Tapairu Smithfields

All we know about our Huntaway is that he was a Huntaway x Smithfield. We know the breeder bred Huntaways before he found Smithfields and loved the cross, best working dog ever he said (apart from the straight Smithfields). Huntaways are very popular in NZ as working dogs for cattle. For some odd reason there are not many working shows for cattle dogs, but more for sheep (eye dogs). Here is a photo of our Huntaway x Smithfield (he looks nothing like a Smithfield except for his bob tail and behind) and our young Beadie x Huntaway Jack. Jack is also a superb dog.

Thanks everyone for your really interesting comments. We just wanted to know where the the UK Smithfields had ended up and it sounds like there is a nice type which appears to be called a Smithfield Lurcher as well as other variants. We've emailed David Hancock for his thoughts on what the old type Smithfield looked like. We absolutely agree that they were either a variant of Beardie or that rough coat cur type of dog that must have been quite prevalent in the UK which ultimately ended up with the Beardie and the Old English Sheepdog. We've also been tracking down the old books which

We are from New Zealand and have several Smithfield working dogs. Smithfields are also still bred in Tasmania, Australia and the type is very similar to that pictured here (a Tasmanian Smithfield), owner unknown. We were just wondering if Smithfields are still bred in the UK and what type they are, we understand that a straight Smithfield is of the following description: "The Smithfield is a medium-sized rough coated, outgoing, active dog. His tail is usually long, but on rare occasions is a true bob tail. Coat colour varies—black, grey, brown—but mostly there is some white, on head, c