Glad the links were helpful. Sorry this is a little long, here is some more info that you might like:
You are correct in that not too many people know what a heeler or Australian Cattle dog is. When I adopeted Happy from a shelter 2 years ago, the shelter workers told me they thought he was a Keeshond mix. And I thought, "my, that is the strangest looking Keeshond I've ever seen." And he sure didn't look like a Keeshond to me. So after I took Happy home, I looked all through this reference book I have called the "Complete Atlas of Dog Breeds" that is illustrated with photos of hundreds of dog breeds from throughout the world. And there I found a photo that looked just like my Happy under Australian Cattle Dog. Although my Happy didn't have any AKC papers, my vet told me he looks like a purebred ACD. However, I didn't care what breed he was. I adopted him because of his smart intellect and his sweet and calm demeanor. When I took him home, he wouldn't jump on the furniture and he never had an accident in my house. He was 7 years old when I adopted him.
ACDs generally have long lives and can be 12-15 years old. I once read about one one in Australia that herded every day for 24 years until a few days before his death. (I think it was age 24). Anyway, the farmer didn't want the ACD to herd when he was getting old because the farmer thought it might be too much for an elderly dog. But the ACD would mope and cry and was completely morose at being left at the ranch left behind. The farmer couldn't stand the dog being so sad because he was trying to make the dog have a happy retirement. But the farmer realized that the dog didn't want to retire, the dog loved herding. So, the farmer let the dog work because the dog clearly wanted to work the cattle. That dog lived a very long and active life, happily herding up until the end.
Oftentimes people confuse ACDs with Australian Shepherds and those are not the same. They are two completely different breeds.
Glad to hear you have lots of space for the pups. A big concern with highly intelligent and very active ACDs is that they must be kept busy and active because a bored ACD is a destructive ACD. They are dogs that like to be close to their people (kind of like velcro) and they do not do well if they are kept alone all day or god forbid, they should never be chained outside to a doghouse all day). Of course, I feel no dog deserves to be chained to a box outside all day regardless of breed. As the websites say, ACDs can develop big behavioral disorders if a person doesn't keep them active with lots of attention.
ACDs are very protective of their owner and property. You should hear Happy bark when the UPS man rings the doorbell -- he sounds like 3 dogs barking that is how loud he is. And, they like order -- my dog tries to herd squirrels and chases them from tree to tree anytime one appears in the yard. Happy keeps our yard a 'squirrel free zone' because he barks and scares them by chasing them from tree to tree until they decide to leave my yard because the barking ACD is a real deterrent.
Perhaps because your pups have lab heritage in them, that the lab demeanor will soften their temperament a bit and make them more mellow than a purebred ACD. A purebred ACD is so active and sometimes people have a hard time handling them because they don't give the dog enough exercise and attention. They are great jogging and bicycling companions but you have to be careful not to over do it.
Thanks again for showing your adorable pups to us. Are you going to keep all of them or do you have plans to give them to good adoptive homes? Are you planning to get the mother dog spayed?
Best regards,
Anna Lisa & her 3 dogs
PS: I used photoshop to lighten up your photo so that I could see the pups more clearly in order to identify their breed heritage. Again, since they are a mix of breeds, they aren't purebred anything. But, you can definitely see their heritage in their body shapes and coats. Having knowledge of what breed background a dog has really helps when you are trying to understand a dog's behavior or distinctive personality. Breeds definitely have different trademarks/habits and if you are trying to train a border collie compared to a shih tzu, you will notice obvious behavioral differences. Here is the retouched photo:
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