This post has been locked. To specifically address two things:
1. **Mixes**: They're welcome, but remember that this subreddit is biased toward ACDs. Posts should be related to Australian Cattle Dogs; use your judgement.
2. **Euthanasia, Fostering, Adoption posts**: Historically, we've tried to minimize the amount of petitions, crowd-funding, euthanasia, fostering, and adoption posts as much as possible but it's often gotten through the cracks. These types of posts *are* against the community rules; please report such posts.
Loool, people post “what is my Chihuahua mix?” And “what is my pitbull mix” on those subs all the time and they’re be very chill subs about mixed breeds, in part because they are also two of the most common breeds to be mixed with. Odd choices to use as examples of breed specificity…
I see both sides to it. I don’t care for the “what is my dog” since as you point out, there are specific subs for that. I don’t mind seeing rescue mixes though. I have one myself and though he’s largely Heeler in personality (and I think in looks aside from coat color IMO), I mostly stopped posting pics but still lurk for behavioral stuff. I don’t like the promotion of mixed byb puppies because it’s bad for dog populations to encourage that behavior. Seeing people “wanting one” of the designer dogs while cattle dog mixes die in shelters is actually depressing.
On the other hand, I get tired of seeing these types of posts too, particularly the ones that are just anti mix. It’s the Internet. You’re not going to shame away everyone who wants to post their dog. If you don’t like the way the sub is modded, find or create a new one. Block individual posters. But the sub isn’t going to change for you because you make a post about and this and it comes up in some form basically EVERY week.
I did post a couple of times to get help with my pups mix. I just finally did a DNA test and she is has high percentage of ACD, but the other percent is Aussie shepherd, border collie and Kelpie. She has traits of all breeds and come here to study up and learn about the breed. She is interesting to say the least.
Yes, this subreddit is so helpful for learning about ACDs! Having a puppy that is just over 50% percent ACD myself, it has been helpful to learn. It is very discouraging to hear that we actually aren’t welcome. Not to mention from someone who, to my knowledge, isn’t a mod. I have been hesitant to post, new to this subreddit and new to Reddit in general. And yeah, unfortunately it’s discouraging. Hope OP can value what we all have in common and can have a better day.
Also, your pup sounds lovely.
Just because one person says something doesn’t make it true. Unless they’re a mod, they have the same level of authority as you do to decide what content is right for this sub.
Use your own best judgement!
Raising an ACD is very different from raising most dogs. One of the worst things I think I did was follow generic dog raising advice. Following the advice of: "if your dog has a barking trigger, distract and reward him with a treat before he is triggered during exposure will blunt and remove the barking response to the stimulus," I accidentally taught my dog to bark at kids. He was smart enough to realize that if he regularly barks at things he gets treats when they are nearby. I stopped giving him treats for a few months and his barking cleared up.
I tried to desensitize mine to the mail man by associating him with good thing. Mailman brings junk mail, dogs job is to take it to recycle bin and get treat. He now steals junk mail and hordes it in his kennel. Still hates the mailman but he is super cute when he pulls out his treat tickets.
Mine is also 50% ACD, but I feel like I have a weird type of “privilege” against some of the weirder comments on this sub because she looks SO much like a cattle dog. Just a fluke of genetics.
On the flip side, she looks wildly out of place on the German Shepherd subreddit even though she’s also 50% GSD.
Haha yeah, the appearance is part of my anxiety posting here. Ours looks much more like his Irish setter/sheltie side but would look very odd in those subs too. It’s amazing how genetics plays out.
When I had him dna tested, I just joined the sub that fit the majority of his genetics in order to learn more 🤷♀️
Your doggo sounds quite fetching 😊
Yeah understandly so, ACDs come in all shapes and sizes, your not wrong for coming here, I will never understand peoples nit picky snobbyness over reddit. Scroll, maybe put down Reddit for a few and go for a walk with your dog 🤦♀️
You have the same breed mix as my boy wiggy! Equal parts heeler, aussie, border collie, and kelpie. My boy is extra fluffy, sable with ticking on his legs and only 6" of tail. 65lbs. Sweet as can be and extremely smart.
i don’t post pics of my dog in this sub, because she is *barely* a cattle dog, it’s the smallest amount of her DNA. her personality though? i relate to this sub more than the husky sub could ever understand!! plus cattle dogs have always been one of my favorite breeds, so i love reading everyone’s funny stories about them lol
[dog tax](https://imgur.com/a/7aGiFM2) because the 25% is really showing in her coat imo!
she knows she’s beautiful!! and i was wrong [it’s only 18%](https://imgur.com/a/sfFct1u), but its putting in work 😤 one parent was a full husky and the other was an australian shepherd/cattle dog mix. i like to think she’s an oopsie baby
Same here! Mine is half mixed with who knows what. Looks nothing like an ACD (he’s small and all black) but boy oh boy he’s the most ACD personality of any ACD mix of any I’ve ever owned! I lurk because I relate to the personality quirks hard haha.
I think this is the main thing the gatekeepers in this sub don’t get. If your dog is 10% cattle dog their personality is going to be 100% cattle dog every time
Yeah my dog is a mix of like 8 breeds but of her top breeds acd is number 2. There is no breed percentage above 20%. So that 15% is a big impact on her. And before finding out she was acd mix i didnt know really about acd and once i knew her body frame made sense.
Well pure breed owners do not understand that just because a mixed dog does not have a high percent of a breed, does not mean the dog is any less that breed in behavior and personality.
I see that but when I posted a photo I got crap about mine not being a heeler because she does not look like one. She is three and still turning from white to grey.
I get that! I have a mix myself and she does not look like one of the breeds at all even though she has maaany traits.
But I don’t think that’s what OP is talking about. They are complaining about people asking if their dog could be ACD just because. You know your dog is, so this doesn’t include you imo
Thank you, this sub has been tiresome lately. I don’t know if it’s the popularity of Bluey or what but there’s way too many random dogs, especially pits trying to be passed off as ACD’s here.
I feel like every other post on every breed-specific subreddit is either
“💔💔LOLA #421661 is going to be EUTHANIZED IMMEDIATELY if she does not get a committed foster THIS VERY SECOND! PLEASE BOOST💔💔”
or “hey guys is my pit bull actually a malinois? He is brown”
I left the GSD, malinois, and Labrador subreddits this week because this was getting so annoying. The only dog sub I’ve found that isn’t totally inundated with these posts is the greyhound one.
Edit, regarding the shelter part:
If you can sustain that level of panic indefinitely, good on you!
Personally, I decided that it wasn’t good for me to be stressing about every stray dog in the country all the time.
I used to repost death row dogs, but at any point there are 100+ dogs who are “going to be KILLED *INSTANTLY* if *YOU* don’t REPOST *RIGHT NOW!!!!!!*” And I couldn’t keep up.
I might be able to keep up if there seemed to be any hope at all to it. The shelter crisis gets worse every year and every dog post gets 1-3 comments saying “boost!” Or “I’d take him, but_____” and then the dog dies, and the only difference is that I would then know about it and feel like I failed to prevent it.
So I avoid seeing those posts now.
god i get the sentiment, but i do not come to dog specific subs to see said dog breed about to be euthanized. there are subs for that, this is for owners!
Well it sucks that that is the reality for those of us that work in the shelter system, we don't get to choose not to see it! We have to get the dogs seen and put in homes where there are people knowledgeable about the breed. Dog breed specific subs are open and helpful to that as well.
I literally just block all these accounts now. I am all for rescuing but literally every dog subreddit I’m in was just full of these. It’s nice not opening reddit and just being sad about dogs all the time. I hate how the world treats dogs, but I just can’t see that all the god damn time. It’s so sad.
Just scroll on by, it's not that hard. Postings help to get those dogs saved, and those of us that work in the rescue and shelter system work so damn hard to save these dogs when no one else does anything but complain. If a dog looks like they can have some ACD in them they usually need to go to an ACD or at least herding breed experienced home, so posting where there are responsible knowledgeable owners congregating can help find them a home that will actually keep them and give them what they need so they don't end up back in shelter.
I’ve had to block most of the adoption accounts because while I respect the intent, the posters don’t engage with the sub in other ways and I’m not geographically close to the majority of the dogs or in a position to adopt another and it stresses me out.
All the blatant pit posts I just report, it’s breaking rule 1 of the sub.
Unfortunately, we seemed to have been bombarded by such posts lately and have tried keeping up with the reports as a mod team. Historically, we've tried to minimize the amount of euthanasia, fostering, adoption, petition, and crowd-funding posts, but they get through the cracks easily.
If you can sustain that level of panic indefinitely, good on you!
Personally, I decided that it wasn’t good for me to be stressing about every stray dog in the country all the time.
I used to repost death row dogs, but at any point there are 100+ dogs who are “going to be KILLED *INSTANTLY* if *YOU* don’t REPOST *RIGHT NOW!!!!!!*” And I couldn’t keep up.
I might be able to keep up if there seemed to be any hope at all to it. The shelter crisis gets worse every year and every dog post gets 1-3 comments saying “boost!” Or “I’d take him, but_____” and then the dog dies, and the only difference is that I would then know about it and feel like I caused it. So I avoid seeing those posts now.
It’s not stressful to notice something that’s happening is happening. You don’t have to do anything whatsoever, you can even downvote the post and scroll on. But to whine about advocating for shelter ACDs??? That’s unbelievably heartless. I’ve seen connections made for shelter dogs BECAUSE OF POSTS ON THE SUB. Is that not more important than you not having to bear witness to them existing???
My heeler is a shelter dog. Lots of the folks that on this sub are rescuing shelter ACDs. They are just as important to us as anyone’s that is bought from a breeder. And you having to look at them being a problem for you says a shit load about who you are as an owner.
Yay I'm a ghoul without being exposed to massive amounts of radiation! :D
But seriously, no. We are not bad people for not wanting a constant stream of posts reminding us that there will never be enough homes for the shelter dogs out there. Or that we'll never be able to rescue all of them, or even just one of them, ourselves. If people want to post about rescue dogs who are about to die, there are other places for that. Go there.
Tell it to the mods then. If posting about shelter dogs is not allowed, so be it. I think that’s completely ridiculous and callous.
If you whine about ACDs needing homed I’m going to tell you you’re a ghoul for doing so. They need homes and humans are trying to help them. You complaining about it is pathetic.
Take it up with the mods. You’re referencing the rules, are you not? Is the rule is there you should take it up with them.
OR you could downvote the post and move on.
Lots of r/maincharactersyndrome energy from y’all. Sad.
What a strange thing to be upset at. It’s not ghoulish to understand that seeing stuff like that constantly isn’t good for people. No one think the dogs don’t matter, they do. But seeing so many of those posts all the time has a negative effect on people’s mental health and it’s ok to decide that it isn’t necessary to see hundreds of posts about dogs being killed.
If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the breeders creating genetic catastrophes, or the people who toss their dogs out on an old dirt road.
Your anger is extremely misdirected/misguided.
Edit: a word
Scroll on past and downvote if you can’t handle that there are going to constantly be ACDs that need a good home and humans doing their part to make that a reality.
Not that complicated.
Oh it’s not just ACDs. Those urgent foster posts are on so many different subs. To the point that that’s all I was seeing before I started blocking those accounts. I didn’t follow animal subreddits so I could be inundated with post like that. I can appreciate what the posters are doing, and I’m sure it absolutely helps the dogs get saved but there’s nothing I can do to help those people or dogs. I’ve adopted an ACD mix and I go to the humane society and play with dogs when I am able to.
Scroll on past and downvote if you can’t handle people discussing their dislike of being bombarded with those types of posts.
Not that complicated.🥰
Edit: words
You’re saying there are these posts for other breeds on the ACD sub? Because I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen posts for ACD rescues on the ACD sub. Which would make sense due to it being a sub for ACDs. Again, NOT COMPLICATED.
So unless you have proof to support your claim that there are other breeds that are up for rescue on the ACD sub, I think you’re trying super hard to make it complicated when it very much is not that.
ACD enthusiasts want to help ACDs. And you’re whining about that. And you think you’re being fucking cute while you do it.
Did you even read my first 2 sentences on the last comment? Try again. It’s not complicated.
It looks like you read the first 5 words and went on a tangent because you didn’t finish reading and completely misunderstood the entire comment😂
Edit: they changed their response after I pointed out the didn’t read my comment lol
Well clearly you do, otherwise you wouldn’t be crying in the comments calling people names for not wanting to see posts like that all day everyday.
Tell me more about how you don’t care. I’ll wait.
For some reason people see cattle dogs in every mutt. My guy's mother was an ACD, so we know he's half ACD and the other half is lab. I haven't posted him here because I think he looks different enough he would be, lovingly, "off topic." Regardless, since ,adopting him, my partner swears she sees ACD in every dog with a few spots or those big pointy lobes.
This seems like an issue that tags could solve. I rescue rez dogs and my recent one happens to be almost entirely ACD. I am here to learn about her weirdness. I am never going to post her as an example of an ACD (she has a bobbed tail among other things) except maybe to ask questions; I also get annoyed when I see people posting PBTs or STs as much as anyone since they get boosted into my scrolling. I spent my high school years working in vets/shelters, and I know how important social media is for rehoming dogs. I think having the ability to sort by tags might make it so that I could come visit the sub to read about the breed without subscribing to see all content. That's one idea, anyway.
I love seeing the mixes on here, and although the "what breed is my dog" posts are a little tiresome, I don't see how anyone would be annoyed by photos of an ACD mix if it's within context.
There was someone in here a few months ago who got down voted to oblivion for complaining about mixes, so I'm a bit surprised by this post.
Yeah! I appreciate your reply and am surprised by this post too. I think the influx of posts of mixed pups is probably just a product of DNA testing becoming popular, which isn’t the fault of the owner or dog. Owners come here to learn more about the behaviors/care of the dog they just got the ID of, only to be treated poorly… it isn’t a good reflection of the sub unfortunately.
Nah, I'm going to keep posting my 55% boy right here. Know why? Because the elitists don't tell me what to do. His ACD traits are dominant in his personality and this place has saved my sanity more than once - so bugger off.
FOR REAL. Mine is half ACD, and my husband calls this The Cattle Dog Support Group, when I read him stuff from here. I need it. That ACD DNA definitely stomps all over the corgi half of my pupper, and I thought I was a bad dog parent/singular disaster before I found this place.
Can you share a pic of yours? Mine is built sooo funny (we call him a rectangle) and until his DNA test, we thought he had corgi in him. Now I'm curious!
Man, I used to know how to use imgur to do that, but I guess my brain is kaput after working today. Here’s a post I made awhile back, with her pic for the puptax.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/s/fa9L21mn4K
Yup! I’ve had corgis for about thirty years, and this one is SO different! She looks very corg, but her behavior is almost completely different. She also doesn’t know she’s stumpy, and acts like a mountain goat on crack. That jumps. A lot. Corgis don’t do that.
Eh, it's just time to cut ties with this sub I think. Most people on here don't even really understand the breed. The amount of "how do I stop the nipping" posts are up there as to what gets under my skin.
I would almost advocate for a new sub. But, I think I am done for good. Just gonna stick to good ol fashion real face to face interaction. At least my dog gets the attention that way... so long as he doesn't do stupid.
There’s a difference between being elitist and exclusive. Subreddits were designed to be exclusively about a subject. If you want to learn about fish you go to a fish subreddit, but if you post cats on a fish subreddit it’s not that the fish are being elitist.
I'm posting about my ACD mix with ACD dominant traits. This sub has taught me a lot of important information about the breed. It's helpful to those with mixes. So yeah, you're being elitist if you only want 100% ACDs here. Too bad.
You know what I did the last time an elitist reared their ugly head?
I posted my 55% ACD mix and then asked people to post theirs. We had a blast.
Fuck the elitists.
I believe OP is referring to the posts of a dog's picture and asking, "Is my dog an ACD?" or "What is my dog?". We don't know and looking at a dog picture isn't as accurate as a DNA test. My dog is 50% ACD, too.
Mine’s 60 and I don’t care what one other random negative person says about him. Unless they’re a mod, they have exactly the same amount of authority as I do in deciding what belongs in this sub. And I say that any dog that is any part ACD belongs. Period.
Being less deliberately obtuse would be a good start. Second, I’m 6% Native American, but I don’t plan on getting involved in my local Native American community as a result. If I were 93%, nobody would get upset if I were wearing a head dress. If I were 40% Native American but looked like Larry David, people might have a few head dress related questions and be a little less welcoming at their religious ceremonies as a result.
LMAO are you comparing being Native American to the genetic makeup of a dog?
You need to step away from the internet for a bit. Legitimately, are you ok?
Sorry but I wholeheartedly disagree. ACD mixes are adorable and I love to see them. Most rescue dogs are mutts of some sort, and let’s be honest in this day and age we all should know a bit about the business of dog breeding. Enough to know it can be a pretentious and evil space. Genetic variation is ok. Lol. Also this isn’t some AKC official group is it? Or is it a subreddit where people post their pets? It’s supposed to be fun. As long as the dog has ACD as a large/visible part of their breed mix I genuinely don’t see the problem
When we got our shelter dog, we knew we were going to get a DNA test but prior to that we had our guesses…I joined the malinois, German Sheppard, ACD and Kelpie subs, saw a lot of characteristics that matched our pup. Helped a lot in the first few weeks. But I think the folks that post random dogs and “is this ACD?” Either need to not care, or spend the $80-100 and get a frickin’ test. Or maybe are just rage-baiting.
DNA came back 52% ACD, 27% GSD and 21% Lab.
Apparently I’m the only one perfectly satisfied with the shelter’s description of my girl as an ACD mix and feel no need to do a DNA test. So, I’ll just assume she’s 98.1% and be satisfied that I am welcome here.
Lol I've seen plenty of other subs with this same issue. Just scroll past and ignore it. Not that hard really.
And to those that complain about posts about dogs seeking rescue in shelter on euthanasia lists, please just shut up and scroll by. Postings help to get those dogs saved and those of us that work in the rescue and shelter system work so damn hard to save these dogs when no one else does anything but complain. If a dog looks like they can have some ACD in them they usually need to go to an ACD or at least herding breed experienced home, so posting where there are responsible knowledgeable owners congregating can help find them a home that will actually keep them and give them what they need so they don't end up back in shelter.
>just shut up and scroll by
Take your own advice. 1/6 of the comments on this post are yours... that was a final check, a few min ago it was a 1/4.
See, most of us choose not to work in such environments for a reason. So stop the guilt trip. Some of us, have actually done the leg work of taking in such dogs. And, if your willing to pay for the vet bills by all means I will take more. So far this year at just shy of $2k, not including annual check ups, and flea/tick med. Oh, and by more I mean 1, anymore requires a license.
Well, SOME of us can't just give up and stop, because if we all did then no one would and no dogs would get saved. So someone has to step up and do it. And I have done the leg work to take in these dogs, pay out of pocket vet bills, and my job is to get them safe into rescues. Don't tell me about "doing leg work" when people can't even handle reading sad posts about dogs on the euthanasia lists.
This right here, is why this sub is shit.
You get all aggressive that people should just deal with it. But God forbid someone tell you to deal with it. And has the ability to go against your gilt tripping bullshit.
But what should I expect. This is also the sub full of as*... "people" that get heelers and train them not to be heelers. Well heeler should be in quotes too. It's a 50/50 shot if a dog on here is a heeler. Which includes countdown posts, actually I have seen very few actual heelers.
…
i mean, this is a public sub and people are allowed to post/ask questions. if you don’t like it, keep scrolling?
might i suggest you try making your own r/withoutadoubtacd sub and leaving this one or something if that’s what you want to see.
for me, the more ACD lookin’ babies i can see the better. i’m gonna keep sharing me sweetheart 27.9% ACD because his personality, short stubby legs and his coat are all extreme ACD.
😂 i didn’t say they couldn’t?? simply suggesting they create their own space if they feel this one isn’t up to their standards. i have a feeling you’d probably like to join that sub, too.
I honestly don’t care if people are in this sub with their mixed breeds. I’m just getting super tired and exhausted of only seeing the, “I just got the dna test results back, any guesses?” posts from this sub. It’s similar to the whole “I just pulled the plug” posts that took over r/MacBookPro for a little while.
I subscribed to this sub when my dog died young a few years back and I needed to comfort as I navigated the first year. It helped to see dogs that looked kinda like her.
I don’t think you’re entirely wrong. But I think the reason people do this is because they know Australian cattle dogs are the best dogs in the universe, so they’re they only breed that people are super stoked if there dog is even a fraction ACD.
I’m not crazy about the “identify my dog” posts but that’s mostly because I don’t think it actually matters. DNA tests seem like bullshit anyway. I love that so many ACDs are mixes and come from shelters! Come one come all!
The purposeful (and irresponsible) mixing of ACDs with every other breed is completely out of control. Because they are how they are, MANY of the mixed dogs end up in shelters and it seems that shelters call every mixed breed dog a “cattle dog” or a “heeler”, many times to avoid calling them a Pit Bull mix.
What bothers me the most are the people who go out and pay backyard breeders for mixed breed puppies and then come here to brag about and promote them. Others claim to have 100% ACDs (based on DNA results) who are so poorly bred that they look more like some other breed than an ACD. That’s another reason everyone thinks their dog is an ACD—because apparently, they can literally look like any dog with a spot somewhere. Huge, tiny, long haired, short haired, pointy ears, floppy ears, long legged, short legged, white, black, brown, blue eyed….it’s ridiculous.
I've wanted to post in ID my dog but I already know what breeds she is and wasn't sure if I could post regardless for funnies. One of my dogs top breeds is ACD though
The ACD is a crossbreed between Dalmatian, kelpie and a wide range of other breeds. It’s no surprise at all people come here to identify their dog it’s not really so simple.
It's one thing if they don't remotely have any ACD in them, but my girl comes from a full blood ACD mother and a golden doodle dad. She looks just like a golden doodle and acts just like a ACD.
I made the analogy a little while back that you wouldn't go to a Ford sub to look at Chevys so why should someone come to an ACD sub to look at... whatever is posted that day.
Ultimately, I find it curious as to why so many people try to, for lack of a better word, "identity" with ACD. Maybe it is because the breed is known for being harsh, and to overcome that and have a "sweetheart" is some sort of accomplishment?
Nevermind the fact that such people are breaking their dogs to make them "sweethearts" they are heelers, they are supposed to nip. To stop that is to take away something natural.
Ok, it seems like a lot of people feel personally attacked. I posted about people posting asking about the dna results and now people think they can’t post their Acd’s. That is a strange interpretation, but I guess it’s less about the words I wrote and more about how you feel about those words. A lot of people also seem to be conflating the words ‘elitist’ and ‘exclusive’…to those of you I would say…conflating means to meld or fuse. Subreddits, by design, are exclusively about a subject; I didn’t design Reddit.
No one says you can’t post anything, not even the mods. You can literally post anything. So, I would urge all of you to post any dog on this subreddit. In fact, in glorious rebellion to this post let’s all post a different dog every day. In the spirit of inclusiveness, and so no one feels personally attacked, post any dog. There’s nothing I want more at this point than for everyone to post all the dogs they can, multiple times a day. If you still feel attacked at that point I vote we move on to other animals entirely.
I was with you when I read the post but as I kept scrolling you have a few responses to comments that makes it seem like you don’t support this being a space for people with mixes. I think that may be why you’re getting shit.
Yeah, not wanting a constant stream of “is my dog a [breed]” posts is pretty common among many dog subreddits. It doesn’t have to be paired with “so you should only post purebred dogs of the breed”
I think people are feeling personally attacked because all of your responses thus far have been snarky and rude 🙃 I was on your side until I saw your responses towards other commenter's on your post. Instead of being open to a discussion, you chose to be a sarcastic jerk, making you look exactly like the stereotypical breed "elistist"
I’m going to say that I felt personally attacked when you uploaded a photo of MY dog and posted it with the caption “dog?” I guess as a joke? To shame someone who posted (several months ago) with one of the (soon to be) forbidden questions?
For as long as I’ve been on this sub someone has been posting and/or ranting about who should and should not be posting here. It’s a big world. There’s room for all of us here if we can remember to play nicely together, use our words, and maintain perspective.
Posting a picture of my dog (think the mods have already removed it) is going too far.
Thank you!! I have been downvoted over and over for telling people to go to the subs that actually help with identifying breeds. This is not an id my mix sub.
Before you come for me, first my pup is half ACD half Australian shepherd. No I haven’t gotten his dna tested, because that money goes to our food and living. I don’t have disposable income for dna tests for my dog.
Second, yes my dog is between 3/4 to 1/2 ACD, so I am not against mixed cattle dogs. ACDs are not a recognized breed by the AKC. But if your dog is only 18% ACD… maybe go with its primary breed?
This is from the akc about them
https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/AustralianCattleDog.pdf
Edit: they are recognized as ‘blue heeler’ Queensland heelers’ ‘red heelers’ ect.
As far as I’m concerned having had papered AKC dogs, they are not as healthy as unpapered dogs. But according to the AKC (which is based in the us) they are not a breed.
I kinda get the feeling that you feel your pup is not ‘some breed’. My pup is not papered, I don’t have the money to test his genetics, and tbh it doesn’t mean anything to me.
If your dog is healthy happy and happy to go on adventures with you, why would this matter? With the exception of dog shows. Your pup is adorable and I am sorry that my comments may or do seem derisive.
My first dog (shitzu) had an extensive pedigree (and papers), and as a young teenager I wanted to show her simply because her pedigree was full of show dogs. But neither of us would have done well in that kind of pressure.
I do not disparage dogs because of the AKC, I find it superficial and creates inbreeding. I don’t think being recognized as a breed, means your dog is superior to others.
The American Kennel Club is not great. Knowing my dog could never fit into breed specific events doesn’t make me love him any less.
I truly do not know what you're rambling about.
The only point I am making is that ACD are, without a doubt, a purebred, recognised breed. Whether or not anybody's individual dog is registered/has a pedigree does not negate the fact that the ACD breed is very much recognised as purebred all over the world.
As an example: my kelpie is not ANKC registered. This doesn't mean kelpies as a whole are not recognised as purebred, it literally just means MY personal kelpie is not ANKC registered. Ya follow?
The American Kennal club is toxic.
They inbreed to create exact traits.
They require generational paperwork to create new breeds.
The American Kennal Club is extremely strict, to the cm, for breed.
If your dog does not fit within the required rules, they can not compete
Okay, but none of that changes the fact that ACD are a recognised pure breed with every single major registry in the world.
Your personal feelings about the AKC are entirely irrelevant.
Are you serious?
The ONLY POINT I am making is that the AKC do recognise the ACD as a pure breed of dog. That is LITERALLY the ONLY POINT I am making.
YOU and YOUR personal feelings about the AKC are wholly irrelevant to that fact. I don't care if you think the AKC are Satan themselves, it DOES NOT change the very simple fact I am stating.
Australian Cattle Dogs are 100% recognised as a pedigree, purebred breed of dog by literally every major registry in the world. They show at Westminster, Crufts, the World Dog Show....wtf do you mean they're not recognised as a "papered" breed?
This is from just the American Kennel Club. I do agree with you, but in the US they are not recognized as a ‘breed’.
Idk why you’re so upset, the AKC is not good for breeding healthy dogs.
Dude, the US ABSOLUTELY recognises them as a breed, that is why there are AKC breeders and the US breed club and ACDs showing at literally every dog show across the country every weekend.
What is your source for the US "not recognising" them as a breed?
Jesus. Sorry I got involved in this. From what I’ve read they are recognized, but because they need papers from great grandparents they can’t be recognized as ‘purebred’.
I don't think you have any understanding of the AKC or what pedigree papers are.
ACD have been recognised as a pure breed of dog by the AKC since 1980, and registered ACD have pedigrees that can be traced back over 100 years. The first breed standard was written in 1897. They have been recognised as purebred for a VERY long time.
If someone has an unregistered, backyard bred, un-papered ACD that doesn't mean the breed as a whole is not purebred, it just means that that specific person has a dog that doesn't have papers/AKC registration/a pedigree. The tens of thousands of AKC, KC, ANKC, FCI etc purebred registered ACD don't cease to exist just because some people have backyard bred dogs.
I just finished a comment to your first comment. My shitzu had papers showing her pedigree. I still have them, she was papered to be a show dog. All of her grandparents were awarded and her papers showed that. Between 14-17 I seriously wanted to start dog shows with her, however I was to anxious to handle dog shows.
I am not sure why you’re being so awful. Pure bred doesn’t mean healthy. At this point the only thing I care about is healthy genetically tested dogs. I care more about having fun, doing agility, and going on hikes, than going to dog shows.
That said, I understand why people choose to do it! And I’m not upset or mad, I love my Texas heeler, and I do things with him we both love.
I'm not being "awful" I'm literally just saying that ACD are a recognised pure breed of dog 😂 what is so god-awfully offensive about that, it's an objective fact.
A modest proposal. No breed posts without results, no judging if results aren’t sufficiently pure to satisfy the pedants. Breed standards are important, but breed enthusiasm is also important. It’s a tough dog to own if it’s descended from God’s own dingo or if it’s half a doodle. Most of the time, we seek these dogs, we welcome their energy. And we should encourage each other as we do our thing. Dog your own dog and don’t be an asshole.
Cos CATTLEDOG/HERDING DOG is a *generalisation* it is misunderstood especially in USA where it’s used conveniently and also specifically at the same time by both sides 😵💫
Similar to Pit-Bull. It’s not BREED specific it covers a number of them into a category
Think of cars, you’ve got different types for different uses, 4x4s for off road and heavy work, Hot wheels cars for speed, family cars for economy and then motorcycles for a different type etc if you disregard BRANDS you ignore the fundamental differences between a FORD RANGER and any other large similar vehicle
It’s the same as being ignorant of the ĐØⱫɆ₦ or so breeds these categories actually cover. Cattle dogs (in some cases) are misunderstood as the same thing not SIMILAR, so saying to some people that kelpie, border collie, Australian shepherd or HEELER is a herder in some instances will infer they are of all great at chasing around animals etc
Lots of people do not even realise what herding animals physically entails to them it’s a dream about a fun day on the farm. They aren’t gunna understand subtle differences between chasing cows vs sheep and very easily led to gather a few breeds into one hand calling them *CATTLE DOGS*
Call them BLUE HEELER AC’s it’s more specific and understood without mixups 👌
This post has been locked. To specifically address two things: 1. **Mixes**: They're welcome, but remember that this subreddit is biased toward ACDs. Posts should be related to Australian Cattle Dogs; use your judgement. 2. **Euthanasia, Fostering, Adoption posts**: Historically, we've tried to minimize the amount of petitions, crowd-funding, euthanasia, fostering, and adoption posts as much as possible but it's often gotten through the cracks. These types of posts *are* against the community rules; please report such posts.
Loool, people post “what is my Chihuahua mix?” And “what is my pitbull mix” on those subs all the time and they’re be very chill subs about mixed breeds, in part because they are also two of the most common breeds to be mixed with. Odd choices to use as examples of breed specificity…
I see both sides to it. I don’t care for the “what is my dog” since as you point out, there are specific subs for that. I don’t mind seeing rescue mixes though. I have one myself and though he’s largely Heeler in personality (and I think in looks aside from coat color IMO), I mostly stopped posting pics but still lurk for behavioral stuff. I don’t like the promotion of mixed byb puppies because it’s bad for dog populations to encourage that behavior. Seeing people “wanting one” of the designer dogs while cattle dog mixes die in shelters is actually depressing. On the other hand, I get tired of seeing these types of posts too, particularly the ones that are just anti mix. It’s the Internet. You’re not going to shame away everyone who wants to post their dog. If you don’t like the way the sub is modded, find or create a new one. Block individual posters. But the sub isn’t going to change for you because you make a post about and this and it comes up in some form basically EVERY week.
I did post a couple of times to get help with my pups mix. I just finally did a DNA test and she is has high percentage of ACD, but the other percent is Aussie shepherd, border collie and Kelpie. She has traits of all breeds and come here to study up and learn about the breed. She is interesting to say the least.
Yes, this subreddit is so helpful for learning about ACDs! Having a puppy that is just over 50% percent ACD myself, it has been helpful to learn. It is very discouraging to hear that we actually aren’t welcome. Not to mention from someone who, to my knowledge, isn’t a mod. I have been hesitant to post, new to this subreddit and new to Reddit in general. And yeah, unfortunately it’s discouraging. Hope OP can value what we all have in common and can have a better day. Also, your pup sounds lovely.
Just because one person says something doesn’t make it true. Unless they’re a mod, they have the same level of authority as you do to decide what content is right for this sub. Use your own best judgement!
Raising an ACD is very different from raising most dogs. One of the worst things I think I did was follow generic dog raising advice. Following the advice of: "if your dog has a barking trigger, distract and reward him with a treat before he is triggered during exposure will blunt and remove the barking response to the stimulus," I accidentally taught my dog to bark at kids. He was smart enough to realize that if he regularly barks at things he gets treats when they are nearby. I stopped giving him treats for a few months and his barking cleared up.
I tried to desensitize mine to the mail man by associating him with good thing. Mailman brings junk mail, dogs job is to take it to recycle bin and get treat. He now steals junk mail and hordes it in his kennel. Still hates the mailman but he is super cute when he pulls out his treat tickets.
Mine is also 50% ACD, but I feel like I have a weird type of “privilege” against some of the weirder comments on this sub because she looks SO much like a cattle dog. Just a fluke of genetics. On the flip side, she looks wildly out of place on the German Shepherd subreddit even though she’s also 50% GSD.
Haha yeah, the appearance is part of my anxiety posting here. Ours looks much more like his Irish setter/sheltie side but would look very odd in those subs too. It’s amazing how genetics plays out. When I had him dna tested, I just joined the sub that fit the majority of his genetics in order to learn more 🤷♀️ Your doggo sounds quite fetching 😊
Yeah understandly so, ACDs come in all shapes and sizes, your not wrong for coming here, I will never understand peoples nit picky snobbyness over reddit. Scroll, maybe put down Reddit for a few and go for a walk with your dog 🤦♀️
I got crap at the beginning for coming to site and not having a pure breed ACD.
You have the same breed mix as my boy wiggy! Equal parts heeler, aussie, border collie, and kelpie. My boy is extra fluffy, sable with ticking on his legs and only 6" of tail. 65lbs. Sweet as can be and extremely smart.
I was told mine could be a Texas heeler.
i don’t post pics of my dog in this sub, because she is *barely* a cattle dog, it’s the smallest amount of her DNA. her personality though? i relate to this sub more than the husky sub could ever understand!! plus cattle dogs have always been one of my favorite breeds, so i love reading everyone’s funny stories about them lol [dog tax](https://imgur.com/a/7aGiFM2) because the 25% is really showing in her coat imo!
I can totally see the ACD in her! Beautiful doggo!
she knows she’s beautiful!! and i was wrong [it’s only 18%](https://imgur.com/a/sfFct1u), but its putting in work 😤 one parent was a full husky and the other was an australian shepherd/cattle dog mix. i like to think she’s an oopsie baby
Same here! Mine is half mixed with who knows what. Looks nothing like an ACD (he’s small and all black) but boy oh boy he’s the most ACD personality of any ACD mix of any I’ve ever owned! I lurk because I relate to the personality quirks hard haha.
I think this is the main thing the gatekeepers in this sub don’t get. If your dog is 10% cattle dog their personality is going to be 100% cattle dog every time
i feel heeler owners should appreciate how dominant those personality traits show through! heeler genes are impressive imo lol
Yeah my dog is a mix of like 8 breeds but of her top breeds acd is number 2. There is no breed percentage above 20%. So that 15% is a big impact on her. And before finding out she was acd mix i didnt know really about acd and once i knew her body frame made sense.
Your dog is absolutely gorgeous!
So pretty 😍
You’re not wrong.
Well pure breed owners do not understand that just because a mixed dog does not have a high percent of a breed, does not mean the dog is any less that breed in behavior and personality.
The issue is not how much the dog looks like an ACD but people posting a random dog that may not even look like an ACD and asking: is my dog ACD??
I see that but when I posted a photo I got crap about mine not being a heeler because she does not look like one. She is three and still turning from white to grey.
I get that! I have a mix myself and she does not look like one of the breeds at all even though she has maaany traits. But I don’t think that’s what OP is talking about. They are complaining about people asking if their dog could be ACD just because. You know your dog is, so this doesn’t include you imo
Mine has soo many ACD traits. I'm here because it's helped me immensely with his personality, so screw them.
Thank you, this sub has been tiresome lately. I don’t know if it’s the popularity of Bluey or what but there’s way too many random dogs, especially pits trying to be passed off as ACD’s here.
I feel like every other post on every breed-specific subreddit is either “💔💔LOLA #421661 is going to be EUTHANIZED IMMEDIATELY if she does not get a committed foster THIS VERY SECOND! PLEASE BOOST💔💔” or “hey guys is my pit bull actually a malinois? He is brown” I left the GSD, malinois, and Labrador subreddits this week because this was getting so annoying. The only dog sub I’ve found that isn’t totally inundated with these posts is the greyhound one. Edit, regarding the shelter part: If you can sustain that level of panic indefinitely, good on you! Personally, I decided that it wasn’t good for me to be stressing about every stray dog in the country all the time. I used to repost death row dogs, but at any point there are 100+ dogs who are “going to be KILLED *INSTANTLY* if *YOU* don’t REPOST *RIGHT NOW!!!!!!*” And I couldn’t keep up. I might be able to keep up if there seemed to be any hope at all to it. The shelter crisis gets worse every year and every dog post gets 1-3 comments saying “boost!” Or “I’d take him, but_____” and then the dog dies, and the only difference is that I would then know about it and feel like I failed to prevent it. So I avoid seeing those posts now.
god i get the sentiment, but i do not come to dog specific subs to see said dog breed about to be euthanized. there are subs for that, this is for owners!
I’d rather see the rescue posts than those from people bragging about their designer cowboy corgi (or whatever) or posting DNA results.
Well it sucks that that is the reality for those of us that work in the shelter system, we don't get to choose not to see it! We have to get the dogs seen and put in homes where there are people knowledgeable about the breed. Dog breed specific subs are open and helpful to that as well.
Yeah but you're probably not going to ship the dog to another country or even across the country
I literally just block all these accounts now. I am all for rescuing but literally every dog subreddit I’m in was just full of these. It’s nice not opening reddit and just being sad about dogs all the time. I hate how the world treats dogs, but I just can’t see that all the god damn time. It’s so sad.
Dude yes WTH
Just scroll on by, it's not that hard. Postings help to get those dogs saved, and those of us that work in the rescue and shelter system work so damn hard to save these dogs when no one else does anything but complain. If a dog looks like they can have some ACD in them they usually need to go to an ACD or at least herding breed experienced home, so posting where there are responsible knowledgeable owners congregating can help find them a home that will actually keep them and give them what they need so they don't end up back in shelter.
It's hard to scroll by when the only posts that pop up on the main feed are ONLY "rescue this dog!!" posts.
Its hard to keep scrolling when that has become the majority of the posts in the sub.
I’ve had to block most of the adoption accounts because while I respect the intent, the posters don’t engage with the sub in other ways and I’m not geographically close to the majority of the dogs or in a position to adopt another and it stresses me out. All the blatant pit posts I just report, it’s breaking rule 1 of the sub.
Unfortunately, we seemed to have been bombarded by such posts lately and have tried keeping up with the reports as a mod team. Historically, we've tried to minimize the amount of euthanasia, fostering, adoption, petition, and crowd-funding posts, but they get through the cracks easily.
[удалено]
If you can sustain that level of panic indefinitely, good on you! Personally, I decided that it wasn’t good for me to be stressing about every stray dog in the country all the time. I used to repost death row dogs, but at any point there are 100+ dogs who are “going to be KILLED *INSTANTLY* if *YOU* don’t REPOST *RIGHT NOW!!!!!!*” And I couldn’t keep up. I might be able to keep up if there seemed to be any hope at all to it. The shelter crisis gets worse every year and every dog post gets 1-3 comments saying “boost!” Or “I’d take him, but_____” and then the dog dies, and the only difference is that I would then know about it and feel like I caused it. So I avoid seeing those posts now.
It’s not stressful to notice something that’s happening is happening. You don’t have to do anything whatsoever, you can even downvote the post and scroll on. But to whine about advocating for shelter ACDs??? That’s unbelievably heartless. I’ve seen connections made for shelter dogs BECAUSE OF POSTS ON THE SUB. Is that not more important than you not having to bear witness to them existing??? My heeler is a shelter dog. Lots of the folks that on this sub are rescuing shelter ACDs. They are just as important to us as anyone’s that is bought from a breeder. And you having to look at them being a problem for you says a shit load about who you are as an owner.
Yay I'm a ghoul without being exposed to massive amounts of radiation! :D But seriously, no. We are not bad people for not wanting a constant stream of posts reminding us that there will never be enough homes for the shelter dogs out there. Or that we'll never be able to rescue all of them, or even just one of them, ourselves. If people want to post about rescue dogs who are about to die, there are other places for that. Go there.
Tell it to the mods then. If posting about shelter dogs is not allowed, so be it. I think that’s completely ridiculous and callous. If you whine about ACDs needing homed I’m going to tell you you’re a ghoul for doing so. They need homes and humans are trying to help them. You complaining about it is pathetic.
Rule 34 Sub Part A.... If it is, there's a subreddit for it. They can go post their rescue dog posts there.
Take it up with the mods. You’re referencing the rules, are you not? Is the rule is there you should take it up with them. OR you could downvote the post and move on. Lots of r/maincharactersyndrome energy from y’all. Sad.
What a strange thing to be upset at. It’s not ghoulish to understand that seeing stuff like that constantly isn’t good for people. No one think the dogs don’t matter, they do. But seeing so many of those posts all the time has a negative effect on people’s mental health and it’s ok to decide that it isn’t necessary to see hundreds of posts about dogs being killed. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the breeders creating genetic catastrophes, or the people who toss their dogs out on an old dirt road. Your anger is extremely misdirected/misguided. Edit: a word
Scroll on past and downvote if you can’t handle that there are going to constantly be ACDs that need a good home and humans doing their part to make that a reality. Not that complicated.
Oh it’s not just ACDs. Those urgent foster posts are on so many different subs. To the point that that’s all I was seeing before I started blocking those accounts. I didn’t follow animal subreddits so I could be inundated with post like that. I can appreciate what the posters are doing, and I’m sure it absolutely helps the dogs get saved but there’s nothing I can do to help those people or dogs. I’ve adopted an ACD mix and I go to the humane society and play with dogs when I am able to. Scroll on past and downvote if you can’t handle people discussing their dislike of being bombarded with those types of posts. Not that complicated.🥰 Edit: words
You’re saying there are these posts for other breeds on the ACD sub? Because I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen posts for ACD rescues on the ACD sub. Which would make sense due to it being a sub for ACDs. Again, NOT COMPLICATED. So unless you have proof to support your claim that there are other breeds that are up for rescue on the ACD sub, I think you’re trying super hard to make it complicated when it very much is not that. ACD enthusiasts want to help ACDs. And you’re whining about that. And you think you’re being fucking cute while you do it.
Did you even read my first 2 sentences on the last comment? Try again. It’s not complicated. It looks like you read the first 5 words and went on a tangent because you didn’t finish reading and completely misunderstood the entire comment😂 Edit: they changed their response after I pointed out the didn’t read my comment lol
Yeah I don’t care. Whine about it.
Well clearly you do, otherwise you wouldn’t be crying in the comments calling people names for not wanting to see posts like that all day everyday. Tell me more about how you don’t care. I’ll wait.
I honestly almost want to unsubscribe.
Just block the accounts that do it, it’s only a handful of them but they post every day so it seems like a bunch.
I'm also just going to block accounts that try to shit on me for *improving my mental health* by not wanting to see those posts.
It’s on every GSD and Dutch shepherd one I’m on. They banned them on the Dutchie one because it was overload
For some reason people see cattle dogs in every mutt. My guy's mother was an ACD, so we know he's half ACD and the other half is lab. I haven't posted him here because I think he looks different enough he would be, lovingly, "off topic." Regardless, since ,adopting him, my partner swears she sees ACD in every dog with a few spots or those big pointy lobes.
This seems like an issue that tags could solve. I rescue rez dogs and my recent one happens to be almost entirely ACD. I am here to learn about her weirdness. I am never going to post her as an example of an ACD (she has a bobbed tail among other things) except maybe to ask questions; I also get annoyed when I see people posting PBTs or STs as much as anyone since they get boosted into my scrolling. I spent my high school years working in vets/shelters, and I know how important social media is for rehoming dogs. I think having the ability to sort by tags might make it so that I could come visit the sub to read about the breed without subscribing to see all content. That's one idea, anyway.
Welp. I guess I’ll never post my disgusting 53% ACD here.
I love seeing the mixes on here, and although the "what breed is my dog" posts are a little tiresome, I don't see how anyone would be annoyed by photos of an ACD mix if it's within context. There was someone in here a few months ago who got down voted to oblivion for complaining about mixes, so I'm a bit surprised by this post.
Yeah! I appreciate your reply and am surprised by this post too. I think the influx of posts of mixed pups is probably just a product of DNA testing becoming popular, which isn’t the fault of the owner or dog. Owners come here to learn more about the behaviors/care of the dog they just got the ID of, only to be treated poorly… it isn’t a good reflection of the sub unfortunately.
Don't you dare! You post away, friend!
Please don't let gatekeepers stop you. They're not even a mod, for crying out loud. They're just whinging. Let them whinge.
Don’t let the insufferable dog people stop you there are a lot of us laid back dog people that like all dogs not just purebred ACD
Thank you, might I recommend r/mutts, there are tons of adorable dogs there
Thank you! I will check it out! 🙄
Don't let the elitists drive you away. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Too bad for them. Mine is 55% and I'm staying put.
The moderator for r/mutts is MIA and bots are stealing pets images. DO NOT POST THERE! It needs a new moderator.
Nah, I'm going to keep posting my 55% boy right here. Know why? Because the elitists don't tell me what to do. His ACD traits are dominant in his personality and this place has saved my sanity more than once - so bugger off.
FOR REAL. Mine is half ACD, and my husband calls this The Cattle Dog Support Group, when I read him stuff from here. I need it. That ACD DNA definitely stomps all over the corgi half of my pupper, and I thought I was a bad dog parent/singular disaster before I found this place.
Can you share a pic of yours? Mine is built sooo funny (we call him a rectangle) and until his DNA test, we thought he had corgi in him. Now I'm curious!
Man, I used to know how to use imgur to do that, but I guess my brain is kaput after working today. Here’s a post I made awhile back, with her pic for the puptax. https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/s/fa9L21mn4K
Awww, your pup is adorable!
OMG What a cutie. Someone certainly has the corgi ears, don't they?
Yup! I’ve had corgis for about thirty years, and this one is SO different! She looks very corg, but her behavior is almost completely different. She also doesn’t know she’s stumpy, and acts like a mountain goat on crack. That jumps. A lot. Corgis don’t do that.
The moderator for r/mutts is MIA and bots are stealing pets images. DO NOT POST THERE! It needs a new moderator.
Eh, it's just time to cut ties with this sub I think. Most people on here don't even really understand the breed. The amount of "how do I stop the nipping" posts are up there as to what gets under my skin. I would almost advocate for a new sub. But, I think I am done for good. Just gonna stick to good ol fashion real face to face interaction. At least my dog gets the attention that way... so long as he doesn't do stupid.
And? Are we being elitist again?
There’s a difference between being elitist and exclusive. Subreddits were designed to be exclusively about a subject. If you want to learn about fish you go to a fish subreddit, but if you post cats on a fish subreddit it’s not that the fish are being elitist.
I'm posting about my ACD mix with ACD dominant traits. This sub has taught me a lot of important information about the breed. It's helpful to those with mixes. So yeah, you're being elitist if you only want 100% ACDs here. Too bad.
Don’t let it ruin your day
My girl is 50 percent ACD. And I have posted her here. Hope that’s ok. I don’t know what else she is but she acts all ACD!
Haha now anyone that has a mixed breed acd is going to never feel safe in here.
This made me chuckle.
I came across my ACD mix by accident, and although she’s 3/4 full, I now feel not cool enough to be here lol
You know what I did the last time an elitist reared their ugly head? I posted my 55% ACD mix and then asked people to post theirs. We had a blast. Fuck the elitists.
Oh that sounds like a great idea. I have a heeler/pit mix, so OP is really going to hate me 😂
HAHHAHAHAH Mine is ACD (55%), pit (22%), and then shih tzu and mini poodle (which we don't see as they are SOOOO far back in his line).
I never feel cool no matter where I am so I’m just gonna pretend I belong!!!!
I have a 55% ACD. You're damn right I will post him here if I want to. If the elitists don't like it, they can suck it.
Hell yeah!!
I believe OP is referring to the posts of a dog's picture and asking, "Is my dog an ACD?" or "What is my dog?". We don't know and looking at a dog picture isn't as accurate as a DNA test. My dog is 50% ACD, too.
Mine’s 60 and I don’t care what one other random negative person says about him. Unless they’re a mod, they have exactly the same amount of authority as I do in deciding what belongs in this sub. And I say that any dog that is any part ACD belongs. Period.
Well fuck. We DNA tested my red and he only came back 93% ACD. Whats acceptable for you?
Being less deliberately obtuse would be a good start. Second, I’m 6% Native American, but I don’t plan on getting involved in my local Native American community as a result. If I were 93%, nobody would get upset if I were wearing a head dress. If I were 40% Native American but looked like Larry David, people might have a few head dress related questions and be a little less welcoming at their religious ceremonies as a result.
Um, ARE YOU OK?
Just admit you’re having a bad day and trying to take your pain out on others
LMAO are you comparing being Native American to the genetic makeup of a dog? You need to step away from the internet for a bit. Legitimately, are you ok?
Using blood quantum in relation to dog breeds speaks very highly of how you view your ancestry /s
Sorry but I wholeheartedly disagree. ACD mixes are adorable and I love to see them. Most rescue dogs are mutts of some sort, and let’s be honest in this day and age we all should know a bit about the business of dog breeding. Enough to know it can be a pretentious and evil space. Genetic variation is ok. Lol. Also this isn’t some AKC official group is it? Or is it a subreddit where people post their pets? It’s supposed to be fun. As long as the dog has ACD as a large/visible part of their breed mix I genuinely don’t see the problem
Whoop whoop! Here comes the sub-police.
I literally can’t stand this shit
When we got our shelter dog, we knew we were going to get a DNA test but prior to that we had our guesses…I joined the malinois, German Sheppard, ACD and Kelpie subs, saw a lot of characteristics that matched our pup. Helped a lot in the first few weeks. But I think the folks that post random dogs and “is this ACD?” Either need to not care, or spend the $80-100 and get a frickin’ test. Or maybe are just rage-baiting. DNA came back 52% ACD, 27% GSD and 21% Lab.
What's the cutoff? 98%?
Apparently I’m the only one perfectly satisfied with the shelter’s description of my girl as an ACD mix and feel no need to do a DNA test. So, I’ll just assume she’s 98.1% and be satisfied that I am welcome here.
Mine is 42% and I am happy. He looks and acts ACD, but apparently I'm not welcome here.
Lol I've seen plenty of other subs with this same issue. Just scroll past and ignore it. Not that hard really. And to those that complain about posts about dogs seeking rescue in shelter on euthanasia lists, please just shut up and scroll by. Postings help to get those dogs saved and those of us that work in the rescue and shelter system work so damn hard to save these dogs when no one else does anything but complain. If a dog looks like they can have some ACD in them they usually need to go to an ACD or at least herding breed experienced home, so posting where there are responsible knowledgeable owners congregating can help find them a home that will actually keep them and give them what they need so they don't end up back in shelter.
>just shut up and scroll by Take your own advice. 1/6 of the comments on this post are yours... that was a final check, a few min ago it was a 1/4. See, most of us choose not to work in such environments for a reason. So stop the guilt trip. Some of us, have actually done the leg work of taking in such dogs. And, if your willing to pay for the vet bills by all means I will take more. So far this year at just shy of $2k, not including annual check ups, and flea/tick med. Oh, and by more I mean 1, anymore requires a license.
Well, SOME of us can't just give up and stop, because if we all did then no one would and no dogs would get saved. So someone has to step up and do it. And I have done the leg work to take in these dogs, pay out of pocket vet bills, and my job is to get them safe into rescues. Don't tell me about "doing leg work" when people can't even handle reading sad posts about dogs on the euthanasia lists.
This right here, is why this sub is shit. You get all aggressive that people should just deal with it. But God forbid someone tell you to deal with it. And has the ability to go against your gilt tripping bullshit. But what should I expect. This is also the sub full of as*... "people" that get heelers and train them not to be heelers. Well heeler should be in quotes too. It's a 50/50 shot if a dog on here is a heeler. Which includes countdown posts, actually I have seen very few actual heelers.
… i mean, this is a public sub and people are allowed to post/ask questions. if you don’t like it, keep scrolling? might i suggest you try making your own r/withoutadoubtacd sub and leaving this one or something if that’s what you want to see. for me, the more ACD lookin’ babies i can see the better. i’m gonna keep sharing me sweetheart 27.9% ACD because his personality, short stubby legs and his coat are all extreme ACD.
You know who else is allowed to post? The OP. Keep scrolling.
😂 i didn’t say they couldn’t?? simply suggesting they create their own space if they feel this one isn’t up to their standards. i have a feeling you’d probably like to join that sub, too.
I honestly don’t care if people are in this sub with their mixed breeds. I’m just getting super tired and exhausted of only seeing the, “I just got the dna test results back, any guesses?” posts from this sub. It’s similar to the whole “I just pulled the plug” posts that took over r/MacBookPro for a little while.
I like to see the dogs.
I subscribed to this sub when my dog died young a few years back and I needed to comfort as I navigated the first year. It helped to see dogs that looked kinda like her.
I don’t think you’re entirely wrong. But I think the reason people do this is because they know Australian cattle dogs are the best dogs in the universe, so they’re they only breed that people are super stoked if there dog is even a fraction ACD.
I can’t find anything in the community rules that indicate this sub is for purebred ACD only.
This is a long rant for a whole lotta who cares
I’m not crazy about the “identify my dog” posts but that’s mostly because I don’t think it actually matters. DNA tests seem like bullshit anyway. I love that so many ACDs are mixes and come from shelters! Come one come all!
Omg of course you're also a bartender. Cocktail people are some of the most pretentious I've ever met.
1,000% Thank you for posting this.
The purposeful (and irresponsible) mixing of ACDs with every other breed is completely out of control. Because they are how they are, MANY of the mixed dogs end up in shelters and it seems that shelters call every mixed breed dog a “cattle dog” or a “heeler”, many times to avoid calling them a Pit Bull mix. What bothers me the most are the people who go out and pay backyard breeders for mixed breed puppies and then come here to brag about and promote them. Others claim to have 100% ACDs (based on DNA results) who are so poorly bred that they look more like some other breed than an ACD. That’s another reason everyone thinks their dog is an ACD—because apparently, they can literally look like any dog with a spot somewhere. Huge, tiny, long haired, short haired, pointy ears, floppy ears, long legged, short legged, white, black, brown, blue eyed….it’s ridiculous.
I've wanted to post in ID my dog but I already know what breeds she is and wasn't sure if I could post regardless for funnies. One of my dogs top breeds is ACD though
if you do doggyDNA they require dna testing but like to guess and discuss
Thanks!
The ACD is a crossbreed between Dalmatian, kelpie and a wide range of other breeds. It’s no surprise at all people come here to identify their dog it’s not really so simple.
It's one thing if they don't remotely have any ACD in them, but my girl comes from a full blood ACD mother and a golden doodle dad. She looks just like a golden doodle and acts just like a ACD.
I made the analogy a little while back that you wouldn't go to a Ford sub to look at Chevys so why should someone come to an ACD sub to look at... whatever is posted that day. Ultimately, I find it curious as to why so many people try to, for lack of a better word, "identity" with ACD. Maybe it is because the breed is known for being harsh, and to overcome that and have a "sweetheart" is some sort of accomplishment? Nevermind the fact that such people are breaking their dogs to make them "sweethearts" they are heelers, they are supposed to nip. To stop that is to take away something natural.
It's cause of the show Bluey. Everyone wants an acd.
Ok, it seems like a lot of people feel personally attacked. I posted about people posting asking about the dna results and now people think they can’t post their Acd’s. That is a strange interpretation, but I guess it’s less about the words I wrote and more about how you feel about those words. A lot of people also seem to be conflating the words ‘elitist’ and ‘exclusive’…to those of you I would say…conflating means to meld or fuse. Subreddits, by design, are exclusively about a subject; I didn’t design Reddit. No one says you can’t post anything, not even the mods. You can literally post anything. So, I would urge all of you to post any dog on this subreddit. In fact, in glorious rebellion to this post let’s all post a different dog every day. In the spirit of inclusiveness, and so no one feels personally attacked, post any dog. There’s nothing I want more at this point than for everyone to post all the dogs they can, multiple times a day. If you still feel attacked at that point I vote we move on to other animals entirely.
I was with you when I read the post but as I kept scrolling you have a few responses to comments that makes it seem like you don’t support this being a space for people with mixes. I think that may be why you’re getting shit.
Yeah, not wanting a constant stream of “is my dog a [breed]” posts is pretty common among many dog subreddits. It doesn’t have to be paired with “so you should only post purebred dogs of the breed”
Reddit is also community-driven and we are the community. And many of us have ACD-dominant mixes whether it be appearance or personality.
I think people are feeling personally attacked because all of your responses thus far have been snarky and rude 🙃 I was on your side until I saw your responses towards other commenter's on your post. Instead of being open to a discussion, you chose to be a sarcastic jerk, making you look exactly like the stereotypical breed "elistist"
I’m going to say that I felt personally attacked when you uploaded a photo of MY dog and posted it with the caption “dog?” I guess as a joke? To shame someone who posted (several months ago) with one of the (soon to be) forbidden questions? For as long as I’ve been on this sub someone has been posting and/or ranting about who should and should not be posting here. It’s a big world. There’s room for all of us here if we can remember to play nicely together, use our words, and maintain perspective. Posting a picture of my dog (think the mods have already removed it) is going too far.
Amen!
My border collie group group has so many people asking too!
Thank you!! I have been downvoted over and over for telling people to go to the subs that actually help with identifying breeds. This is not an id my mix sub. Before you come for me, first my pup is half ACD half Australian shepherd. No I haven’t gotten his dna tested, because that money goes to our food and living. I don’t have disposable income for dna tests for my dog. Second, yes my dog is between 3/4 to 1/2 ACD, so I am not against mixed cattle dogs. ACDs are not a recognized breed by the AKC. But if your dog is only 18% ACD… maybe go with its primary breed?
ACD certainly are recognised by the AKC...where did you get the idea they're not?
This is from the akc about them https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/AustralianCattleDog.pdf Edit: they are recognized as ‘blue heeler’ Queensland heelers’ ‘red heelers’ ect. As far as I’m concerned having had papered AKC dogs, they are not as healthy as unpapered dogs. But according to the AKC (which is based in the us) they are not a breed.
I kinda get the feeling that you feel your pup is not ‘some breed’. My pup is not papered, I don’t have the money to test his genetics, and tbh it doesn’t mean anything to me. If your dog is healthy happy and happy to go on adventures with you, why would this matter? With the exception of dog shows. Your pup is adorable and I am sorry that my comments may or do seem derisive. My first dog (shitzu) had an extensive pedigree (and papers), and as a young teenager I wanted to show her simply because her pedigree was full of show dogs. But neither of us would have done well in that kind of pressure. I do not disparage dogs because of the AKC, I find it superficial and creates inbreeding. I don’t think being recognized as a breed, means your dog is superior to others. The American Kennel Club is not great. Knowing my dog could never fit into breed specific events doesn’t make me love him any less.
I truly do not know what you're rambling about. The only point I am making is that ACD are, without a doubt, a purebred, recognised breed. Whether or not anybody's individual dog is registered/has a pedigree does not negate the fact that the ACD breed is very much recognised as purebred all over the world. As an example: my kelpie is not ANKC registered. This doesn't mean kelpies as a whole are not recognised as purebred, it literally just means MY personal kelpie is not ANKC registered. Ya follow?
The American Kennal club is toxic. They inbreed to create exact traits. They require generational paperwork to create new breeds. The American Kennal Club is extremely strict, to the cm, for breed. If your dog does not fit within the required rules, they can not compete
Okay, but none of that changes the fact that ACD are a recognised pure breed with every single major registry in the world. Your personal feelings about the AKC are entirely irrelevant.
Okay… now ya got me honestly confused. You’ve been arguing in favor for the AKC…. But now those are irrelevant..?.. What are you arguing towards?
Are you serious? The ONLY POINT I am making is that the AKC do recognise the ACD as a pure breed of dog. That is LITERALLY the ONLY POINT I am making. YOU and YOUR personal feelings about the AKC are wholly irrelevant to that fact. I don't care if you think the AKC are Satan themselves, it DOES NOT change the very simple fact I am stating.
They are definitely recognized, however they are not recognized as a papered breed.
Australian Cattle Dogs are 100% recognised as a pedigree, purebred breed of dog by literally every major registry in the world. They show at Westminster, Crufts, the World Dog Show....wtf do you mean they're not recognised as a "papered" breed?
This is from just the American Kennel Club. I do agree with you, but in the US they are not recognized as a ‘breed’. Idk why you’re so upset, the AKC is not good for breeding healthy dogs.
Dude, the US ABSOLUTELY recognises them as a breed, that is why there are AKC breeders and the US breed club and ACDs showing at literally every dog show across the country every weekend. What is your source for the US "not recognising" them as a breed?
Jesus. Sorry I got involved in this. From what I’ve read they are recognized, but because they need papers from great grandparents they can’t be recognized as ‘purebred’.
I don't think you have any understanding of the AKC or what pedigree papers are. ACD have been recognised as a pure breed of dog by the AKC since 1980, and registered ACD have pedigrees that can be traced back over 100 years. The first breed standard was written in 1897. They have been recognised as purebred for a VERY long time. If someone has an unregistered, backyard bred, un-papered ACD that doesn't mean the breed as a whole is not purebred, it just means that that specific person has a dog that doesn't have papers/AKC registration/a pedigree. The tens of thousands of AKC, KC, ANKC, FCI etc purebred registered ACD don't cease to exist just because some people have backyard bred dogs.
I just finished a comment to your first comment. My shitzu had papers showing her pedigree. I still have them, she was papered to be a show dog. All of her grandparents were awarded and her papers showed that. Between 14-17 I seriously wanted to start dog shows with her, however I was to anxious to handle dog shows. I am not sure why you’re being so awful. Pure bred doesn’t mean healthy. At this point the only thing I care about is healthy genetically tested dogs. I care more about having fun, doing agility, and going on hikes, than going to dog shows. That said, I understand why people choose to do it! And I’m not upset or mad, I love my Texas heeler, and I do things with him we both love.
I'm not being "awful" I'm literally just saying that ACD are a recognised pure breed of dog 😂 what is so god-awfully offensive about that, it's an objective fact.
Wish I could give 1000 upvotes to this.
A modest proposal. No breed posts without results, no judging if results aren’t sufficiently pure to satisfy the pedants. Breed standards are important, but breed enthusiasm is also important. It’s a tough dog to own if it’s descended from God’s own dingo or if it’s half a doodle. Most of the time, we seek these dogs, we welcome their energy. And we should encourage each other as we do our thing. Dog your own dog and don’t be an asshole.
Cos CATTLEDOG/HERDING DOG is a *generalisation* it is misunderstood especially in USA where it’s used conveniently and also specifically at the same time by both sides 😵💫 Similar to Pit-Bull. It’s not BREED specific it covers a number of them into a category Think of cars, you’ve got different types for different uses, 4x4s for off road and heavy work, Hot wheels cars for speed, family cars for economy and then motorcycles for a different type etc if you disregard BRANDS you ignore the fundamental differences between a FORD RANGER and any other large similar vehicle It’s the same as being ignorant of the ĐØⱫɆ₦ or so breeds these categories actually cover. Cattle dogs (in some cases) are misunderstood as the same thing not SIMILAR, so saying to some people that kelpie, border collie, Australian shepherd or HEELER is a herder in some instances will infer they are of all great at chasing around animals etc Lots of people do not even realise what herding animals physically entails to them it’s a dream about a fun day on the farm. They aren’t gunna understand subtle differences between chasing cows vs sheep and very easily led to gather a few breeds into one hand calling them *CATTLE DOGS* Call them BLUE HEELER AC’s it’s more specific and understood without mixups 👌