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The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD), also known as the Queensland Heeler, Blue Heeler, and Red Heeler, is a herding dog developed in Australia for controlling cattle. It is a medium-sized dog with a lot of energy, intelligence and an independent streak. more...

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Breed

The precise origins of the "Blue Heeler" are not known, but they appear to have been a distinct breed as early as 1897. It began when Smithfields were originally used in Australia for herding cattle, but they were noisy and bit too hard, so they were bred with the Dingo, or wild dog prevalent in Australia, and were then called “Timmins Biters,” which were quieter, but still bit hard. Border Collies and Smooth-coated Collies, used for herding sheep, and the dingo were then bred with each other. In 1840, Thomas Hall bred a couple of Blue Smooth Highland Collies with dingoes and got the “Hall’s Heeler”. Then, in the 1870’s Fred Davis bred some Bull Terrier into them to make the dogs more aggressive. These were relatively common as sporting and guard dogs in the late 19th and early 20th century. The resulting Cattle Dog was of a slightly heavier and more muscular build than the Border Collie and of less temperamental nature, with good herding ability, the stamina to withstand extremes of temperature and the resourcefulness to forage and to feed itself on an omnivorous diet like a wild dog. Physically the "Heeler" has inherited a big broad head, strong jaws, and rather large pricked ears from the Bull Terrier. From the Dingo comes the distinctive sandy colour of the legs, and the tendency to regard a kennel as something to be sat on like a rock, or burrowed under, but almost never lived in, unless the rain is pouring down.

Like the Bull Terrier, the "Heeler" is fearless with cattle and has a tendency to nip their heels to keep them moving, when herding. This trait is undesirable when the dog applies to humans, and also to horses. In order to create a breed that had a strong natural affiliation with horses, the Cattle Dog was crossed with the Dalmatian, which although not a working dog, was popular during the 19th and early 20th century as a carriage dog, running beside the horses. The resultant dog was one which was friendly to horses and would work cooperatively with a horse, in a herding situation.

This breeding with the Dalmatian led to the spotted colouration valued in "Blue Heelers", the dark colour being the somewhat bluish black of the collie. For many years "Blue Heelers" commonly had large black patches on the body, as well as the Collie's mask. It was also common for them to have ears that lay back against the head like some Collies. The flat ears are now considered undesirable for showing.

Appearance

The Cattle Dog's coat comes in a variety of markings, sometimes quite striking. The coat has a bluish appearance, (hence the name). This is caused by the mottling of colour all over the dog's body, with the exception of the areas of solid colour. The solid colour is found in the facial mask and perhaps in a saddle or a few large splashes on the body. The rest of the dog is covered with hairs which are alternately coloured and white, like the hair on a roan horse. This mottling is also found in collies that are merle in colouration. But unlike merle collies, this colour in Cattle Dogs is not accompanied by odd-coloured eyes and irregular albino patching. The blue coat of a cattle dog shows an even disposition of colour, with regularly-placed denser areas of dark colour showing up as spots, inherited from the Dalmatian ancestry.

Read more at Wikipedia.org