
Just to clear up some things. Australian Cattle Dog is the name given to this breed by The Australian Cattle Dog Club of Australia and The Australian Cattle Dog Club of America. That IS the name of this breed. Another thing I'd like to toss in although I don't think it was mentioned...they do NOT have their tails docked! Many ignorant people confuse them with Australian Shepherds(you'd think if someone bred them they'd take a bit of time and do some learning! LOL)and dock the tails.
Just for the record our older blue AuCanDo is from a working kennel of herding, agility and obedience, frisbee dogs with lots of titles both from in the breed ring(Champions) and out. Some lines of this breed are better workers with more focus than others but the dogs used in the breed ring are just as often working dogs too. So, our eight year old dog has strong herding instincts but we don't have cows. No worries mate! He is kept busy and happy with hiking, tracking, playing games, ball retrieving and other concerns. He has been taught to leave my ducks alone unless I focus on them and ask for his help.
Our newest dog is a young red rescue ***** from Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue. We turned down three other dogs before we pursued this one. She too has strong herding instincts and is coming along nicely with lots of obedience, hiking, learning tricks and just having fun. It's taken lots of work in the few months we've had her but it's worth it.
So, contact some good kennels and get on a waiting list for a good pup or check out the purebred dog rescue groups and be sure and do a good jog of checking out the dogs carefully.
Strong herding instincts or no...you will do fine if you are willing to put in the time a effort that it takes for this breed. One last thing..if I interpreted your post correctly and understand that you do not have fenced property....forget getting ANY dog until you do!
Have fun, hope all goes well for you...LQ