CGC
12/18/95 - 04/11/05
| Brody, our first ACD, was born December 18, 1995 on the back porch of Scott and Kathryn
Hamilton's home. Nicknamed "#5" or "Back Porch Bob" he showed a special personality that sets
him apart from most cattle dogs. Kathryn mentioned he liked to turn brodies in the yard so she suggested the name
Brody. It stuck. He was BAER tested as a puppy by the Hamiltons and was found to have unilateral hearing. His unilateral hearing presents almost no problems. Occasionally, without stereo hearing, he cannot detect the precise direction a sound may be coming from. |
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Photo provided by Scott and Kathryn Hamilton. |
Brody's parents are CH Redwing's Angel in Disguise and CH Heelerhill Billy the Kid. Click here to see his pedigree. |
| Cattle Dog puppies are born with a white coat except where there is a solid color spot. This photo of Brody at 4 weeks shows his black spots and the tan portions filling in. His coat is also becoming less white and increasingly accented with black hairs. The combination of the black and white hairs give cattle dogs their "blue" color - hence they are often called Blue Heelers. |
Photo provided by Scott and Kathryn Hamilton. |
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At eight weeks, his ears are half-mast. He is becoming more blue and more active. Cattle Dogs usually have a VERY HIGH ACTIVITY DEMAND both physically and mentally. For the dog's sanity and the owner's sanity, there must be at least two or three sessions a day which include intense physical activity and mental exercise. A Cattle Dog put in a back yard and neglected even for a short time may become a digging, chewing, barking entity seemingly manifested from the Dark Side. |
| Ten weeks and you can see his left ear is now up. His coat is coming in much darker. With the
eye patches, he reminded us of Alice Cooper. Australian Cattle Dogs are among the most intelligent of the canines. Some have been reported to have the ability to strategically plan a mission and execute it with the cunning of a double spy. Brody has demonstrated these abilities. When you finally realize that you have been duped, it is too late and you have no other option than to go with the flow - resistance is futile. |
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Make up your mind Brody! At four months the coat got much lighter. From this point up until maturity, he darkened and stayed that way. Cattle Dogs can be a friend for many years. The breed tends to live a longer than average life than many other breeds. The world's record for dog longevity is listed at 29 years and it was an Australian Cattle Dog. A more common life expectation for the breed will be 12 - 15 years. ACD's have several genetic maladies affecting the breed that reputable breeders are aware of. Some of the problems are deafness, PRA (progressive blindness) and hip dysplasia. |
| Brody was a natural at Frisbee. We competed in an Alpo Frisbee competition and he did pretty well for the first time. He developed a problem in his right elbow called FCP - Fractured Coronid Process. Essentially a small bone fragment dislodged from his ulna and was floating around in his elbow joint. He was so lame he was not able to exercise and became depressed and grumpy. In the spring of 2000, he had surgery by a canine orthopeadic specialist and now his lameness is tolerable. He requires 2 or 3 intense exercise sessions every day. He is very ball oriented. He chases balls now and we don't let him do any flying or leaping like this picture depicts. He also enjoys fly ball competition, agility and we have started him herding. |  |
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Brody is the omega dog in our household. He loves kids and knows many tricks with vocal and hand commands. He has been clicker trained which is a method of training that is based on positive reinforcement. We have noticed that dogs who are clicker trained can learn new behaviors quickly. It is fun for both the dog and the handler. When choosing a Cattle Dog as a life long companion, consider the dog's temperament first. Only look for dogs from reputable breeders. This cannot be over stressed. There are far more back-yard breeders out there who's primary goal is profit. The Hamilton's Redwing Kennels in Hillsboro, Oregon are the type of reputable breeders to seek when searching for information about the breed. |
A tired Cattle Dog is a good Cattle Dog.
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Brody is playing with a Buster Cube. This hollow dog toy is filled with some kibble and then given to the dog. Brody rolls it around and as it moves across the floor, kibble drops out of it. It is essentially as much mental exercise for him as it is a treat. Each of our three dogs love this toy. They pursue the puzzle with their own personalities and problem solving abilities. Brody bats it around with his nose fervently and often misses some of the kibble. When it goes off the carpet, he picks it up and then goes to the center of the carpet to continue. Sadie is slow and methodical and very deliberate when pushing it around on the carpet. She seldom pushes it off the carpet. Spud bats it around with a paw and sends it flying. |
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Brody taking an agility jump in our backyard. You can see he clears the jump with obvious enthusiasm. We have a goal this year to get his novice agility title. Cattle Dogs are very versatile and excel in herding, agility, tracking, obedience, flyball, Frisbee, fetch, Search and Rescue, drug detection ... We live on five acres and our dogs have the run of the property. The whole acreage is fenced and our dogs have never felt the need to challenge the fence even with a herd of 60 cattle on the other side. Cattle Dogs want to be with their owners. When we are in the house our dogs are in the house. When we are outside, our dogs accompany us and help with the chores. |
| Brody's job every morning is to walk with us down to the road to get the paper. He looks forward
to this because it is HIS job that none of the other dogs share. He grabs the paper from our hand at the road and
trots back to the house about 500 feet from the road. Once he gets to the house and crosses a designated line,
he drops the paper, wags his tail and gets a deserved pat on the head. Australian Cattle Dogs thrive when they have a job to do. |
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This is Brody in our herding arena. On the left, he is gathering a sheep back to the flock. On the right, he is holding three sheep at the gate, getting ready to pen. |  |
April 11, 2005
Today, we buried one of our best friends. Our vet came to our home and as Brody
lay in our laps, with his ball in his paws, we let him slip away from his pain and frustration.
Brody was our ‘gateway’ ACD. We chose to try the breed and found Kathryn and Scott Hamilton. They took a chance
on us and let us take one of their pups.
If not for Brody, we would not have gotten Sadie, Spud, Cas and Dot. If not for Brody, we would not have made so
many friends in the ACD world, herding, agility, obedience, flyball, tracking, confirmation, rescue, etc. If not
for Brody, we would not have our own flock of sheep and ducks and an AKC herding course set up in one of our pastures.
The only title Brody ever got was a CGC, but he was a champion companion. He was full of personality and kids loved
him and he loved kids.
With his stilted ataxic gait, his rear end was failing him and ultimately we decided it was time to stop his pain.
He was a joy and he changed our lives.
It is time to rest my friend. Job well done. That’ll do Brody, that’ll do…….
