Appearance
The Australian Cattle Dog should be muscular, athletic and substantial in appearance and have any trace of weakness or fragility. Excessively heavy or cumbersome build is also undesirable as it limits agility, a necessity for any good cattle herder. Along with athleticism, symmetry and balance are also essential and no individual part of the dog should be exaggerated or draw excessive attention. Whether bred for companionship or show purposes, the dog should have well-conditioned, hard muscles.
Size
A female Australian Cattle Dog should measure about 17 to 19 inches (43 to 48 cm) at the withers. A male Australian Cattle Dog should measure about 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 cm) at the withers. An ACD is a well-muscled, compact dog with a dense coat of coarse, rather oily hair with a slight ruff, and a fine, almost woolly, winter undercoat. It has a naturally long tail, generally carried low, with a slight white tip. An Australian Cattle Dog in good condition should weigh roughly 35 to 50 pounds (16 to 23 kg).
Coat and Color
The Cattle Dog's coat comes in two basic colors: blue and red, with a variety of markings and patterns. The solid blue coat has a bluish appearance caused by the mottling of black, gray and white hairs all over the dog's body. The solid red coat is distinctly red, generally with some variable percentage of white hairs frosting the coat. With the exception of solid coloring for a mask or a few body spots, the rest of the dog is covered with hairs which are alternately colored and white.
Tail Docking
Some breeders dock Australian Cattle Dog's tails. This is a controversial practice and in some countries is illegal, or is prohibited for show dogs. The AKC breed standard for ACDs calls for an intact tail. ACD owners are working hard in the U.S. to educate and discourage the practice of docking.