Top Activities For Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs

Introduction

The Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog, also known as the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog, is a naturally tailless breed of dog that developed in Australia. While the dog’s name and look are very similar to the Australian Cattle Dog, the two breeds developed independently of one another, although many experts believe that they had common ancestors, and they have similar instinctual herding drives and strong work ethics. This breed of dog is quite rare; in part, because gene expression that causes them to be born without a tail can be fatal if received from both parents, causing this breed of dog to have litters of fewer surviving pups than average.

Treibball

Popular

0 Votes

Sunny Day

Moderate

Normal

15 - 90 min

Items needed

Triebball Balls or Equivalent

Activity description

Initially developed as an outlet for the intense drives of herding dogs in Germany who had no access to any sort of livestock, treibball is a newly emerging dog sport in which dogs herd large, inflated balls to a specific goal or spot. Handlers are allowed to communicate with their canine companions using both voice commands and hand gestures, but they are not allowed to move out of the handler’s area once the event has begun. This activity is an effective workout for your Stumpy Tail’s mind and body that can also help to improve the bond as well as the communication between you and your dog.

Step

1

Learn your part

Treibball is, at its core, a simple game; the dog moves as many of the inflated balls to the designated goal as possible within a fifteen-minute time frame, without the physical assistance of the handler. As the handler, it is your responsibility to learn the most updated rules that are currently available so that you can properly teach your dog to play the game, which you can do by accessing the full up-to-date sanctioned rules at the website of the American Treibball Association.

Step

2

Train your canine

While treibball utilizes your dog's natural instinct to herd, this instinct needs to be directed in order to properly play the game. The first step in teaching your dog to play treibball is to teach the pup to ignore the target, at least until they are given the command to begin. Once your dog has mastered this key component, additional commands can be added that instruct the dog to roll the ball to the specified target, a feat which must be accomplished without biting or breaking the ball.

Step

3

Increase the intensity

While treibball utilizes your dog's natural instinct to herd, this instinct needs to be directed in order to properly play the game. The first step in teaching your Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog to play treibball is to teach the pup to ignore the target, at least until they are given the command to begin. Once your dog has mastered this key component, additional commands can be added that instruct the dog to roll the ball to the specified target, a feat which must be accomplished without biting or breaking the ball.

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Sign Language Training

Popular

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Any Day

Free

Easy

5 - 45 min

Items needed

Treats

Activity description

While the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog and the Australian Cattle Dog are actually two separate breeds, they are both believed to have had a common ancestor who passed down the tendency towards merle coloration and the naturally shortened tails that are characteristic of the Stumpy Tail and occasionally seen in the Australian Cattle Dog as well. Unfortunately, these traits carry with them an unfortunate genetic predisposition towards pups that are born deaf and deafness developing later in life. Teaching your dog deaf dog sign language, a language based on hand signals, can help you to communicate with your dog in noisy surroundings, and may help ease the transition if your dog’s hearing does diminish.

Step

1

The new clicker

Dogs that are clicker trained and have lost their hearing are no longer able to hear the sound of a clicker and will need a visual cue to replace the auditory one. The most commonly used sign to replace the sound of the clicker is a flash of an open palm. In order to attenuate your dog to this new cue, you would pair the flashing palm action with a reward in much the same way as you originally trained the dog to the clicker in the first place.

Step

2

Starting simple

In many cases, simple commands like sit, stay, and lie down are taught with accompanying hand signals by default, which often makes this step fairly elementary. You would initially start by giving the canine both the verbal and the hand signal, as you normally would, but as the training session progresses, you would stop using the verbal command, relying on the strength of the hand gesture.

Step

3

Increasing the challenge

Herding dogs like the Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog are known for their intelligence, so it stands to reason that they will be ready for more complex commands rather quickly. Just about any trick that a dog can be taught using verbal commands can be taught with either visual or tactile cues as well. In many cases, pet parents that are teaching their dogs a large number of visual commands will utilize hand signals that are taken directly from American Sign Language.

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Fetch by Name

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Free

Easy

5 - 45 min

Items needed

Toy

Activity description

Studies have shown that many herding dogs are able to recognize the faces of specific sheep and, on their handler’s command, are often able to identify a specific sheep and cut it out of the herd. This ability to quickly identify a particular individual animal can also be used to help your dog learn to associate certain words with specific objects, and then to retrieve that object when you ask for it. This game was a component of the method used when instructing the Border Collie, Chaser, a dog with an extensive vocabulary that includes the names of at least 1,022 separate objects.

Step

1

Making the association

Choose one of the dog’s toys to be the first target, one that can be thrown by you and carried by the dog, then choose a name for it that is distinctive and easy to pronounce consistently. A common item to start with is a tennis ball, usually just referred to as a ball for simplicity’s sake, although you can teach your dog to fetch any item that can be safely carried in your dog’s mouth, by name. Play with your dog and the toy, saying the name of the toy, then toss the toy, giving the dog the command to fetch the ____, utilizing the name of the object in place of the blank. Reward your dog and praise them heavily when they retrieve the toy, then repeat your actions again with the same toy until your Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog associates the name with the object.

Step

2

Fetch without tossing

This next step helps to imprint the name of the object in your canine companion's memory, as well as clarify that the action is not related to just bringing you any item, but that you are looking for a specific item. Set the toy in the middle of the floor by itself, then ask your dog to fetch it, praising them heavily and rewarding them when they have done as you have instructed them to do.

Step

3

Entrench

You can help to entrench the names into your dog’s memory by using a few different challenges, such as having your pooch fetch the object from under or behind other things, by having them choose that item from several other items, and by sending the dog to fetch the item from another room entirely. Once your clever pup has memorized one name, you can add new items with new names to their repertoire.

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More Fun Ideas...

Toy Clean Up

Many pet parents spend time every day either picking up their pet’s toys or stepping over them, but with this breed’s intelligence, it’s fairly easy to train them to pick up their own toys and put them away.

Herding

Owning your own flock of sheep is no longer needed in order to allow your dog to experience the joys of herding actual livestock. There are several different establishments across the country that allow you to use their livestock and even teach you how it is done

Conclusion

Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs, like many other herding breeds, are highly driven and highly intelligent with an intense instinct to herd living things. They require not just physical activity each day, but mental stimulation as well. The activities outlined here are a few of the many ways that you can help your canine companion continue to learn and grow throughout their lives.