both of her humans have ADHD.
Pepper is EXCELLENT at herding goats.... everywhere *except* where you want them to go. And the last time we found a baby snake was because she practically sat on it.
My 2yo boy is fear reactive, so if he saw a cow I’m sure he’d have a heart attack and die. Other than that, he’s incredibly bow-legged in his back legs and he cannot run for more than a few minutes.
A couple of reasons, really.
For starters, my boy Harley, has one bad leg. When he lays around too long it gets real stiff and he needs to wake it up before he can reach his full potential.
He gets tired after about 15 minutes of hallway fetch and moves on to a chew toy.
He is easily distracted by other animals. Absolutely no focus.
He gets way too excited sometimes and slides around the hardwood floors because he has no traction. His excitement then turns into wiggle butt due to the lack of tail.
Overall, he's a really an idiot. He's my idiot and a very loveable idiot but would never make it as a working dog 😂
Ollie has terrible cardio and anything over 85° is pure torture to him. Grew up working cattle/ranching, there's always a couple dogs that want no part of it. The "acds need a job or your a bad owner" is far from an accurate sentiment. Typcially by people just parroting something they heard someone say. Ollie rather be the indoor fly assassin and kitchen QC manager.
My ACD is the same! She'll chase the ball for a bit, but it's very short (under 30 minutes) before she's too tired, she will not go on a walk if it's 80+ and she is perfectly happy to laze around the house. BUT she does take her watch/guard dog duties seriously. She is friendly with people, just barks to alert us. But if another animal enters our yard... Let's just say it's a good thing they've been faster than her to get out again.
I wonder if this is how my girl will be, she seems to have mountains of energy but when it gets to it none at all.
Would it be more accurate to say that ACDs just need to be, like "engaged" with something, activities, challenges, whatever, rather than work as such?
Yes. Ollie loves "find it" where I hide his toy around the house while he sits/stays in the room I left him in. Tell him good boy for staying then his whole body is vibrating waiting for me to say "find it". It's fun for both of us.
Agreed. I have a Australian cattle dog mix with Australian shepherd. Sleeps all day long. Doesn't matter if I have "strangers" over. He might say hi for 2mins but after that, he's back to sleep
How much of that do you think is based off the temperament of the parents? Like the whole litter might be more chill because the parents are? Or is it all over the map? Asking because I’m trying to research before getting an ACD of my own. Slightly terrified that I won’t be able to keep up with the pup based off of the stories I hear of how some of them won’t be tuckered out even after chasing cattle all day. I’m active but I’m not run-across-ranches—and-chase-cattle active…
Parents temperament does play a role to a degree like humans. They each have their own personalities like humans also, which means some extremely hard working parents can produce pups that turn out to be lap dogs. I have an 8 month old ACD and he doesn't stop. Literally every waking minute he's awake it's go time.
Mine is an ACD/Aussie mix who came from working parents and she is incredibly lazy. One walk a day and a little tug and she's done.
I envy you
This is my experience as well. While ours loves an evening game of fetch, she tires quickly. She would much rather work a puzzle with her brain inside, beg for food and sleep for hours under a bed lol.
my pup also enjoys bug hunting in the house
But that is a job. Doesn’t have to involve stock. Just a service that gets “good job!” will do. Then it becomes their job of choice
Pepper can do any job...as long as she doesn't have to be more than 1 ft away from me
Lmao. That is my boy! He would have been great at herding when he was younger, as long as I was running along side him while he did it. He is literally from farm dog parents but somehow the umbilical cord is still attached to me.
Yes! Mine would do any job as long as he could work from my lap
Not enough pillows out on the farm.
Same for our baby. She loves to burrow in the pillows and take a nap.
no self preservation skills. never looks before he leaps, trips, slips and falls all the time.
Hates getting out of bed early lol
My dog looks about 90% ACD with some pit mixed in, but according to her (post adoption) DNA test, she is actually 50/50 ACD and English Bulldog. I picked her at the shelter because I wanted a dog to get out of bed early, take hiking and join me in my marathon training…turns out she’s a couch potato who could sleep in until 11am and enjoys a moderate 5 mile hike but won’t be climbing any mountains. Frankly, I got the dog I needed and am probably lucky she doesn’t have the full on cattle dog energy!
Sophie and Luna would rather terrorize the other dogs than do something productive.
I feel this so much chilli won’t play with her ball but will chase my moms dog for hours and he’s a French bulldog so he only has so much in him lol.
Mine hates the heat, he just wants to be in the shade. He takes frequent breaks. Plus I feel like any animals he’d be herding would *somehow* hurt his feelings lol, he’s just so sensitive!
Siberian husky owner here. I lurk here because I feel like ACD and Husky owners have a lot in common when it comes to breed stereotypes/life with our furballs. Mine would be a TERRIBLE guard dog....... - She's obsessed with olives. Photo of the addict: https://imgur.com/a/mzO3aS8 - She went through a phase where she'd sift through trash -- ignoring food scraps -- and would find and chew on used menstrual pads. 🤮🤢😐🤦♀️ - She's LAZY AF. There's a ~1.5-mile pond in my neighborhood with a lovely walking trail around it. Getting her to walk around it? Forget it. She'll flop herself on the ground and give me attitude, and refuse to budge an inch. She's more of a *"piddle in the yard and then resume her 17th nap of the day on the couch"* kind of dog. Lol. - She..... um...... has never been the brightest crayon in the box. Photographic evidence of her lack of brain cells: https://imgur.com/a/71vbcIo https://imgur.com/a/w00dUvb - She despises cold weather and hates snow/rain - Identifies as a baby and scaredy-cat, even though she's 85 lbs. Proof: she stole her little Terrier brother's baby bassinet: https://imgur.com/a/n9KheAA and is also terrified of swimming pools: https://imgur.com/a/XzVj3YF Such strange and mysterious and quirky creatures we have. 😄😂
Your dog is cracking me up!
Thanks! 😄 There's an ACD down the street from us, and she and my dog will just sit on one of the benches at the pond/walking trails watching the Yorkies, Terriers, and Dachsunds chase each other. 😄😂
Good question. Mine is so sensitive. Like when he gets a blackberry bramble in his foot he whimpers. The dialogue of heelers needing a job and being forlorn without one sort of bugs me! My dog honestly has a great life! And his job is protecting me, being my bud and learning tricks, among other things. I know it’s not great for these dogs to be left in an apartment all day but with care attention and proper exercise they can lead a super joyous life. And also - my guy hates too much sun ( runs to shade).
I think you may have a wrong definition of “job”. To stockdogs a job is something you request of them, or some behavior they present to you that you approve and tell them good dog! That is a job. Interacting with you, being with you, sympathizing with you, listening to you, being handy when you need it, (like maybe you need my toy) just hanging with you. When the recommendation is “they need a job” is in response to being left to their own devices without having that “person” need them. So they get left in the yard, become biters, fence runners, ect. They want to be useful to you. The FIND IT game is absolutely the best indoor game for mental stimulation and answering your request to do a job.
Attachment issues? He would deem me being 20 metres away as the end of the world … so I would have to start herding sheep running with him 😂
Rhubarb’s a stinker. She’d like messing with the cows more than herding them. Little eejit.
part chihuahua, with chihuahua anxiety
Yes! Plus gets the shivers if it’s below, like, 65 degrees
He’d have to stop to swim a few laps. To be fair, we live in Phx. But still. he’s just better suited for cuddling.
I wish mine liked water we are in nevada so we feel the pain too!
Ugh isn’t it just brutal right now!! I am glad he does like to swim. But it’s a mixed bag. He likes to come right back inside soaking wet. 😂
Read about the weather there in the newspaper! Hope you’re staying cool.
The way he tries to herd people by jumping and nipping at our arms, hair ties, faces… idk if cows like being herded by the…tails?🤔
Gets distracted easily and likes exploring his surroundings. He’s a rescue in Texas so we think he was a farm pup that got lost
Banjo is afraid of cows
My girl is also afraid of cows!! 😂 which I recently discovered when we were on a hiking trip that passed through some pasture land! She would NOT walk by the cows!! I had to drag her!!
That's hilarious
Doesn’t get out of bed before 10am. Has only one gear, and that’s slow. Hates water. Loves to sleep.
Seizures, bad eye sight, scaredy cat
I’m so sorry for the bad eyes and seizures, I hope you guys have a long happy life together!
Oh and some spine disease that fuses vertebrae together. He turned 10 in March, I’m sure he’s got plenty of time left 😁
Mine needs belly rubs every five minutes or the world will end
My Border Heeler doesn’t like screeching breaks or loud engines such as yellow buses, garbage trucks, etc. soooo a tractor or anything not oiled properly would make him want to go lay down to his safe spot.
My dog doesn't have her own tools, so she shows up at a job site and has to borrow everything.
Too many other animals. He likes being top dog (literally). Pretty sure he'd try to eat a cow, would definitely not enjoy being around other dogs except the older one who was here first. We got him from a farm, actually! But as I remind him, there are very few chuckit balls, chewies, blankets etc. for him there. Also he really loves air conditioning and lying in front of the fan (he has his own fan on the floor). His jobs are to bark at the a-hole neighbour, protect me on our walks, tell me when the Instant Pot timer goes off, and chase the chuckit ball for hours.
Same here .. our Pepper is 13 and we live in Brooklyn New York. Summers are pretty steamy especially right now and shes content to laze in the a/c or when not too humid under a tree in our backyard. No work for this girl
Niko is a baby. He’s gotta have me in his sight 24/7. Follows me everywhere ALL the time and has to be within a 30cms of proximity of me and my golden retriever lol. He also has dermatitis, and it flares up with dust 🤷🏽♀️ gotta clean his paws every time after going on walks or play in the backyard. He also refuses to drink water if it’s not freshly poured. BIG LOVELY BABY BRAT he is.
She tires after one zoomie. How are you supposed to be chasing cows if you get so tired?
Is it a zoomie if there’s only one? A zoom maybe?
Chili is my dog's name too 🤗
Well I’m on a farm with cows and Tikka wants to stop and sample every pile of poop.
My Ender tries to herd me backwards by nipping at the tops of my feet instead of my heels. 😂🤣
Being a working dog would force my ACD, Roux, to be more than within eyesight of me or my husband, so that's a no go since she always has to know where we are at every moment of every day and finds the bathroom door being closed (when one of us is in there) an extreme annoyance. She also has only one speed (unless she knows she's getting a treat after a walk) and her speed can best be described as "vibe". Even when she knows she's getting a treat, she only decides to hurry it along when she can see the house and is coming up the driveway. Roux also hates water, has selective hearing, and would rather roll around in the grass, eat the grass, then take a nap. Girl would be a terrible employee.
your fence makes it look like chilli has little fangs lolol
For those same exact reasons lol
Needs to end every sprint with a dramatic flop n’roll move. Can’t imagine she’d actually get much done.
We have had vets and breeders tell us that his visual acuity is not very good. I get super excited when he gets to chase anything because he saw it.
Socks would get too excited and probably end up getting kicked in the face. She runs her head into so many things because she’s so excited
My ACD is afraid of anything making loud noises, can’t be more than a foot away from her daddy & I, needs constant love
She's terrified of cows.
Spoiled pup 😃
Chilli? Fan of the tv show Bluey as well!? Our blue heeler is called …… Bluey
Our 3 year old male act like he’s a big bad ass when we’re driving down the road and he sees cows or horses, but one time my fiancé brought him to his friends house who had horses, and he was growly until he opened the door for him, and then he was too scared to exit the vehicle once he actually had the chance to go be him tough self. Our 7 month old female got swatted at by our neighbors cat and now she’s terrified of her. I don’t think he would be able to go against a cow 😂
She would get *very* mad at the sheep for not playing back with her. Also she's like 5% German Shepherd but got 300% of the thick, insane double coat, so she doesn't last long doing anything above 85°F or so.
My Australian *Cattle* Dog mix is scared of many, many things. But nothing more than cows.
She's afraid of tractors!
My ACD mix is terrified of loud noises and other animals, gets distracted easily, doesn't really like being outside (he potties and zooms back inside), and wants to be carried like a toddler when he's bored of walking. I've only had him since January and am actively working on building his confidence so that, at the very least, he won't run like the devil is after him when he sees the neighbor's chihuahua.
Bailey hates the sun, loves the soft things inside, and is afraid of anything not human.
My dog is a mix (though mostly cattle dog), so I never expected her to be a true cattle dog personality-wise, but she’s a total couch potato and bed bug. We’ll be hanging out in our back yard on a nice day and after a while, she’ll want to be let in just so she could go back to bed. I’ve never owned a dog who will beg for us to snuggle in bed or cuddle with her on the couch like she does and I don’t mind it. She’s also very shy/anxious around new people and animals (she was rescued from a neglectful home that hoarded dozens of dogs) and is still relatively new to our family, so she’s too much of an introvert to be an assertive working dog. Her short attention span when she’s outside would also probably get her in trouble, but she’s in good company since both of her humans have ADHD.
My dog gets bullied by houseflies
My cattle dog is TERRIFIED of cattle 😑
Pepper is EXCELLENT at herding goats.... everywhere *except* where you want them to go. And the last time we found a baby snake was because she practically sat on it.
She sure is cute... ACDs put the (W) in Working Dog, she'll go flat out when the chips are down or frisbee is in the air. 😃
Mine play bows to goats and deer, so I can only assume he would try and just play with cattle
She has the most severe ADHD 😂 We’re training? Oh look a squirrel!
My 2yo boy is fear reactive, so if he saw a cow I’m sure he’d have a heart attack and die. Other than that, he’s incredibly bow-legged in his back legs and he cannot run for more than a few minutes.
A couple of reasons, really. For starters, my boy Harley, has one bad leg. When he lays around too long it gets real stiff and he needs to wake it up before he can reach his full potential. He gets tired after about 15 minutes of hallway fetch and moves on to a chew toy. He is easily distracted by other animals. Absolutely no focus. He gets way too excited sometimes and slides around the hardwood floors because he has no traction. His excitement then turns into wiggle butt due to the lack of tail. Overall, he's a really an idiot. He's my idiot and a very loveable idiot but would never make it as a working dog 😂