Breed of the Month – the Smithfield

A reader posed Dog Diaries a question. And in our quest to answer it we came across a fascinating tale – or should that be tail? – of two Smithfields…
A Dog Diaries reader recently posted this question: I would like to know the difference between an Australian Cattle Dog and an Australian Smithfield Cattle Dog. No-one can tell me – they just say a Smithfield has a larger tail.

We thought the answer would be easy to find. It turns out we were wrong.

You see, the Smithfield is a breed that is shrouded in mystery and confusion. For one thing, it doesn’t help that the breed is officially said to be extinct. For another, there is a breed of dog running around happily in Tasmania that is not only widely accepted as the Smithfield, but it even has its own dedicated class at the Campbell Town Agricultural Show held annually in central Tassie.

Further complicating matters is the fact that there is also a breed known as the Australian Smithfield Cattle Dog or Stumpy-Tailed Cattle Dog, which should not be mistaken for the ‘original’ Smithfield. Confused? So were we. But read on and hopefully, like for us, things will become a little clearer…

The ‘original’ Smithfield

Thought to have been brought to Australia from Britain by the first settlers to assist in the herding of cattle and sheep, the Smithfield is descendant of the dogs used in the Smithfield meat markets of London. Historical portrayals of the dogs depict a heavyset black dog with a white ring around its neck and often white markings on the ears.

The modern-day Smithfield comes in many varieties of colours and has long and usually shaggy hair. The Smithfield is usually born with a distinctive bob-tail, which is believed to have evolved during the early 18th century when farmers were able to avoid a tax by docking their dogs’ tails.
In spite of, or perhaps because of the lack of information available about the breed, Smithfields have a fiercely loyal following of admirers and are dearly loved, especially by those who have had them as working dogs.
In appearance the Smithfield is a medium-sized dog with a medium-length coat. They are strong and energetic, meaning they require plenty of exercise, but they are also easy to train, intelligent and devoted to their families.

The Smithfield Cattle Dog or ‘Stumpy-Tailed Cattle Dog’

During colonial times when Smithfields were being used to work cattle in Australia, settlers found that as their dogs were used to working sheep on small properties and short distances, they often floundered under the harsher working terrains and long distances in Australia. As a result, they came up with the idea of cross-breeding a native Dingo with a Smithfield.

The combination proved a tough one, and while the resulting cross-breed – the Australian Cattle Dog (aka the Blue Heeler, aka the Red Heeler – was able to thrive in the harsh Australian conditions, their bite was felt in some quarters to be too hard for the purpose of sheep and cattle running. So they were again cross-bred with a Collie, and the result was the Stumpy-Tailed Cattle Dog. Over time, the stumpy tail began to be bred out of the dogs until a family in Queensland in the 1920s dedicated themselves to maintaining the purity of the Stumpy-Tail, which are now thought to be the oldest intentionally bred dog in Australia.

Which brings us back to our reader question…
The Smithfield in its purest form is quite distinct from either the Australian Cattle Dog or the Stumpy-Tail. However, your friends are quite right that there is precious little to distinguish an Australian Cattle Dog with the Australian Smithfield ‘Stumpy-Tailed’ Cattle Dog. In fact, the only real point of difference is the tail – only your friends got it the wrong way around. It is longer on the Aussie Cattle Dog.

•    If you’ve got a question about a certain breed or would like to make a suggestion for a feature breed, feel free to do so using the Comment facility below.

Images by wolfweb and listverse