Help! Need info on Blue Heelers!

Hi there! I don't ever come on the dog portion of PT, as I don't yet own a dog. I have found a 9 week old Blue Heeler that seems to be the sweetest little gentleman. From what I have read about the breed they are very intelligent and loyal dogs. I had a German Shepard as a kid, but have only had horses and rabbits since. My husband is an avid dog person, however he has not had a dog in about 2 years. There is someone else interested in this pup and they need a decision ASAP, I am just stuck on what to do. He is absolutely beautiful and the minute I saw him he came over and layed at my side. He followed me around and was giving me kisses, I was ready to take him home then and there. :D Most of what I hear about this breed is great, however like all breeds I hear the negatives too. My concern is that at least 1 day a week noone is home for about an 8 hour period, however we have a large fenced in yard and a doggy door arleady built in. I could really use some adive on making this decision. Thank you to anyone who can help, I really appreciate it!!!

You can look at the breed website for lots of info, but this is my experience...

Australian Cattle Dogs are extremely loyal, intelligent, energetic, hard-headed, and they have high herding drive. They will nip at the heels of people/dogs/horses/bunnies/anything, and discouraging that requires lots of supervision and training. They also REQUIRE a daily job, whether that is going on very long walks/jogs with you, Flyball, Agility, Frizbee, Herding, Obedience, guarding the home, etc. Most ACD's I know are devoted guard dogs - they do alarm bark and will not back down. They are also witty little dogs, and can be escape artists if not supervised, trained, & exercised properly. As an adult, a healthy ACD needs 1+ hours of intense exercise daily... that means, playing fetch in an open yard or field, jogging, swimming, training, whatever gets them tired out.

I would not recommend allowing a 9 week-old puppy free roam of the house and yard. It would be better to get him an exercise pen and put puppy pads down for him to use when you're gone for 8 hours. The puppy pads, when you are home, can be placed by the back door (OR just leave the dog door open) so he is trained to go outside to potty. :)

This is totally your family's decision. Just know that all herding pups are huge handfulls of work! They will repay you in loyalty, companionship, love, and FUN! If you're interested in dog sports, this dog would be great for you. They are competitive, active, smart pups!

I used to have a red ACD. They are wonderful companions. Very, very intelligent, they learn extremely quickly. ACDs are extremely loyal and enjoy the company of people. They need a job to do, or they will use all that energy in destructive ways. They have never ending stamina. I would suggest doing agility, flyball, herding or any other sports with them. They need more then a walk to be happy. They are really great dogs. Tell us what you decide!

:) Thank you both for your help! This little guy is just great (although judging by his paws he won't be little long!). I am a runner, as is my husband. We are also avid rollerbladers and hikers so the dog would have plenty to do. Given our yard size playing frisbee or something along those lines is very easy. We are going to talk about it a little more and probably decide tomorrow!

Sounds like he'd have a great home with you. If you decide to get him, pics please! ;) :) :D

Here ya go.. a site with some info about them

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/australiancattledog.htm

oh gosh! what a find! good luck on your choice! :D

Hi there! I have an ACD (Buddy-in my signature), there for I know quite a bit about the breed. I have read a lot about the breed. They have a VERY high energy level, just a run in the yard is not going to be enough. A boerd ACD is surely NOT a good ACD. You continuesly will need to be playing with the dog. Frisbee, fetch, swimming, running, jogging, dog parks, all kinds of things if you don't want a disastorous dog. If you don't keep the dog busy they will keep themselves busy... but not exactly in the ways you want them to. They will earn bad habits, such as jumping fences, digging, running off, chewing on things they shouldn't, barking at the neighbor's dogs... so you MUST you MUST keep him busy. If you are busy I would suggest giving the dog a kong with treats, meat, cheese, peanut butter, and other things he will have to work out with his tounge. If you don't want to buy a kong I would suggest one of those bones, I believed are called Sterilized Bones, and fill it in with peanut butter and cheese and all that. But this will only last a while and then he will be boerd again. Then you will need to do something with him. Your ACD will need obedience classes and you might want him to be in activites such as agility, flyball, dock jumping, frisbee, etc. He will enjoy it.

Hope I could help! If you need any more information please PM me or post here :D

First of all have you tried to find the owners? Did you call all local vets, shelters, boarding/grooming places? Did you post signs around the neighborhood & put adds in local papers?
Did you bring him to the vets to see if he has a microchip?
Being that age & breed he most likely has a home somewhere, a family looking for him.

Thank you all for your help. This little guy will be coming home with me tomorrow night!
Lv4dogs. This pup and his siblings were surrendered to the shelter. He has been seen by a vet and has all his puppy shots already. He does not have a microchip. This guy had them on a farm and simply could not care for all of them, among all the other animals he had.
My other question now is, despite what we are being told I think he looks much more like an Australian Shepard...but I guess I"m not really sure. He's just a little fluff ball right now. Regardless of what he is, he is healthy and extremly sweet. I will post pics as soon as we get some!!

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Originally Posted by zoomer

Hi there! I have an ACD (Buddy-in my signature), there for I know quite a bit about the breed. I have read a lot about the breed. They have a VERY high energy level, just a run in the yard is not going to be enough. A boerd ACD is surely NOT a good ACD. You continuesly will need to be playing with the dog. Frisbee, fetch, swimming, running, jogging, dog parks, all kinds of things if you don't want a disastorous dog. If you don't keep the dog busy they will keep themselves busy... but not exactly in the ways you want them to. They will earn bad habits, such as jumping fences, digging, running off, chewing on things they shouldn't, barking at the neighbor's dogs... so you MUST you MUST keep him busy. If you are busy I would suggest giving the dog a kong with treats, meat, cheese, peanut butter, and other things he will have to work out with his tounge. If you don't want to buy a kong I would suggest one of those bones, I believed are called Sterilized Bones, and fill it in with peanut butter and cheese and all that. But this will only last a while and then he will be boerd again. Then you will need to do something with him. Your ACD will need obedience classes and you might want him to be in activites such as agility, flyball, dock jumping, frisbee, etc. He will enjoy it.

Hope I could help! If you need any more information please PM me or post here :D

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You keep changing his breed? Buddy isnt a
ACD they look ALOT different then he looks..besides you said he was a pit mix..

does he look like these? this can come in red too
http://briarcreekfarms.com/pups-b.jpg

or these? or any color combination
http://ctcweb.lunarpages.com/images/pupwagon3.jpg

patterns may vary but you get the idea

Awww I'm excited for you! When we see the pics maybe we could tell if hes pure acd or what. I'm sure he's adorable!

Husky Mom: He looks more like the ones in the bottom picture. He's very fuzzy, which is what made me think that they are confusing a ACD with a Australian Sheperd.
Regardless he is a great dog and I'm pretty sure we're going to take him anyways. I like both breeds equally as much. Hopefully I'll have pics tomorrow!! :)

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Originally Posted by Sweet Sixy

Husky Mom: He looks more like the ones in the bottom picture. He's very fuzzy, which is what made me think that they are confusing a ACD with a Australian Sheperd.
Regardless he is a great dog and I'm pretty sure we're going to take him anyways. I like both breeds equally as much. Hopefully I'll have pics tomorrow!! :)

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That would be an Aussie, but, if he has a long tail he may as well be a Border Collie :)

ACD's and Aussies are very, very different breeds to anyone experienced with them. The pups could be Aussie/ACD mixes or ACD mixed with something else. ACD x Border Collie is a popular mix, it's called a "texas heeler".

ACD's - stocky, shorter denser fur, always sporting "speckles" as opposed to the "merle" of Aussies, wider muzzle and skull, USUALLY prick-eared, tails are not supposed to be docked but some crappy breeders & some ranchers do, almost never have blue/light eyes.

Aussies - Very fluffy, finer facial structure, rose or semi-prick ears, tails are almost always docked, some have blue/green/hazel eyes, merle/tri/solid pattern (rarely are all pups in a litter merle), never speckled all over the body.

Well now I do think he must be a mix of some sort, LOL
He is speckled all over, however his ears are not pricked and he has a docked tail. He has a wide muzzle and skull, but right now his fur is pretty fluffy!
Well, tonight is the big night though! Will post pics ASAP :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sweet Sixy

Thank you all for your help. This little guy will be coming home with me tomorrow night!
Lv4dogs. This pup and his siblings were surrendered to the shelter. He has been seen by a vet and has all his puppy shots already. He does not have a microchip. This guy had them on a farm and simply could not care for all of them, among all the other animals he had.
My other question now is, despite what we are being told I think he looks much more like an Australian Shepard...but I guess I"m not really sure. He's just a little fluff ball right now. Regardless of what he is, he is healthy and extremly sweet. I will post pics as soon as we get some!!

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I am sorry, I thought when you said that you found a 9 week old puppy that you catually found him wandering the streets or the like. :p

Where abouts in NY are you? I live just outside of Rochester.

By the description it sounds as if he is an Aussie or possibly a mix.

Good luck & I can't wait for pics!!!

Kaige, the guy in my siggy is an Aussie if that helps you out any.