Australia’s famous wild dog mates with a world-renowned German shepherd, the crossbreed can surprise you by inheriting the best attributes from both. A cross between an Australian Cattle Dog and German shepherd, the breed is widely known as cattle shepherd. However, not much has been known about their features and characteristics.
Having a cattle shepherd at your home will make you one of the few people who have to benefit from this versatile breed, but before you bring this mix at home, it is essential that you know all about the German shepherd cattle dog mix. Not only will it help you identify, but you can also take care of this breed in the best possible way.
So, let’s get yourself informed about this adorable, highly energetic, and intelligent dog breed.
Before we move forward, it is important that you know a bit about the parents’ breed, I.e., the German shepherd and the cattle dog. It will allow you to understand the behavior and personality of the mix in a better way. Hence, let’s meet the parents first.
About German shepherds
Belonging to a large breed family, the German shepherd is the second most popular breed in the US. Initially bred for herding, now the German shepherds are known for their loyalty, obedience, strength, courage, and protectiveness. Having the perfect personality traits, the breed is
human-friendly and can act as the best guard dog.
Considering the qualities, it is one of the preferred dogs for military training. It won’t be wrong to say that the German shepherd is the preferred choice all over the world when looking for the best partner. Easy to train and easy to groom, the breed requires regular exercises pertaining to high energy levels and needs socialization at an early age.
About Australian Cattle Dog
Having immense work drive, the breed is highly energetic and has a muscular build. Also known as Blue Heeler or Queensland Heeler, the breed is officially recognized by the American Kennel Club. Smart, loyal, and resilient, Australian cattle dogs need a lot of socializing in order to be friendly with humans. Eager to learn and passionate, the breed requires regular physical exercises and mental stimulation in order to stay fit and healthy. When they become bored or not given time for exercise, the breed can turn out to be highly destructive.
Everything you need to know about German shepherd cattle dog mix
Knowing about parents’ breed must have given you an idea of how the mix is going to be and what personality traits it can have. However, it’s hard to guess correctly.
Recently developed, the breed has become quite popular, but few people know about its personality traits and appearance as of yet. Ready for anything, a cattle shepherd can be a great family dog, companion, and as well as a perfect guard dog. Let’s explore the different aspects of the German shepherd cattle dog mix.
Appearance
Heavy-built, strong, and resilient, when it comes to appearance, the breed more or less looks like one of their parents or a blend of both. Talking about the height, they stand at large and can have a height of 20 to 25 inches with a weight of around 40 to 80 pounds.
When it comes to the coat, the German shepherd usually has a long coat, and the Australian cattle dog has a short-length coat. So, the mixed breed is normally going to have a medium size coat, but it will be dense and will shed seasonally. You will find the texture straight, and talking about the colors, it can have a wide range from brown, red, brindle, blue, or black.
The breed looks compact, but with an athletic build, the ears stand up upright. The dark eyes add beauty as you will mostly find blue, amber, or dark brown colored eyes that look sharp and bright.
Temperament
Inherited from the parents, the mix shares the temperament of both. Intelligent, confident, loyal, and protective, the cattle shepherd can be your next companion or a guard dog. However, with strength and bravery comes responsibility. The breed requires vigorous training and socialization, or else it can become stubborn and difficult to control.
Moreover, they can turn out to be damaging when left alone for a long duration. Though they built a strong connection with owning a family, they find it hard to get involved with strangers.
Due to their large size, they are not well suited to families having young children or pets in their house. However, they can be jumbled together if trained accordingly.
In a nutshell, German cattle form a wonderful companionship, but due to dominating behavior, the breed is not recommended for first-time owners. In order for this breed to grow and develop properly, training and socialization are very important.
Training and activity requirements
Smart and intelligent, German cattle have high learning ability, and whatever you teach will go a long way all their lives. This is why it is important that you train them properly, focusing on teaching commands and obedience. Since they tend to be aggressive towards strangers, interaction with people is essential.
Training is what makes them the perfect dog for a family, and if you aren’t able to give adequate training, it will come out to be violent when an adult.
Due to the breed’s high energy level, it needs regular exercise to remain in shape. Excel at outdoor games, field trials, agility, and whatever makes them use their intelligence and energy will help them grow into loyal, friendly, and obedient dogs.
Grooming and care
With a high activity level comes more grooming, maintenance, and care. With weekly brushing, you need to keep a check on physical activity as the breed mostly gets messy while playing outdoors. Besides that, the breed does not shed regularly, so you can have a sigh of relief from this side. Other than that, keep your German cattle well-groomed and well-trained.
Health issues
If not inherited, the German cattle spend a healthy life, having a lifespan of 10 to 14 years. Other than that, they might face common issues such as deafness, flea allergy, or joint pain. With a balanced diet, regular exercise, and regular vet checkups, you can keep your shepherd cattle perfectly fine and in good health.
Conclusion
Always on the alert, courageous, adventurous, energetic, and loyal, these are a few of the prominent aspects of the German shepherd cattle dog mix that you have with the breed. But they also require full-time training and supervision especially when they are with kids. Knowing all about the German shepherd cattle dog mix, you can decide for yourself if you need one or not. Nevertheless, a cattle shepherd seems to be a good choice if we have only adults in the family.