Australian Cattle Dog

[kian]

Also known as Queensland Heelers and Blue Heelers. These dogs are a driving herding dog and natural heel nippers, so early training is a must to prevent nipping at everything from kids to anything that moves including the vaccum!
An active breed that needs lots of exercise, they are quite intelligent and their obedience makes them excel in obedience competition. Great care must be taken to socialize them with other dogs at a early age if you plan to do this.

These dogs bond will bond strongly to one family member and will become a walking shadow. These dogs aren't for novice dog owners, they can be very head strong and require a strong alpha leader who will take the time to train and socialize.
These dogs are very protective of their pack and their loyalty is strong. In ranching areas it is common to see these dogs waiting for their owners in back of trucks, never giving anyone else a glance.
They are waring of strangers and are known to be quite sneaky, you never know when they are around. They are not a yapping dog, mostly a quiet worker.

They are medium size and come in red and blue and while many breeders dock the tail, that is not desirable. The tail acts as a natural rudder to quickly manuver and the tail is naturally beautiful. I love this breed and miss my Heeler who lived to be 15. He certainly was my shadow and his loyality was unmatched. Any questions about this breed, feel free to ask. They do have health issues, blindness and deafness is common as they age and any puppy you get check for this as misbreeding can cause this in a pup.

[Sadie G]

We had an Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) and Australian Shepherd mix for 15 years. What Kian said about them bonding to one family member is so true. Boomer was definitely my dog...he was my shadow.....I would walk around with him right behind me singing "Me and my Shadow"! He had to be where his mommy was at all times! I was once told that this is one of the best, most loyal dogs anyone could have...and after having Boomer in our lives for so many years....I have to say I agree!

[Tobby]

Hello.
I have a question about this shadow thing.
My dog Chase is a red heeler/ blue heeler cross and defenitally fallowed in this footstep.
My question is about my blue heeler cross, (suposed to be crossed with cocker spaniel, but doesn't look it. Looks more like crossed with boarder collie.) Addisyn. She has definately clung to me but when ever I go to my dads house for a few days she stops. She is constantley looking for my dad and not listening as well as she normally does. I just rescued her about a month ago and I was wondering if this is something I should be concerned about or if I should just look the other way when she does this? I really don't want her doing this because I want her to know she is my dog and not his. Is that greedy of me? I don't want her being against my dad, but I don't want her putting him before me. Any suggestons? I don't know if I am looking at this the wrong way or not.

Please Help!!

[kian]

You don't live with your dad? Then I prob wouldn't bring her there for a bit. Heelers will attach themselves to one person, usually the alpha leader which your dad must be. It could be her previous owner was much like your dad. You need to spend alot of time with her during this transition in her life. Do things with her that brings her joy to help her bond to you. You need to be the strong alpha leader not with force, but with lots of love. Give her time, she is still in transition and looking to bond with someone. They are shadow dogs and very loyal, I hope this helps. Let me know!

Just curious how old is she? Do you know anything about her history??
All heelers are "blue heelers" regardless of the color also know as Cattle Dogs and Queensland Heeler.

[Tobby]

Yes this helps, thank you. I was thinking after posting that maybe she did this because my father is always the head of the household, whether you live there or not. Maybe she is seeing him as a pack leader because I do?? I don't know if that is possable. Anyways, she is supposed to be 10 years old, (says her previous owners) although as I have said many times, I wouldn't guess her that old. I would guess 8 at the oldest. She was a farm dog. She was always outside never knowing a leash or collar. She was never taught anything other than her old name, (Kacey) that I didn't think fit. I know you may think it could be hard for her to learn a new name at such an age but she has already learned it and a few other commands I have been working on. This is all I really know about her.

Thanks Again!

[kian]

That makes sense now, I would bet she followed the farmer around and now she is doing the same with your dad who she is identifying with. It makes you wonder why they would give her up at that age, she sure is going through a transition. Glad you adopted her, I will check your profile to see if you posted pics, would love to see her. It is okay to change her name, you can teach a older dog new tricks!!

[Tobby]

Thanks for the help and advice. There are pictures of her and more to come, (as soon as I can find my camra )

[kian]

I saw her pic in your profile, the black and white one. She is beautiful, def looks like there is border collie in there somewhere and some Heeler along with another mix. Would love more pics.

[chibiev]

Has anyone had problems with their cattle dog experiencing separation anxiety? My puppy, Sadie, is a cattle dog mix. We adopted her from the humane society last July and she's a little over a year old. When my husband and I leave for work or leave her with her grandma and grandpa while we go out for an evening, she howls and howls. When we come home, she's so excited she jumps and runs in circles for a good ten minutes before settling down to gnaw excitedly on a rawhide. She had been improving marginally, but my husband was laid off a few months ago. Now he spends most of his day at home with her and she won't let him out of her sight. She gets more upset than ever if we leave her at her grandparents or even briefly in the backyard while we go to the store. Does anyone have similar experiences?

[Anita2008]

Thanks so much for leading me here. In this house with now 4 dogs, there has "never" been any question who the leader of the pack is. I have always advocated that to people that a dog is a pack animal and NEEDS a strong leader they can trust for food, safety, a warm place to sleep and so on, just like in nature. And oh is Daisy ever my shadow, quite frankly, because she is so small still, I trip over her and then of course feel bad. The more I read on the more I think that it might be a good idea if I build her an A frame like they use in agility. I have a huge fenced in yard and could actually set up a small agility course. I went back to the shelter yesterday to finish up some papers and found out that her Mom is actual a Yellow Lab, not black as I wrote. And I'll let you guess on the reason the litter was surrendered? Once again another pet owner who didn't fix their animal. It made me cry when I read on her sheet "Unwanted Litter". Also, the Vet who checked the puppies in under Daisy's exam notes it said " Little skinny". How sad! I keep food out all the time, my dogs are used to it and only Ellie my senior (and at her age I am willing to overlook it and hopefully so will you) is overweight, the rest eat as much as they need and then quit. And they only eat once a day, never taught them that, but that's what they do. Due to Gracie, my mini schnauzer having food allergies, the only food I can use is the one by Diamond without any by products. The shelter lady told me that it be ok for Daisy to eat the same, since it is virtually impossible to have seperate food, I've tried that before..LOL. What do you suggest I do to fatten her up, but I also don't want her gain the weight too fast, cause that is not good for her either. And no, none of my dogs get people food, I feel people food is for people and dog food for dogs. From her pictures you can tell she is very small, now that I have her exact b-day, but somehow I have a feeling that they are off by a month, I can't tell you why. Anyways, some lady on here suggested that she was removed too soon from her Mom and that she needs to be more "babied". You know those funny looking baby carriers they have that look like they are just an oversized scarf? Sort of like a cradle you tie around yourself to carry the baby as close to you as possible? I don't know what they are called, but a friend of mine gave me hers. My baby days are long over, my youngest is 25..lol.no baby carriers here. Anyways, I "try" to put her in it to carry her near me, but she won't have none of it. She wants to be able to walk where she wants to walk, which is right under my feet and if I fell that would be VERY bad since I have an implanted knee, but that's what she does. If I do carry her around a lot, I think it will cause issues with the other dogs and her. And I am sorry, but my dogs do not sleep in my bed, they are kenneled over night, which by the way was no issue at all with her. I think cause she can see the other dogs. So, right now we are working on the command "go to bed", which means go to your kennel. Only Ellie sleeps in the living room. Due to her age and the year she had health wise last year, I do cut her a lot of slack. Our vet doesn't think she will get to be much older then 12 and she is 10 now. I feel let her enjoy the time she has left. But back to Ms. Daisy, in order to teach her commands, I have to seperate her from the other dogs, which is fine, they can occupy themselves for a while, but how do you feel about the closeness thing? And the same lady pretty much told me that I was too concerned about her "mouthing" she is just a baby. But I feel that she will learn easier now, plus I don't want her to learn to "herd" all the people in the house in 1 room. Tell me this, how do I know she is "mouthing" due to teething or her instinct to herd? How do I tell the difference? This is important to me, cause I don't want to disipline her for doing something because she is trying to soothe an aching mouth. And is she too young to be putting peanut butter in a hard toy to get her to chew on it. Don't ask, I didn't start that, it was my husband and I am not very happy about it. My feeling is if they don't want to play with a toy then they simply don't play with it, but he went ahead and put PB in it. Of course they all went for it, to his amusement, that's why all the dogs are mine, not his. And none of them really listen to him, cause he is not the Alpha leader. Within the dog pack, You would think that Ellie is the Alpha, you could not be more wrong, actually it's Gracie, she is the leader. The only one who doesn't follow is Ellie, she is the proverbial loner, I think it is her age.
Anyways, if for now you could help me with those questions I would be as happy as a lark. I am sure there will be more questions later. I just want her to be a happy dog and live to her fullest potential. Thanks for letting me ramble on,
Anita

[kian]

Glad you found the Heeler topic! That is sad, unwanted puppies just because a owner doesn't spay or neuter.
As far as feeding her you do need a good quality puppy food for the first year. Adult food does not have the calorie or nutritional needs especially since she is so young and underweight. It is possible to feed separate, I have done it and it does require diligence on your part. I don't free choice feed, I prefer to monitor the intake and a thinner dog is healthier.
A pup that young I feed 3 times a day and she will gain weight as she matures. She is a hyper a breed and most certainly will lean to the thinner side which is fine as long as the nutrition is being met.
A puppy kong with peanut butter is great! I wouldn't be without one. I also layer it, peanut butter, stuff a dog biscuit in and freeze it. The cold will feel good on her mouth and it will take longer for her to work it out. She does need stuff to chew on, tell your hubby is it natural and very necessary! She must have things to chew and she can be taught what to chew and what not to chew. In a few weeks I will have you teach her the leave it command and drop it. Both helpful and will be used if the herding instinct comes out. Right now she is young and will mimick the other dogs play.
As far as the stoller, dump it, that is silly advice. Daisy is a dog, not a human and needs to be a dog. You have other dogs and they will help teach her the limits. Ideally dogs should be with their mom until 8 weeks, sometimes it isn't possible.
Even more reason for a good puppy food, some attention and she must learn her limits. She also needs lots of rest at this age, so let go into her crate for a nice long nap.
I have to go now, we will chat again. I'm excited to her about her and how she is doing, so please keep in touch! She is cute!!

[Deerie me]

If they all have separate kenels maybe you could feed Daisy in hers. I would get her on a good quality puppy food for now. I used to use Orijen. That is very good.

Good luck and welcome to the DP.

[Anita2008]

Good morning all. I found these cute feeding bowls that attach to the inside (Isuppose you can put them on the outside as well) of kennels. they come in all kinds of sizes. I choose the medium for her and put them in the back that I had closed off to her, cause she is too small and had used her kennel to do her biz in it. And the Puppy food I got is Innova for her. Her being my shadow in some aspect is not too bad..lol. I catch her as soon as she makes a mistake, or rather a doo doo, which this was only the 2nd time. I think she really is housebreaking thru the other dogs. Last night tho, I am sorry to say, I "had to" teach her the lesson that I will let her out when she cries out for me, but that she will return to her bed/kennel, cause Mom can not stay up every night at 1 or 2 o'clock. I shut the door And trust me, she was not happy, although she is not alone in the room. All the dogs reside in there. Kennel next to Kennel..lol. Right now she is outside complaining because I won't let her in right away. I had let them all out, but she must've been too busy wanting to play instead of doing her biz. She'll be fine, she can't get hurt right out there. Little stinker figured out how to get around my baby gate to keep her off the deck, she snuck around the pole. Regular Houdini! That's ok, I have tricks up my sleeve too, like a couple of bricks that fit right under the fencing of the deck, so now, no more sneaking around it. You are right about ehr being as smart as a whistle..wow.And she is only a couple of months old. I will definately rely on you to help me train her. She is doing REALLY good learning the command "Go to bed", which means go to and in your kennel. And since I've made it smaller, she has not had any accidents in it, cause we all know about them not doing their biz where they have to sleep. The last dog I truly trained was german shepherd named rex. And I did too good of a job, my now 27 yr old was a toddler and I had taught the dog to protect him, well he protected him against me one day. Mike had pulled the christmas tree over 3 times. It wasn't all the old family ornaments that I cared about, but my child standing in the middle of all the glass and having been lucky enough not to be hit by the tree. So, the 3rd time I "was" going to swap him on his diaper. My arma went up, by time it was by my waist, rex had my wrist in his mouth. He never bit down, but his look was telling me "don't even think about it". You know a full grown shepherd could have snapped my wrist, but he didn't. He was so well trained and all in german commands, so only I could control him. I used to use my ex husband as the dummy..no pun intented, and give rex the "attack" command and in mid air, as he was launching for my ex's throat I followed it up with the "drop it" command and he would drop like a sack of potatoes, but NEVER took his eyes of my ex as if he was saying "just let her give me the word". Well, make a very long story short, I called the MP's and told them that I had a fully trained watch dog, problem was he only understood german commands. Little did I know way back then, that most police handlers do teach german commands. He was taken by the MP's and they found him an awesome handler. They used to stop by my quarters from time to time, it was awesome to see him. So, I do know how to train a dog, just have 0 experience with this breed. A german shepherd is easy to train, I don't know if it will be so easy with Daisy..lol..I am older and tire more easily..lol. But what is ti they say "love conquers all"? At the pet store yesterday, they tried to seel me vitamins, I hate it when people try to sell me things. Oh she is a heeler, that is an active breed, she will need extra supplements. I don't believe in supplements, cause if they have a balanced diet they won't need it. Who is right? Well, I am looking forward to another day of new discoveries for Daisy, hopefully a not so painful day for me, more advice and comraderie from you. And to all a great day!

[Anita2008]

HELP HELP!!!!!!! Ms. Daisy has now decided that she is the one to decide when to go in her kennel and when not. Or how long she ought to be outside. And rest assured, she makes a BIG raucus about it. I put her in her kennel today, because I've followed your advice and have a dish attached to the inside of her kennel so she can get the right food, I was 3 rooms away with the doors closed and oh my, it was like Henny Penny, the sky was falling. After almost a whole hour I finally let her out, she knew I was mad. Other times, my husband goes and lets her out. I feel that this is counter productive, because all he is teaching her is that she is in control. And if I don't have control over her, I "will" lose control over the other dogs as well, because they will see me as weak, but she is testing me. The first few nights she was here, I was ok and understood her crying, strange place, no litter mates, etc.. the list goes on. She has now been here 1 week and thingks she can continue this behavior. I put them in their beds at 8pm and then let them out once more around 9:30. Then it's sleep, used to be till around 6 when "I" decided to let them out, not anymore. She starts her crying around 1-3 and pretty much demands to go out. Ok, Ms. Ellie my senior comes and gets me from time to time to be let out, but she goes out, does her business and straight back in the house, not so with Daisy. Once out of her kennel, she thinks she can play. When I put her back in as soon as she does her biz, she goes to town.
What do you suggest I do? I am sleep deprived, cranky and just not in a good mood. I have told my husband to leave the training to me, since the dogs see him as an equal anyways and not the alpha. "I" decide when they are allowed out, "I" decide when it's time to eat, but like this afternoon, she pretty much screamed for nearly an hour and didn't eat a morsel. But as soon as she sees the other dogs go for their food, she has to get right in the middle of it, although they are growling at her because as for now she is not in a leader position to eat or anything within the pack. How long do I let her cry? Do i let her cry? I can't ever remember the other dogs acting like this when they were puppies or came in my home. She is the 1st and I have to admit, she is trying me. I need some very specific advice, nothing general. For what it's worth, there is a tv in the room if that makes any difference, it is on in the daytime, since I spent most of my time in here, but not when she acts like this. I hope you will sign on tonight still, because I really need to hear from you.

[kian]

I' m here, just been very busy! Expecting company from another DP member who is coming to visit next week.
I finally have some time tonight. Daisy is def trying your patience and you must be a very strong leader. You do know how to train dogs, Rex sounds like a wonderful dog. When she goes out to potty in the night and wants to come back to play, you must put her directly back into the kennel and say the word you use for bedtime. I just went through this again with my pup, it didn't last long because I was very consistent. I did give her a kong to chew on or some ice cubes and it helped to lure back to sleep. Also cover her crate, it might help.


( I will back in a moment...)