Blue Heeler

Blue Heeler Puppies for Sale: Keeping a Working Dog Happy

The Blue Heeler, like the Red Heeler, makes an ideal pet for avid outdoor enthusiasts or someone who wants a partner in team canine activities. Despite its size, a Blue Heeler is amazingly strong. Intelligent and possessing endless stamina, blue Australian Cattle Dogs require a lot of exercise and intellectual stimulation.

Overview of Australian Blue Heeler

Bred and developed in Australia, the Blue Heeler is a medium-sized, well-built dog. Thomas Simpson Hall created the breed in 1825 when he bred a blue droving cur from English stock to a tame dingo. He established a valuable working dog for Australia’s cattle in 1835. The Blue Heeler is simply one of two color varieties of the Australian Cattle Dog, a breed that gained acceptance by the AKC in 1980.

Appearance

The ACD has a broad skull with a balance in keeping with the rest of the body. There is a slight curvature between the ears which are broad-based, medium in size, pointed, and upright. The stop is slight. An Australian Cattle Dog has medium-sized oval eyes. Its other features befit a powerfully built cattle-driving dog (works cattle by driving from behind).

• Size – 17 to 10 inches tall, 34 to 50 pounds
• Neck – medium in length, very muscular, no dewlap or throatiness
• Shoulders – broad, muscular, and sloping
• Forelegs and hind limbs have a round, strong bone with clear flexibility in the pasterns
• Body almost square – body length: height = 10: 1
• Chest – deep, well-muscled, broad
• Back – muscular, topline level
• Croup – long and sloping
• Tail – set low and brush style

An Australian Cattle Dog has a tireless, efficient gait with the ability to accomplish sudden changes in direction. It carries its tail low when at rest and raised when alert or working.

Coat

The ACD has a unique, rain-resistant double coat. Although the outer guard hairs lie flat, they are rough and hard to the touch. The inner coat is soft and dense. Australian Cattle Dogs have light breeches (longer hair on the upper thighs) and a slight ruff around the neck. Their fur is short on their heads and lower legs. Otherwise, their fur is about one to one-and-a-half inches long.

Colors

An ACD comes in red or blue roan and hence is called a red or blue heeler, respectively. The blue heeler dog has three recognized color patterns.

• Blue
• Blue-speckled
• Blue-mottle

Speckled and mottled dogs have localized areas where white is more prominent. Mottled dogs have more white than speckled dogs. A blue dog is black. It appears blue because of evenly intermixed white hairs known as roaning. It is distinct in appearance and genes from merle. Blue heelers for sale generally are also tan-pointed. Therefore, like Dobermans or Rottweilers, they have tan markings above the eyes, on the front of the chest, under the tail, and running up the lower legs. The ACD also frequently has black or blue markings on its head as well as a white patch (Bentley mark). Mottled dogs may have white rings on their tails. Blue Heeler puppies for sale are born solid white or with markings solely on their heads. They develop their roan pattern within a few weeks after birth.

Personality

Blue heelers are driven, intelligent, and loyal. They are suspicious of unfamiliar people. Although the ACD is protective of its owners and their property, a well-socialized dog should not be aggressive. Australian Cattle Dogs enjoy working hard. Their energy levels require a high exercise commitment, or better, a daily job. They are a fair match for young people, although kids under ten years of age should be closely supervised. The ACD may herd children and nip at their heels if not corrected early. Australian Cattle Dogs have a gregarious nature and will play and act friendly toward other dogs. They will get along with many other pets (not rodents, rabbits, reptiles, or birds). Household cats are generally safe, but the ACD may chase neighborhood felines.

Lifespan

Blue Heelers live an average of about 13 years.

Care

Australian Cattle Dogs are high-maintenance animals in terms of the exercise and training they require.

Feeding

The ACD is prone to becoming overweight. It can be difficult to tell if your ACD is packing on too many pounds because the breed is stocky and does not have much of an abdominal tuck-up. Regardless, it is crucial that you carefully monitor your dog’s intake, especially since it was bred for high-intensity work. An average pet ACD needs 24 to 29 calories per pound each day. Working dogs and puppies require two to three times this amount. You can choose from wet, dry, or fresh food, but it must be a meat-based diet with requisite fats and optional carbohydrates. Avoid starchy carbs such as potatoes and legumes, but you can offer berries and green leafy veggies.

Grooming

An Australian Cattle Dog’s coat is soil resistant. You should brush it two or three times weekly to decrease loose hairs in your home and stimulate good circulation and oil distribution through the skin and fur. Blue Heelers, like other herding breeds, shed moderately throughout the year with two periods a year of heavy undercoat turnover. During these “blowouts, “you should brush your dog daily.

Exercise

Blue heelers need a lot of attention and two or more hours of exercise every day. Since they need a lot of stimulation, your best bet is to engage your ACD in activities that accomplish bonding, physical exercise, and mental enrichment simultaneously.

• Fetch – try different games or multiple objects to be retrieved
• Herding trials
• Hiking
• Flyball – speed competition against other dogs over a set of hurdles; the ACD excels
• Agility
• Obedience competitions

Training and Socialization

Blue Heelers for sale should be socialized as young as possible or they suffer from a variety of antisocial behaviors. Their protective instincts will grow out of control making them engage in unprovoked attacks and develop paranoia. They will also struggle to communicate with other dogs. A well-socialized Blue Heeler is fairly easy to train because they pick up commands quickly and were evolved to cooperate with their handlers. However, the ACD needs a demonstration of clear and decisive leadership and consistent direction. A Blue Heeler will not hesitate to take the reins if it perceives uncertainty. In this respect, Australian Cattle Dogs, like German Shepherds, are not ideal for first-time owners without professional assistance.

Blue Heeler Puppies for Sale Near Me

You can find local Blue Heeler puppies for sale at shelters, rescue organizations, friends, neighbors, and professional breeders. Breeders offer the advantage of family trees, background and health records on the puppies’ parents, and proof of pedigree. Humane societies often have lower prices for purebred dogs although there may not be much history, and there are not usually any papers. However, neutering your pet and other medical procedures have often already been performed when you are ready to take your new pet home. You should hold professional breeders to a high standard.

• Inquire about the parents and any of their issues – ask to see one or both
• Breed-specific health certificates – elbow and hip evaluations, eye, and cardiac exam
• Contract that specifies whether you can breed or show the puppy
• Clean facility
• Organized documents
• Healthy animals – no coughing or sneezing, ocular or nasal discharge, vomiting or diarrhea

Miniature Blue Heeler Puppies for Sale Near Me

As with most miniature versions of dogs, Mini Blue Heelers are not recognized by major registries. A Mini Blue Heeler for sale is markedly smaller than its standard counterpart. Minis are 11 to 15 inches tall and weigh 12 to 25 pounds. Since it is a Toy version of a medium-sized dog, the Mini ACD has a similar appearance, health profile, and temperament as the standard Blue Heeler.