About Blue Heelers

The Australian Cattle Dog, or Queensland Heeler, comes in two primary colors--red and blue. Blue dogs of this breed are known as blue heelers. They are medium-sized herding dogs first bred in Australia to work with cattle. Blue heelers can be more difficult as pets than other breeds since they have extremely high energy levels and a tendency to nip, but they make excellent working and sporting dogs.

  1. Identification

    • Female blue heelers are 17 to 19 inches high and males 18 to 20 inches high, measured at the withers. In general, they weigh between 35 and 50 pounds. They are heavily muscled and solidly built, athletic dogs. They have a short, oily coat with a blue appearance from a mixture of white, grey and black hair. Their ears are held upright, with pointed tips, and they have a long tail that usually has a white tip.

    Features

    • Blue heelers are often used as sporting dogs, particularly in the area of dog agility, where they excel. These dogs also bond very closely to their owners, who sometimes refer to them as "velcro dogs" because they want to be a part of everything the owner does. They have fewer health problems than most purebreds, and their life span averages 12 to 15 years.

    Risk Factors

    • The most common hereditary health problems in blue heelers are progressive retinal atrophy, canine hip dysplasia and deafness. Canine hip dysplasia is particularly difficult to treat, sometimes requiring total hip replacements. Blue heelers are also very prone to behavioral problems, mostly due to insufficient exercise. These dogs require extensive daily exercise and firm training to prevent destructive behavior, nipping and biting.

    Function

    • Australian Cattle Dogs, including blue heelers, were bred for heat tolerance, endurance and herding ability. They remain a popular herding breed, both in Australia and the United States. Because of their athleticism, they excel at sports such as dog agility, Frisbee and flyball. Their incredible stamina has also led to their use for search-and-rescue operations.

    History of

    • Blue heelers were first developed in the 1850s, when Highland collies were bred with dingoes in an attempt to create a suitable cattle dog for the Australian climate. The experiment was quite successful and became very popular. Later, Dalmatian was added to the mix in the hopes of creating dogs that worked well with horses. Unfortunately, the breed's ability to herd was compromised. To correct this, kelpies were added to the mixture. The resulting dogs were the ancestors of today's blue heelers.