I've always liked dogs bred to herd cattle, in particular australian cattle dogs.

I see that there are lines of breeds like border collie, kelpie, and australian shepherd that are oriented to cattle rather than sheep.

Then there are the Hangin' Tree Cowdogs bred from catahoula, kelpie and border collie origins.

also the cao de sao miguel, sp.

I'm curious about the general experience of posters with this type of dog for agility, perhaps protection sport, obedience, active family living.

In particular does anyone have a Hangin' Tree cow dog (not the same as the aussie line hangin' tree).

rgds andrew may

I have and know of many Louisiana Catahoulas.

Owners title them in all kinds of things. Just this summer a few owners I know of titled in weight pull, obedience and dock diving.

I have seen them worked in protection as well. I know of some used as search/rescue dogs.

mainly they do hunting/sporting titles - A-bay, B-bay, treeing and such. Mostly Catahoulas are kept as working/hunting dogs or ranch/cowdogs. For working cows, they are a tough and hardy breed - though I don't know about Newfoundland winters!

My Catahoula was enthusiastic about agility, but was a bit like a bull in a china shop - knocking everything down, flying over contacts etc. (We just did a beginner class).

We have a guy who does a herding demo at our fair each year that breeds this type of dog:

http://allisonsstockdogs.com/index.html

Never seen them in person but some of the ranching community really likes them for herding. Don't know much else about them.

i have a hanging tree dog and i am just doing obedience right now(going real well) , we are an active family and she is with us for everthing
agility is one place they would excell and i would not try and get into my truck while i was not there
i love this breed they are tough , smart and can go all day wheather riding horse's or quad's she is right there

 Quote: Andrew May

I'm curious about the general experience of posters with this type of dog for agility, perhaps protection sport, obedience, active family living.

Around here a lot of people run Australian Shepherds in agility. At the place where I will be training, the majority of the dogs in the classes are Aussies. (But there are also other herding breed dogs like Border Collies, Shelties, Australian Cattle Dogs, etc) The instructor also happens to be an Aussie breeder, and runs many of her dogs in agility. They tend to have the athleticism and enthusiasm to do it and do it fast! She used to (I don't know if she still does or not) run them in obedience as well.

I think the Aussie is great for active family living (as are most of the other breeds you listed). Really, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the breeds you've listed. What might help you decide is if you could call a few breeders or go visit an agility class or herding trial and meet some dogs from the various breeds in person...then you can see the little nuances that separate one breed from another (aside from the physical differences) and you can determine which would be the best fit for what you're looking for.

 Quote: joe samson

i have a hanging tree dog and i am just doing obedience right now(going real well) , we are an active family and she is with us for everthing
agility is one place they would excell and i would not try and get into my truck while i was not there
i love this breed they are tough , smart and can go all day wheather riding horse's or quad's she is right there

Whoops sorry, I didn't realize you'd posted just before me. Do you have any pictures of your HTCD? I've only seen a few in pictures

i will try and get some pics up tonight