Ralph Sowers produces miniature toy cattle utilizing hybrid Sundog cows. The Sowers' Sundog toy cows are small and friendly cattle developed to be unique bovine pets.

Our Sundog toy cattle have an inherent docile disposition. They make wonderful family pets and can be very helpful in therapeutic work with children.

Sowers' Sundog toy cattle are ideally suited for petting zoos in any climate. They are very hardy little creatures. The small size and exotic color patterns make each individual very special in themselves.

The toy cows bond readily with their human acquaintances and make friends quickly with other household pets such as dogs and cats. The majority of the cattle are polled or hornless and the horned animals may, if desired, be disbudded very simply at an early age.

Castration is desirable for the males destined to be pets. However, the intact bulls aren't aggressive or mean tempered even when being used for breeding purposes. Their amiable disposition is one of their most desirable characteristics. The cattle are very fertile and some of the heifers and bulls breed before one year of age. And with a gestation period of nine months, some toy cows will calf as early as eighteen months.

Many of our toy cattle are under 36 inches in height and weight veries from 300 to 500 pounds.

These animals were developed by several years of intensive linebreeding. Therefore som one who uses a Sowers' Sundog Toy Bull for cross-breeding with other cattle can expect a majority of the Sundog characteristics to be reproduced in the first or second generation. We encourage doing this to help broaden the gene pool and increase the number of animals from which to select. Always keeping in mind the original characteristics and being willing to cull the individuals with undesirable traits.

Any color of Sundog is acceptable and the hair coat varies from smooth to rather long. Toy cows are very intelligent and some owners enjoy teaching them tricks. They are easily halter trained and can be fun companions on nature trails or exercise walks.

Toy cows make for excellent organic weed control. Organic grape growers use them to control the vegetation growing between the rows. Cows are grazers of grass and not browsers of brush. They fertilize the soil with rich compost to encourage worms.

[ click picture for slideshow of toy cattle ]