View source for Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog

{{Infobox dog breed
| name          = Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog
| image         = Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog.jpg
| image_alt     =
| image_caption =
| altname       = Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog
| nickname      = Stumpy
| country       = Australia
| weight        =
| maleweight    =
| femaleweight  =
| height        = {{convert|46|-|51|cm|in|abbr=on}}
| maleheight    =
| femaleheight  =
| coat          = short
| color         = red speckled or blue speckled
| litter_size   =
| life_span     = 13-15 years
<!-----Kennel club standards----->
| kc_name       = [[Australian National Kennel Council|ANKC]]
| kc_std        = http://ankc.org.au/Breed/Detail/96
| kc2_name      = <!-- if required for dual-national breeds -->
| kc2_std       =
| fcistd        = http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/351g01-en.pdf
}}<!-- End Infobox -->
The '''Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog''', commonly known as the '''Stumpy''', is a naturally bobtailed or tailless medium-sized cattle dog closely related to the [[Australian Cattle Dog]]. The Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog and the Australian Cattle Dog share [[Halls Heeler]] origin.

== History ==
The first domestic dogs to arrive in Australia came with the First Fleet in 1788 and later convict fleets.<ref name=":0">Clark, Noreen R. (2022). A Dog for the Job. Canberrra, ACT. Inspiring Publications, ISBN 978-1-922792-43-3, p. 160.</ref> (The Australian [[Dingo]] is not classified as a domestic dog.) A thriving stray dog population soon grew.<ref>''Sydney Gazette'' 15 February 1807 p.1. NLA: Trove, retrieved 18 July 2019.</ref> Some of the strays, those with stock work potential, apparently found home with the free settler, George Hall. Thomas Hall, a son of George, developed them into working dogs. [[Robert Kaleski]], who wrote the first standard for the Cattle Dog breed, called Hall's dogs [[Halls Heeler]]s.<ref>Kaleski, Robert (1938). Foundation Dogs of Australia. ''Sydney Mail'' 13 April 1938 p. 26, 30.</ref>

The Halls Heelers were later developed into the two modern breeds, Australian Cattle Dog and Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog. Kaleski also suggested that Thomas Hall imported dogs from England.<ref>Kaleski, Robert (1907). The Australian Cattle Dog. The Bookfellow vol 1. no. 1, 3 January 1907, pp. 10–11.</ref>

The Sydney-based Kaleski described only long-tailed cattle dogs in his breed standard, published in 1902.<ref>Kaleski, Robert (1903). Cattle Dogs. ''Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales''. August 1903.</ref> The short, or absent, tail is an inherited defect.<ref>Hytonen, M. et al. 2009. Ancestral T-Box mutation is present in many, but not all, short-tailed
dog breeds. ''Journal of Heredity'' 100(2)236-240.</ref><ref>Indrebø, A, et al. 2007. A study of inherited short tail and taillessness in Pembroke Welsh Corgi. ''Journal of Small Animal Practice''. doi: 0.1111/j.1748-5827.2007.00435.</ref> In Queensland, however, the two types (long- and short-tailed) were originally exhibited as two varieties of the one Cattle Dog breed,<ref>Cattle Dog and Kelpie Club of Queensland (1923). Cattle Dog [breed standard]. The Kennel. ''Brisbane Courier'' 1 December 1923, p.12.</ref> but by the 1950s, separate classes – Cattle Dog (long-tail) and Cattle Dog (short-tail) – were more usual.

During the 1950s administrative decisions{{What|reason=which decisions?|date=February 2024}} taken by the [[Canine Control Council (Queensland)]], and consequent legal proceedings, threatened the future of the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog as an exhibited breed. Iris Heale (1919–2006), ''Glen Iris'' kennels, became the only registered Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog breeder. She exercised her monopoly by refusing to sell registered animals. During the 1980 some members of the Australian working dog fancy realised Heale’s death would also be the death of the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog as an exhibited breed. In 1988 the Australian National Kennel Council introduced a "Development Breeding Programme" to perpetuate the breed.<ref name=":0" /> The success of the scheme, to which Iris Heale gave active support, is evident in the growing popularity of the breed.

== Breed recognition ==
The Stumpy was first recognised as a breed in its own right in 1963, when the [[Australian National Kennel Council]] issued a breed standard for the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog.{{cn|date=May 2024}} The name was changed to Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog in 2001<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog Breed Standard |url=https://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/351g01-en.pdf |website=FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE}}</ref> and in 2003 the breed was accepted by the [[Fédération Cynologique Internationale]].

== Appearance ==
The [[ANKC]] standard asks for "a well proportioned working dog, rather square in profile with a hard-bitten, rugged appearance". They have small pricked ears and a naturally short tail under {{Convert|10|cm|in}}. The coat is short and dense with a small ruff around the neck. They come in various patterns of blue or red. Unlike Australian Cattle Dogs, the standard forbids tan markings, which are considered signs of a mix-breed dog.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=ASTCDS of America - Breed Standard |url=https://stumpytailcattledogs.org/breed-standard |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=stumpytailcattledogs.org}}</ref>

== Temperament ==

The ideal temperament of the Stumpy is described in the breed standard as alert and watchful, as well as responsive to its owner and reserved around strangers.<ref name=":1" /> They are high energy dogs with high stimulation needs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog - Dog Breed Information |url=https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/australian-stumpy-tail-cattle-dog/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=American Kennel Club |language=en}}</ref>

== Activities ==

Stumpies may compete in [[dog agility]] trials, [[Obedience training|obedience]], [[Dog showmanship|showmanship]], [[flyball]], [[Tracking (dog)|tracking]], frisbee and [[herding]] events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Stumpies exhibiting basic herding instincts and can be trained to compete in herding trials.<ref name="Taylors">{{cite book |first1=Jeanne Joy |last1=Hartnagle-Taylor |first2=Ty |last2=Taylor |date=2010 |title=Stockdog Savvy |publisher=Alpine Publications |isbn=978-1-57779-106-5}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Portal:Dogs|Dogs portal]]
* [[List of dog breeds]]
* [[Anatomical terms of location]]
* [[Dog terminology]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Pastoral dogs}}
{{Australian dogs}}

[[Category:FCI breeds]]
[[Category:Herding dogs]]
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Australia]]