Circlebartee Working Dogs
The Australian Cattle Dog is, and should be, a natural 'heeler'. Their main aim is to push cattle from the tail, they are traditionally not a 'casting' or 'eye' dog, like the border collie or kelpie. However with correct training and the right bloodlines, we at Circlebartee are aiming to produce Australian Cattle dogs that have the ability, to go to the head and turn a best, work a mob or indivdual to you and the ultimate goal of a good cast.
The aim is produce workinag acds which have the abiity to go the head, but use them in the tradtional sense they were bred for. Acds were to bred to bring troublesome breakaways back to the mob teaching them mob respect. Once the beast has returned they are left to be part of mob (reward), the dogs then back off and let the mob be.
At Circlebartee, we aim to breed Australian Cattle Dogs with natural working ability. Pups are brought up in the farming environment and are gradually introduced to work from about 12months of age depending on the individual dog. By letting them work from about this age they don't tend to get hurt as easily and generally think about what they are doing before going in. It depends on the individual dog as to their approach and keenness- I find the males tend to rush in flat stick and go high for the bite, not really thinking- a few good kicks from a beast and they learn to stay low and quick.
Pictured above is CH Maryheather Wolfman, placing a low hard bite on a stubborn bull. Wolfman is used on the bulls and beef cattle, his bite is hard, whereas the younger dogs are used on the younger stock. This helps get their confidence up and gets them placing their bites better before working the older stock. While a stubborn bull is good to help them bite it comes down to the keenness of the individual dog.
The YouTube video is of Circlebartee Tonka at 11mths old starting to work the mob. In general he is a soft dog and his working ability will get stronger with more confidence. As he is learning he is offering the occasional bark, while this is not desirable, again this will improve with his confidence. The video also demonstrates the type of cattle our dogs can work, hence why we need good tough and strong working dogs. We run cows and calves, so the mothers will always defend their babies. We also have a number of wild dogs in our area which also gives the cows good reason to be protective. We just choose when to put the young dogs on the cows depending on their level of ability.
The main aim when working Australian Cattle Dogs is to have control and obedience from them- every now then a good old 'ear pulling' is needed to remind them you are boss (I don't mean be cruel, but the Cattle dog is tough and needs a boss to guide them).