The Australian Cattle Dog is an especially energetic, loyal dog suited for cattle herding and other organized activities. They have a wild appearance, but can make great friends.
Anonymous - 2011-04-27 I adopted a puppy almost 3 months ago. Her mother was a blue heeler and the vet thinks her father to have been an australian shepherd. This dog is very sweet and loving and loves my family. I have two small children, ages 2 1/2 and 5 and she is great with them except when she sees them running and decides to run after them and "herd" and nip them. This dog is very bright and learns tricks very quickly. But she is extremely energetic. She must be crated while I work for about 4 1/2 hours a day. I exercise her for 30 min. 1 hour in the afternoon, which is all I can do. Before she gets her exercise she is digging my yard, grabbing things off counters and tables, and chewing anything she can get. I can't leave her unsupervised for more than a few minutes at a time. She has tons of chew toys and my older Golden Retriever to play with, but gets into constant trouble. When I crate her to keep her out of trouble for a few minutes she makes so much noise that she wakes up my children and drives everyone nuts. So my question is when-if ever-is this dog going to calm down? I don't think I can take a full year of this behavior and I already give her all the time I have to exercise her and train her. My husband is done with her and wants her to go. Should I find her a home in the country or wait it out and risk losing my sanity? Thanks for any advice.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-04-27 I have included an article on the Australian Cattle Dog for you to read. Just click on it. It doesn't sound like this pup will calm down. It is a herding dog and high energy. It is the nature of the dog. It is a hard decision to make but you have to look at what you believe to be best for the children, the pup and you and hubby.
Clarice Brough - 2011-04-30 What a darling pup! You got a high energy breed topped with being still a puppy. Just like a litte 2 year old always on the go. Even as she gets older she'll still be an active dog, but I think that puppy behavior should calm down.
Ann - 2011-05-29 Try teaching the pup how to chase a frisbee. I too have a high energy herding dog and just adopted a cattle dog. Frisbee really helps take the energy out of them. I believe they claim that playing frisbee for 20 minutes burns the about the same as an hour of walking. You can download a free book from Hyperflite that tells about getting your dog started playing frisbee. http://skyhoundz.com/discdogsrock.html
J9 Colorado - 2011-03-20 I love this breed. My resued Blue Heeler/Mix, Jesse Girl, is the BEST. She is a loving and extremely faithful dog. She is so smart, hardly ever barks, and is great with small children. Her bad qualities (don't we all have them!) are burying our socks and gloves in the yard. It is amazing what we find after the snow melts. She loves to go camping, hiking and is an awesome fishing dog. She needs a walk EVERYDAY ...but I think all dogs need to be walked everyday. She is more mellow than some ACD's, but is beautiful and looks 100% like a blue girl should, expect for being a little tall (she is 47-50lbs). I think this breed is excellent! I just think you have to be the right person for the breed and realize they need exercise and like being given direction. If you want an intelligent, loving dog with a personality...not a typical dog personality.. this is it!
Teesa Lilly - 2010-03-18 My red heeler's name is Zee. She is 10 and the best dog anyone could ever have. Today my Vet confirmed what I already knew.........she is going blind. My heart is breaking. I lost my father 3 months ago. My mother has altimzers. Six weeks ago she had to leave her home of 45 years to move into assisted living without my Dad to help her. Why does my Zee have to be going blind now? She has been my constant "rock" through all of this. I can't stand to see something happen to her, too. I'm sorry I sound like a cry baby, but I had to tell someone. Thank-You.
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Kristy - 2010-03-24 Hi Teesa Lilly...I'm very sorry about your mother and the loss of your father ...and about Zee. My 10 year old dog Rebel a red-heeler is also going blind. He's still very happy though, and it seems that he really only has 1 eye he can see out of now. I'm just giving him lots of love... as always. I think it's harder on us than them since they already depend on us so much as it is. Hang in there you are not alone.
Kelly - 2010-06-27 I have a red heeler and his name is Zip. He is my buddy and rock! The last couple of weeks I have noticed he was bumping into things when it was dark. At first I thought he was being a goof, but then when he did it again I knew something was wrong. So I searched on the internet and have learned this breed does go blind. He will be 8 in October. He can still see during the day but not at night. Did Zee first have night blindness and if so what is her progress on becoming completely blind? Sorry for all your bad news.
Angela - 2010-09-30 I had a Red Heeler many years ago he had diabetes and went blind, just wanted to let you know he did great, he could still smell and hear and was a great companion even though he was blind...plus I got him a lighted ball and for a long time he could see well enough to play with it. Good Luck to you and Zee!
rebecca pearson - 2010-10-23 Hi my name is rebecca and I have a red heeler named cane, he just turned 6 and we just found out that he is going blind. He already is blind at night and in about 9 mths he will be totally blind. I have realixed that I am the one that will need to adjust and he will be fine. But it has just broken my heart he came into my life after my 4yr old son thomas died, and then when cane turned one I gave birth to my son quinten so they share the same birthday. Thanks for listening.
Heather - 2010-12-29 We are trying to name our second blue heeler...our first one was a female called Buffy, she was 14 when she left us...and a fat little one at that. Our new one is a boy...he is so cute. They are the best dogs...
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mel - 2011-02-11 We named our blue heeler Toby, actually my kids named him that. He's about 2 yrs and just adopted him out of a dog pound. Pretty sad that such a pretty dog like this is in a dog pound.
Tommy - 2011-11-09 Name her or him spot, or blue.
Terri G - 2011-12-30 Rudder is a good name for a boy, because of the job they do. You might also want to consider Tiller, but the meaning of this is twofold (you might not want him digging in your yard!)
Anonymous - 2012-01-27 We named ours Petey...
Lisa DeForest - 2012-02-24 I have a australian shepherd and blue heeler and his name is Rilie jo. I know for instance he is a one person dog, because he chose me to protect. He is a silly smart playful and he loves pop bottles stickes empty paper towel rolls and he is a bed hog. But well natured.
Linda Wyatt - 2012-01-22 I have a rescued red heeler mix we found in a garbage bag with a rope tied around his neck and a rope tied around the bag. He was a puppy, and he has been neutered and has all shots and is healthy. He will snap for no apparent reason and attack another dog. All my dogs are rescues, neutere or spayed with all shots up to date. I had to take a little chihuahua rat terrier mix that came up to our house to a no kill shelter, because Champ tried to kill him. What can I do to help this situation. We love Champ and he loves us.
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Charlie Roche - 2012-01-23 This little fella had a rough start and hate to hear these kind of things. Some folks are just cruel. The Heeler/Cattle Dog mix is an independent breed and they don't really do well with other dogs. Some will become agressive with other dogs or with people they don't know. They also are usually a one person dog. It is also a herding animal or a working dog and they do snap/growl/circle or whatever to keep the HERD in line. It is their nature. I would consult a behaviorist or a trainor as you would be trying to stop a natural behavior that is a part of this pup. Genetics for centuries. You see Chihauhau and Champ sees stranger/threat. I wouldn't know of anything else to do accept consult a behaviorist/trainer or allow Champ to be an enviornment where his genetics and protective behaviors are a plus.
dlady - 2011-08-15 I have a red heeler/husky mix. He's a little over a year. But He is a great dog to have. Before getting him when he was 3 months old I was so scared of dogs. But he's like my best friend now. He follows me around all day, and when I give my kids or my husband hugs he's right there trying to get a hug or rub to (it's so funny). But he loves to chew bones and his toys (I got him a new toy the other day and he destroyed it within 5 hours. My husband walks/runs him in the morning and I walk him in the evenings. He likes to play fetch on the stairs ( I throw his toy over the top of the stairs and he runs down and brings it back, he does it like 10-15 times before he gets tired). He loves people and thinks that when we have company they are supposed to rub and love him too.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-08-16 My compliments to you for getting a pup when you were afraid of dogs. So many are afraid of things and don't ever get the enjoyment because of fear. You overcame yours. Hats off to you
TDS - 2011-01-22 I could use some help with an emerging problem with my 9 month old blue heeler mix. Scrabbles is a rescue dog I have had for 4 months. She was fearful of everything when I first got her, especially men. Once she learned to return to me when called, I began to take her to the park every day and let her run about or chase a ball for about an hour. She is great with dogs and is growing increasingly comfortable with people, letting them pet her on occasion without pulling away. Kids have been at the park before but she usually avoids them or barks once or twice then goes the opposite direction. Recently she has been getting more vocal with the barking and I usually call her away to another part of the park. Then one day, shortly after I let her off the leash, she suddenly began chasing a little boy, circling him, and barking ferociously. I gather from the circling that she was attempting to herd him but it was uncomfortably aggressive and she attempted to nip him when she was close. The boy, thankfully, was remarkably calm. I eventually leashed Scrabbles and he offered to walk her so I let him walk next to me while I walked her. Scrabbles seemed ok but after a couple of minutes stopped walking straight ahead and headed toward the boy again and not in a friendly way. So I just took her home. What can we do to reverse this emerging pattern of behavior, especially if I don't have or know kids who can interact with her? Is her behavior leading to biting a child?
Anonymous - 2010-07-04 I just adopted a Blue Heeler/Husky mix. I live in an apartment and she does just fine. I provide two long walks a day and she has toys. She is a VERY good girl. Doesn't chew up anything...is content to rest around the apt until she is walked. All around a fabulous dog. My first dog in 20 years!
steve - 2010-06-19 We have two "Heelers", named Jondy and Jake. We got them from a rescue in Fresno, CA>, as 10 week old pups. Both were easy to house train, and except for the constant need to chew bones, shoes, plants, ETC. We sure love our cattle dogs! Both are VERY protective of the yard, and my wife and I. They also LOVE to go running with us when we ride our horses, but have never bothered the horses. If I could trust other folks horses we would take them on group rides as well.
Steve, Palmdale, CA.
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Veronica - 2010-06-28 I was interested to read your post. My husband and I recently got a new puppy. She has Heeler in her. She also has Border Collie, lab and Scotch Collie. The BC is unmistakable in her, for she has the colouring and the patchy markings. She has the spotting of the blue heeler. Interested to learn more about any behavioural things you may have encountered with your Heelers. So far, ours is five months and training is coming along well. She loves everyone. She loves her older brother (a ten year-old American Eskimo), but tries to heard him. He doesn't seem to mind. But her ankle nipping is crazy. She doesn't really do it anymore with my husband, but for my seven year old son and I, she tends to go wild.
We really love this dog and see that she's making a great family pet.
Robin Yaro - 2010-06-12 We have 4 Heelers which we have had since they were all puppies. Pepper (13) is going selectivly deaf. Banshee and Ghost (10) and Rocky (3). They are the best dogs we have ever had. We got Banshee and Ghost as littermates and didn't find out until Ghost was about 4 that she had either been stepped on or kicked by a horse and had her pelvis fractured. Other than having problems getting up and down now, she is still active even with her handicap which is a testament to how resilient these dogs are. They are very protective even to the point of taking on a Rottwieler to protect my husband after his back surgery. I would not recommend a Heeler as a family pet. If they grow up with the children it might be different but they are a bit aloof and do not like to be handled unless it is on their terms. They can also be aggressive with people. We recently took on my daughters 2 dogs, both mixes (not heeler), and they integrated pretty well although Rocky is a bit agressive towards the other male.
The Australian Cattle Dog is an especially energetic, loyal dog suited for cattle herding and other organized activities. They have a wild appearance, but can make great friends.
I adopted a puppy almost 3 months ago. Her mother was a blue heeler and the vet thinks her father to have been an australian shepherd. This dog is very sweet and loving and loves my family. I have two small children, ages 2 1/2 and 5 and she is great with them except when she sees them running and decides to run after them and "herd" and nip them. This dog is very bright and learns tricks very quickly. But she is extremely energetic. She must be crated while I work for about 4 1/2 hours a day. I exercise her for 30 min. 1 hour in the afternoon, which is all I can do. Before she gets her exercise she is digging my yard, grabbing things off counters and tables, and chewing anything she can get. I can't leave her unsupervised for more than a few minutes at a time. She has tons of chew toys and my older Golden Retriever to play with, but gets into constant trouble. When I crate her to keep her out of trouble for a few minutes she makes so much noise that she wakes up my children and drives everyone nuts. So my question is when-if ever-is this dog going to calm down? I don't think I can take a full year of this behavior and I already give her all the time I have to exercise her and train her. My husband is done with her and wants her to go. Should I find her a home in the country or wait it out and risk losing my sanity?
Thanks for any advice.
I have included an article on the Australian Cattle Dog for you to read. Just click on it. It doesn't sound like this pup will calm down. It is a herding dog and high energy. It is the nature of the dog. It is a hard decision to make but you have to look at what you believe to be best for the children, the pup and you and hubby.
What a darling pup! You got a high energy breed topped with being still a puppy. Just like a litte 2 year old always on the go. Even as she gets older she'll still be an active dog, but I think that puppy behavior should calm down.
Try teaching the pup how to chase a frisbee. I too have a high energy herding dog and just adopted a cattle dog. Frisbee really helps take the energy out of them. I believe they claim that playing frisbee for 20 minutes burns the about the same as an hour of walking. You can download a free book from Hyperflite that tells about getting your dog started playing frisbee. http://skyhoundz.com/discdogsrock.html
Find a dog trainer.
I love this breed. My resued Blue Heeler/Mix, Jesse Girl, is the BEST. She is a loving and extremely faithful dog. She is so smart, hardly ever barks, and is great with small children. Her bad qualities (don't we all have them!) are burying our socks and gloves in the yard. It is amazing what we find after the snow melts. She loves to go camping, hiking and is an awesome fishing dog. She needs a walk EVERYDAY ...but I think all dogs need to be walked everyday. She is more mellow than some ACD's, but is beautiful and looks 100% like a blue girl should, expect for being a little tall (she is 47-50lbs). I think this breed is excellent! I just think you have to be the right person for the breed and realize they need exercise and like being given direction. If you want an intelligent, loving dog with a personality...not a typical dog personality.. this is it!
My red heeler's name is Zee. She is 10 and the best dog anyone could ever have. Today my Vet confirmed what I already knew.........she is going blind. My heart is breaking. I lost my father 3 months ago. My mother has altimzers. Six weeks ago she had to leave her home of 45 years to move into assisted living without my Dad to help her. Why does my Zee have to be going blind now? She has been my constant "rock" through all of this. I can't stand to see something happen to her, too. I'm sorry I sound like a cry baby, but I had to tell someone. Thank-You.
Hi Teesa Lilly...I'm very sorry about your mother and the loss of your father ...and about Zee. My 10 year old dog Rebel a red-heeler is also going blind. He's still very happy though, and it seems that he really only has 1 eye he can see out of now. I'm just giving him lots of love... as always. I think it's harder on us than them since they already depend on us so much as it is. Hang in there you are not alone.
I have a red heeler and his name is Zip. He is my buddy and rock! The last couple of weeks I have noticed he was bumping into things when it was dark. At first I thought he was being a goof, but then when he did it again I knew something was wrong. So I searched on the internet and have learned this breed does go blind. He will be 8 in October. He can still see during the day but not at night. Did Zee first have night blindness and if so what is her progress on becoming completely blind? Sorry for all your bad news.
I had a Red Heeler many years ago he had diabetes and went blind, just wanted to let you know he did great, he could still smell and hear and was a great companion even though he was blind...plus I got him a lighted ball and for a long time he could see well enough to play with it. Good Luck to you and Zee!
Hi my name is rebecca and I have a red heeler named cane, he just turned 6 and we just found out that he is going blind. He already is blind at night and in about 9 mths he will be totally blind. I have realixed that I am the one that will need to adjust and he will be fine. But it has just broken my heart he came into my life after my 4yr old son thomas died, and then when cane turned one I gave birth to my son quinten so they share the same birthday. Thanks for listening.
We are trying to name our second blue heeler...our first one was a female called Buffy, she was 14 when she left us...and a fat little one at that. Our new one is a boy...he is so cute. They are the best dogs...
We named our blue heeler Toby, actually my kids named him that. He's about 2 yrs and just adopted him out of a dog pound. Pretty sad that such a pretty dog like this is in a dog pound.
Name her or him spot, or blue.
Rudder is a good name for a boy, because of the job they do. You might also want to consider Tiller, but the meaning of this is twofold (you might not want him digging in your yard!)
We named ours Petey...
I have a australian shepherd and blue heeler and his name is Rilie jo. I know for instance he is a one person dog, because he chose me to protect.
He is a silly smart playful and he loves pop bottles stickes empty paper towel rolls and he is a bed hog. But well natured.
I have a rescued red heeler mix we found in a garbage bag with a rope tied around his neck and a rope tied around the bag. He was a puppy, and he has been neutered and has all shots and is healthy. He will snap for no apparent reason and attack another dog. All my dogs are rescues, neutere or spayed with all shots up to date. I had to take a little chihuahua rat terrier mix that came up to our house to a no kill shelter, because Champ tried to kill him. What can I do to help this situation. We love Champ and he loves us.
This little fella had a rough start and hate to hear these kind of things. Some folks are just cruel. The Heeler/Cattle Dog mix is an independent breed and they don't really do well with other dogs. Some will become agressive with other dogs or with people they don't know. They also are usually a one person dog. It is also a herding animal or a working dog and they do snap/growl/circle or whatever to keep the HERD in line. It is their nature. I would consult a behaviorist or a trainor as you would be trying to stop a natural behavior that is a part of this pup. Genetics for centuries. You see Chihauhau and Champ sees stranger/threat. I wouldn't know of anything else to do accept consult a behaviorist/trainer or allow Champ to be an enviornment where his genetics and protective behaviors are a plus.
I have a red heeler/husky mix. He's a little over a year. But He is a great dog to have. Before getting him when he was 3 months old I was so scared of dogs. But he's like my best friend now. He follows me around all day, and when I give my kids or my husband hugs he's right there trying to get a hug or rub to (it's so funny). But he loves to chew bones and his toys (I got him a new toy the other day and he destroyed it within 5 hours. My husband walks/runs him in the morning and I walk him in the evenings. He likes to play fetch on the stairs ( I throw his toy over the top of the stairs and he runs down and brings it back, he does it like 10-15 times before he gets tired). He loves people and thinks that when we have company they are supposed to rub and love him too.
My compliments to you for getting a pup when you were afraid of dogs. So many are afraid of things and don't ever get the enjoyment because of fear. You overcame yours. Hats off to you
I could use some help with an emerging problem with my 9 month old blue heeler mix. Scrabbles is a rescue dog I have had for 4 months. She was fearful of everything when I first got her, especially men. Once she learned to return to me when called, I began to take her to the park every day and let her run about or chase a ball for about an hour. She is great with dogs and is growing increasingly comfortable with people, letting them pet her on occasion without pulling away. Kids have been at the park before but she usually avoids them or barks once or twice then goes the opposite
direction. Recently she has been getting more vocal with the barking and I
usually call her away to another part of the park. Then one day, shortly
after I let her off the leash, she suddenly began chasing a little boy,
circling him, and barking ferociously. I gather from the circling that she
was attempting to herd him but it was uncomfortably aggressive and she
attempted to nip him when she was close. The boy, thankfully, was
remarkably calm. I eventually leashed Scrabbles and he offered to walk her so I let him walk next to me while I walked her. Scrabbles seemed ok but after a couple of minutes stopped walking straight ahead and headed toward the boy again and not in a friendly way. So I just took her home. What can we do to reverse this emerging pattern of behavior, especially if I don't have or know kids who can interact with her? Is her behavior leading to biting a child?
I just adopted a Blue Heeler/Husky mix. I live in an apartment and she does just fine. I provide two long walks a day and she has toys. She is a VERY good girl. Doesn't chew up anything...is content to rest around the apt until she is walked. All around a fabulous dog. My first dog in 20 years!
We have two "Heelers", named Jondy and Jake. We got them from a rescue in Fresno, CA>, as 10 week old pups. Both were easy to house train, and except for the constant need to chew bones, shoes, plants, ETC. We sure love our cattle dogs! Both are VERY protective of the yard, and my wife and I. They also LOVE to go running with us when we ride our horses, but have never bothered the horses. If I could trust other folks horses we would take them on group rides as well.
Steve, Palmdale, CA.
I was interested to read your post. My husband and I recently got a new puppy. She has Heeler in her. She also has Border Collie, lab and Scotch Collie. The BC is unmistakable in her, for she has the colouring and the patchy markings. She has the spotting of the blue heeler. Interested to learn more about any behavioural things you may have encountered with your Heelers. So far, ours is five months and training is coming along well. She loves everyone. She loves her older brother (a ten year-old American Eskimo), but tries to heard him. He doesn't seem to mind. But her ankle nipping is crazy. She doesn't really do it anymore with my husband, but for my seven year old son and I, she tends to go wild.
We really love this dog and see that she's making a great family pet.
We have 4 Heelers which we have had since they were all puppies. Pepper (13) is going selectivly deaf. Banshee and Ghost (10) and Rocky (3). They are the best dogs we have ever had. We got Banshee and Ghost as littermates and didn't find out until Ghost was about 4 that she had either been stepped on or kicked by a horse and had her pelvis fractured. Other than having problems getting up and down now, she is still active even with her handicap which is a testament to how resilient these dogs are. They are very protective even to the point of taking on a Rottwieler to protect my husband after his back surgery. I would not recommend a Heeler as a family pet. If they grow up with the children it might be different but they are a bit aloof and do not like to be handled unless it is on their terms. They can also be aggressive with people. We recently took on my daughters 2 dogs, both mixes (not heeler), and they integrated pretty well although Rocky is a bit agressive towards the other male.