Herding Group
Created in 1983, is the newest AKC classification; its members were formerly members of the Working Group.
History
An early settler of Australia, George Hall, moved into the NSW territory in 1802. He quickly saw the need for a sturdy droving dog to move cattle across long distances. After losing over 200 head of cattle in the scrubby countryside, he decided to breed the perfect dog for the Australian working man. He crossed the droving dog of his childhood, the Northumberland Blue Merle, with his tamed dingoes to create Hall’s Heelers. After over 30 years of service exclusively on Hall’s property, the dog attracted attention from Sydney’s competitive dog show community. After early popularity and a following outside of Hall’s ranch, the Australian Cattle Dog breed standard was born in 1903. The dog remains popular to this day in its native Australia and elsewhere through the British Commonwealth (current and past members).
In the United States, the Australian Cattle Dog first appeared after American servicemen fell in love with the breed during military service in World War II. The breed grew in popularity and was found acceptable as a “miscellaneous” breed in the AKC show circuit in 1930. It wasn’t until the national Australian Cattle Dog club formed in 1969 that Americans could buy AKC-registered members of the breed. The club gave up the breed standard to the AKC in 1979 to ensure formal breed recognition later in 1980. Today, the breed remains popular outside its homeland of Australian. The US, Canada, and the United Kingdom all maintain national Australian Cattle Dog clubs and formal registration processes.
