Bi2-Lancastar Farming, Saturday, Octobar 12, 1991
Derry Lelnaweaver, right, and son Johnny, left, shows off Joe, the 6-year-old blue
dog.
Australian
Herd With
GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
McVEYTOWN (Mifflin Co.)
“Almost 6 'A years ago, we
decided to get a dog to work cows.
I was so impressed with the intelli
gence of the pup, I decided to get a
female,” Derry Leinaweaver said.
The animal she speaks so high
ly of is the Australian Cattle Dog.
a short, sturdy, compact dog
whose muscular frame and agility
enables it to herd by swiftly nip
ping the heels of a cows. Because
of its size, only 20 inches tall, the
Australian cattle dog can come in
behind a cow, nip quickly, and
retreat, remaining low to avoid a
sharp kick.
While nature provided the per
fect body and agility for the cattle
dog’s natural herding instinct,
breeding has combined other char
acteristics, such as intelligence.
“The Australian Cattle Dog,
whose ancestors were imported
directly from Australia, is a cross
between the dingo dog, the blue
merle collie, and the dalmation.
The dingo is supposed to be the
most intelligent canine there is,"
Derry explained.
By defining intelligence as the
ability to learn, Leinaweaver’s
cattle dogs demonstrate what they
have learned, by helping every
day to keep the rest of the animals
on their 40-cow dairy farm in the
right place at the right time.
Derry’s 6-year-old “blue” dog,
Joe, knows which individual cows
are to go where. “My blue dog Joe
knows when they’re wiung and
you can actually see him wailing
for the right command to put her
where we want her.”
Derry said, “These dogs learn
by being with you. You have to
leach them the basics - come, sit,
stay. You want them to be under
your control, but they have the
natural herding instinct there
Cattle Dogs
Intelligence
themselves. Rusty, my “red” dog
started working sheep at four
months old. It’s naturally there.
You just have to bring it out in
them.”
With the instinct to herd, an
Australian cattle dog can adapt
well to different farming operation
needs, whether it is cattle, sheep,
ducks, goats, or pigs.
Leinaweaver has four dogs on a
119-acre McVeytown dairy farm
she owns with her husband Keith
and sons Lee and Johnny. Derry
also co-owns a female dog with
her mother, Derry Krause. Of her
four dogs, two are blue cattle dogs
and two are red. “Blue” dogs give
the illusion of blue hair when
black and tan hairs mix with white
ones. This blue mottled variety
has black ears, black eye patches,
and brown eyes. “Red” dogs, the
most dominant variety, have dark
red markings over an even
speckled base. A careful study of
pedigrees will help to determine
the color of a litter of pups. Blue
dogs bred to blue will never result
in red puppies even if there are
several reds in the pedigree. Reds,
who normally come from a mixed
background and can carry blue
genes, can produce a mixed litter.
But no matter what color they may
turn out to be, all pups are bom
polar bear white, except for the
eye patches. They then start to
turn color by six weeks of age.
Derry raises a couple of litters
each year from more than one
female and bristles at the idea of
“puppy mills”.
“I like to produce good working
dogs for people who love their
dogs as a family member,” Derry
stresses.
Derry also realizes that Austra
lian cattle dogs are not for every
one. “They are a one-man dog.
They work better for one person
and are very loyal. They want to
be with you in whatever you’re
doing. But not everyone should
have one. They’re not a dog to be
penned all day - it makes them
mean. They arc very protective,
which can give them a bad reputa
tion. But once they know a person
is supposed to be there, they
accept you.”
The nature of this breed’s temp
erament can be trained or tem
pered if owners want to participate
in the showring. And many of the
Australian cattle dogs have pedi
grees that rival the Regtistered
Holsteins they work to keep in
line.
Derry’s red female, whose
father was a Landmaster, has
“champions back her line like you
wouldn’t believe!” She’s also
expecting a litter of puppies in a
week, and, Derry hopes, the line
up of champions will go on.
“I co-own a female named
Addie with my mother who is
down in Mercersburg. One of
those pups, Brier Haven Outback
Outer, owned by Cheryl Carey of
Mechanicsburg, went to the Aus
tralian cattle dog speciality in
South Dakota. He won his obedi
ence class and took high in trial in
this speciality cattle dog show.”
Another pup of Cheryl’s, which
one of Derry’s
femalSs, qualified in all three runs
at the Gaines Regional Obedience
Show in York. “They run the dogs
(herding) three times and if the
dog does something wrong, they
lose a point If enough points are
lost the dog doesn’t qualify.”
Derry does her part to promote
the breed by conducting herding
dog clinics such as the one at the
Mifflin County Youth Park in
Reedsville, held October 6.
When more time allows, Derry
hopes to work closer with her own
dogs and to someday attend the
Specialty.
See your nearest
INEW HOLLAND
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and
Dependable Service;
PENNSYLVANIA
Annvllle, PA
BHM Farm
Equipment, Inc.
RDI, Rte 934
717-867-2211
Carlisle, PA
R&W Equipment Co.
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Davldsburg, PA
George N. Gross, Inc
R.D. 2, Dover, PA
717-292-1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc.
Rt. 283 - Rheem's Exit
717-367-1319
Gettysburg, PA
Yingling Implements,
Inc.
3291 Taneytown Rd.
717-359-4848
Halifax, PA
Sweigard Bros.
R.D. 3. Box 13
717-896-3414
Hamburg, PA
ShaiDesville
Farm Service
RD. 1. Box 1392
215-486-1025
Honay Brook, PA
Dependable Motor Co
East Mam Street
215-273-3131
215-273-3737
Honey Grove, PA
Norman D Clark
& Son, Inc.
Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682
Hughasvllla, PA
Farnsworth farm
Supplies, Inc.
103 Cemetery Street
717-584-2106
New Holland, PA
A.BC. G(off, Inc.
110 South Railroad
717-354-4191
Oley, PA
C.J. Wonsidler Bros
R.D. 2
215-987-6257
Pitman, PA
Schreffler Equipment
Pitman, PA
717-648-1120
Quakertown, PA
CJ Wonsidler Bros
RD. 1
215-536-1935
Tamaqua, PA
Charles S Snyder,
RD 3
717-386-5945
West Grove, PA
S G Lewis & Son,
R D. 2, Box 66
215-869-2214
MARYLAND
Churchville, MO
Walter G. Coale, Inc
2849-53
Churchville Rd
301-838-6470
Frederick, MD
Ceresville
Ford New Holland, Inc
Rt 26 East
301-662-4197
Outside MD,
800-331-9122
Hagerstown, MD
Antietam Ford Tractor
301-791-1200
NEW JERSEY
Bridgeton, N.J.
Leslie G Fogg, Inc
Canton & Stow Creek
Landing Rd
609-451-2727
609-935-5145
Washington, NJ
Smith Tractor &
Equip, Inc.
15 Hillcrest Ave.
201-689-7900
Woodstown, NJ
Owen Supply Co
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609-769-0308