In this video, we break down everything you need to know when it comes to owning the high-energy “pocket rocket” of the Australian Cattle Dog.
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00:00 Intro
1:20 – It’s Not Easy To Train A Smart Dog
2:30 – Quick Facts About The Australian Cattle Dog
3:57: The History Of The Australian Cattle Dog
6:15 You CAN’T Miss This Opportunity…
6:49 The Temperament And The Trainability Of The Australian Cattle Dog
9:00 The Grooming Requirements Of The Australian Cattle Dog
9:17 Final Thoughts Regarding the Australian Cattle Dog
9:45 The Australian Cattle Dog’s Dog Score
#AustralianCattleDog #BlueHeeler #WorkingDog #HighDriveDog #DogTrainingTips #DIYK9 #FamilyDogOrNot
36 Comments
Some of them sell for $30k to farmers because they are so good. I was walking down a city street and one of them was sitting with his owner at the pub. The dog stood and pointed his nose at a match stick. Then he nodded and stared at it, obviously wanting me to kick it so he could chase it. Since he was on a lead, I only kicked it 10 inches and he "chased" and grabbed it with his lips and then put the match stick at my feet to kick again. So he told me what to do, and he understood the whole situation. Amazing dog.
Extra warning from someone who has owned this breed. They have the soul of a Maoiri Bouncer inside them. Your Cool, if you have Clearance. Don't you have it? Not your Day. Brother
Fun fact is the ACD was originally called Hall's Heeler after the Australian farmer Thomas Hall who invented the breed. The Heeler was bred from Dingoes and Kelpies. Blue Meerle ones are very common and the Red Meerle ones are rarer and that US Servicemen from WWII returned from Australia to the US and introduced the breed to the US. But here in Australia we call them just Heelers. It's Australian like the Kelpie is. Australia invented some great dog breeds for farms however the Australia Shepard is definitely not Australian. As an Aussie farmer we used Border Collie x Kelpies which were far more superior at work the ACDs. We used our Border Collie x Kelpies for both sheep and cattle.
Went to a mate’s father’s property. He had some cattle dogs, (‘cos he had cattle, duh!). One of his bitches had a litter of four pups. Whilst there, he took them out to the home paddock where he had some cattle grazing, and one big bull. The pups started running around the cattle, getting used to them. Mum and dad were chained so they couldn’t intervene. One of them came gamboling up to the big bull, all happy to see him. The bull tossed the little pup about 10 metres and it landed with a little yelp. The bull was staring at it and it went and lay down beside a tree. And it just watched. And waited. And the bull, having put the pup into his place went back to grazing and ignored the pup. Big mistake. HUGE mistake. Once the bull was no longer paying attention to him, the little pup crept around behind it and snuck up behind it. Know what you can see hanging between the bulls hind legs. Great big set of testicles. BIG set. The pup made a dash, and a leap, and he grab one of those testicles, and the bull did what you and I would have done. He bellowed! Long and loud. And he spun around a bit and tried to shake him off, but I think it made it worse. It stopped, legs trembling, and the little pup let go and trotted up past the bull, watching it, and the bull shied right away from him.
Our mate’s father looked at us and said “ I was going to sell these pups….but I think I’ll keep that one!” and grinned.
DON’T F*** WITH A CATTLE DOG!!!
I’d have one for home defence before any other dog. But they need exercise.
I had one. It was deaf. It had the biggest personality of any dog I've ever had.
They're a one person dog, but they tolerate others.
They're stubbourn. If mine didn't want to come, she wouldn't look at me. Lol
My heeler lived in the burbs. She would run, full tilt, towards cross roads, with lots of traffic. Then at the last second, she'd stop, turn around and grin.
They have huge personalities.
Oz cattle dog owner here. Will try to translate my comments to yanka-neeze.
An ACD is a working dog that's a "high-octane" and "hyper" beast that needs a lot of space to run, and definitely not a "couch potato" or "house pet". They're too high-energy for a small apartment and are best suited for ranches or large properties.
Love my 2 blue girls
Love my 2 blue girls
My understanding is they were bred from the collie and Dingo and Dalmatian was added later to help with working with horses. The blue heeler throws to the Dalmatian side while the red healer throws to the Dingo side.
They're nice dogs. Don't piss them off. They bite like alligators.
😢The dingo in the heeler gives them some resistance to paralysis ticks and an innate knowledge of snakes. I had a wild bred half dingo and she was a great dog. Wandered in as a young pup and I kept her,registered ,desexed etc.
I have two and they are AWESOME! Just need to run them about 15km a day and they are fine…
The kids love them almost as much as me. They NEVER not respond to calling them back with occasional rewards.
Big sooks. Love them!
They have dingo in them, guaranteed.
VERY good judge of character too! They are definitely primitive but super genuine. Very very smart.
Just run them 2-3 times a day, no problem.
Just saying.
The story of how the Blue Heeler was made is provable rubbish. Gene tests rule out any connection to a Border Collie, Dalmatians or any other dog. There is no such breed as a Smithfield. The name refers to any dog used in the Smithfield cattle yards in London. There is no photo or drawings of any dog used and not even a detailed description. The only thing anyone can prove is that they have dingo genes. And up to a point, dingo behaviour.
The rest of the video is pretty good.
We don't drink fosters
I've got a stumpy-tail x blue heeler. She's extremely territorial, not only of her people, especially of me, but also of her property. With other dogs, she has to be the boss. We've had a couple of other dogs on our property and she would nip them first before she would be ok with them and accept them. One of the other dogs we had was a Malumute, which she would round up and body slam at every opportunity that she could.
Blue heelers, in Australia too many people get them without training them. They are not normally dangerous per se if you are with the owner, and if one was on the back of a ute it would not create fear in me but I respect any dogs space on a ute, but they can be very nippy and try to round you up if they have not been trained.
Why only 6 out of 10 for protection???
We don't drink Foster's and we call them prawns, not shrimp.
Got a 14-month-old cattle dog mix when I stumbled across dog adoption day at the pet store. I was there to buy a snail for my daughter's fish tank. We knew nothing about the breed, and we were way in over our heads. I've never seen a dog play fetch for that long. Hours. He's now 14 and finally slowing down. But I miss those crazy 5-foot leaps to grab a frisbee.
Had heelers for 45 years now have 2 reds been looking after my friends bull arib x wolfhound the past 3 months my 19 year old red finished his breky and decided to kick my friends 45 kg from his and eat it had to stand watch till he finished I'll stick with heelers the only dog for me you could say that I have a heeler mind
Definitely were bred down from the wild Dingo. Best dogs ever!!
There is not just Australian Queensland blue heeler but there is also Australian Queensland red heeler which is equally as good it's only the colour sometimes two reds or and sometimes a blue will come out of the reds
Testimony: Don't buy one unless you have a house and land. We had one in our 1200sqft apt, trained him very well and spent alot on behavior modification. Dog needs a job constantly otherwise it will take its energy out on aggression.
Yes. I love all my dogs. Ive had german Shepards, springer Spanials, pit bulls, and one of the most amazing Staffordshire Terriers to ever grace this earth, RIP Sabre…. But our blue heelers are amazing and I couldn't imagine life without them. The personalities, intelligence, and loyalty really set them apart. If you are active, they are the best breed.
I live on my homestead @ 5,200 ft. in Klamath County, Oregon USA I have a Red he is now a service dog & never leaves my side and has run off a lone wolf. I self-trained him with some help from a USMC dog handler and a Navy Seal. Oliver is an outstanding dog. He never fails to impress all who meet him.
Testicular fortitude, I love it. I have a Blue male, Waylon. Absolutely the craziest dog I've ever owned. Got him as a rescue a little under a year old. Extremely cute but I can understand why someone gave him up, they are NOT for the faint of heart. Great videos!
This is valuable information on pet owners looking to get an Australian Cattle dog. But please please make sure you get puppies from responsible breeders to avoid having to deal with puppies with health issues and raised in poor conditions.
i have a black and golden brindle heeler , she is 60 ;bs . heelers are a major pain in the ass , they need to keep hyper busy for first 5 to 6 years . be prepared to take them everywhere with you 16 hours a day .
they will not accept being idle , be careful with your choice regarding this breed . they are not normal dogs
they side glance you suspiciously all the time they are suspicious of strangers and don't like stranger dogs especially .
You should read this comment before you buy one. My dog is currently 5 years old and the best dog I've ever owned. Having said that it took 3 years of hard work to get here. These dogs are so cute as a puppy, but they absolutely are hard to work with. He constantly peed in the house and would chew random things. I was really hard on this dog. After 3 years though it was like a light bulb flicked on for him. He started listening and no longer did anything he wasn't supposed to. He's extremely smart. If you work with them and can stand the constant shedding, you will be rewarded.
Bang on about the intelligence. I grew up with cattle dogs, Kelpies/Heelers/Collies (usually a mix of all..) and they are sharp as a tack but they absolutely use that against you 🤣 I have a boxer now, and I love this dog to the end of the earth – shes smart too but there's a big difference. She is clumsy, a thing I have NEVER seen growing up with cattle dogs. Her intelligence/cheek is there too, but cattle dogs have a cunning that is completely missing in boxers. Boxer you can see everything they are thinking on their face, cattle dogs are way more sly. Hilariously different dogs.
Aussies don’t really drink Fosters and we don’t call them shrimp they are prawns. 😅I owned a cattle cross kelpie for 17 years. Loyal, uber intelligent and gentle. The best friend and protector of my young children. I miss Dash every day..
I have a blue heeler border collie mix as a service dog and hands down the best service dog ive ever had.
Dingo/pitbull over heeler is perfect dog!
Had a heeler for seventeen years. Smart, tough and loyal!