Australian Cattle Dog vs Brittany — Side by Side

	Australian Cattle Dog	Brittany
Lifespan	12-15 years	12-14 years
Size	Medium	Medium
Weight	30-50 lb	30-40 lb
Energy	Very high	Very high
Grooming	Low	Low
Shedding	High	Moderate
With kids	With supervision	Good with kids

What actually separates them

Less hair on the sofa with the Brittany. More with the Australian Cattle Dog.
Australian Cattle Dog tends to live longer — 12-15 years against 12-14 years.
With young children, Brittany is the safer default — Australian Cattle Dog is listed as "With supervision".

The honest downside of each

Australian Cattle Dog

This dog was bred to nip the heels of running cattle all day, and a bored, under-exercised Cattle Dog will redirect that instinct onto joggers, bicycles, other pets, and children's ankles — it is not a mellow companion breed no matter how it looks in photos.

Brittany

Brittanys are working bird dogs before they are family pets, and a Brittany that does not get to run or hunt daily becomes a genuinely difficult, anxious, high-strung dog to live with, which the sweet face in photos does not show.

Read the full pages

Australian Cattle Dog · Brittany
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.