I am interested in learning more on heelers: blue, red, Texas, what have you. Which of y'all have experience with them? I've never owned a dog myself, but grew up with them in the family my whole life. I prefer medium-large sized dogs. Starting to gain a real interest in this breed. I would not want one where I live currently, but am looking at this for when I move this coming July.

They are very intelligent, very active, and need a job. They want to be the alpha dog so the trainer should be experienced and assertive. They DO NOT do well with down time. If bored they can exhibit all sorts of undesirable behaviors. What are your plans?

Agree with a lot of the above. I have a blue & red mix that my sister likes to take a lot of pictures of.



Very smart and trainable, didn't even send ours in for lessons and he knows a ton of commands. Also knows when he's in trouble before you start yelling at him, haha. And they will get in trouble, probably not as bad as I've heard about labs but you definitely want to keep them entertained as much as possible. They are extremely loyal, not just mine but our cousins have one too and they will follow you like a shadow.

Supposedly good for working cattle but all mine does is chase them around in a circle so I guess he didn't get that gene but he's a damn good dog nonetheless.

I've had two, great dogs agree with all of the above. You must be assertive, they must have a job, and have some land.

Sounds a lot like my family's collie mutt. Probably best to wait for more space, and even a possible family to go with him.

Thanks for the input!

Loved the ones we have had. I agree on the statements that they know when they are in trouble. You just had to look at gunner sternly and he would get in the kennel.
They are a good dog to have for protection with out being over aggressive. My wife and cousin would take gunner out runs, and when the unsavory residents that live on the south side of campus got mouthy gunner would give them a death stare and stop them in their tracks.

If you do get one make sure you socialize it well. If not you could end up with an very territorial dog and not open to meeting new people.

I have had three different heelers. All three have had vastly different personalities.

They are incredibly smart. They can learn to do almost anything you want them to do.

My first one, and best one, would bring me the remote whenever I sat in my chair and then he would just lay by my chair until I got up. Very, very laid back. I could almost have a conversation with him. Like said earlier, they know when they have done something wrong. The thing is, though, a lot of the time they don't care...the consequence is worth it. For instance, if Gus saw a chance to grab a piece of pizza, he would do it every time. He would almost smile at me while I was whipping him for it, too.

I have a girl dog who is very active, less social. She doesn't get along with other dogs but she is very good around anyone she knows.


Now I have a pup who is kind of a mix between the two. He loves everyone and every dog and is very active.

A heeler's puppy stage, in my experience, is incredibly easy compared to labs/goldens/boxers, etc. The key is to socialize them early and start working with them early.

In my opinion, they are the best dogs there are. Incredibly loyal.

The last heeler I had was a good dog, but I swear he did things just to spite me. He was the most hard headed dog I've ever owned but also the most gritty and determined.

For example he had to wear a cone around his neck when he had his leg in a splint & was kenneled. He usually found a way to sneak out of the kennel but I figured he was stuck in there with his new headwear. Went to the store to buy groceries for a super bowl party and when I came back home he was backing out of a 4x6 inch hole in the bottom corner of the kennel. Damndest thing I've ever seen a dog do.

He was fine when I was around, but as soon as I was gone, he had to ramble.

We have a 14yo blue heeler mix. She is a fantastic dog, but the 1st 3-4 years she was a constantly moving whirlwind of activity.

She is also extremely protective and has bitten a few people who got to close to our family. I would get another in a second!

i've had two over the years and they generally make for terrible pets IF you fence them in or have them in the house. they love to escape and generally do whatever the hell they want damn the consequences. they're smart and trainable and make for a fantastic dog if you're always on the go and take the dog with you. one of mine escaped and came back with a scalding whole bbq chicken. don't know where it came from but he earned it.

We have a 5 year old blue heeler and he is the perfect dog. He follows our lead in everything. Lazy when we are lazy, but always up to do something if we are. Very intelligent and loving toward family, but it takes a while for him to accept anyone new.

From my experience, Walter couldn't be more wrong. Mine are fenced and inside, etc. They won't lrun off or leave even if the gates are open. They have never dug or had any issues trying to escape.

must be nice

/bump

The girlfriend ended up getting a Blue Heeler/Aussie mix back around the start of the year. It's been great having a dog in our lives! I wasn't planning on getting a dog until around this time of year but she went ahead and beat me to the punch.

As to what has been stated on this thread...she is definitely loyal and smart. Knows when you're mad before you even say anything.

The SO and I do not live together but the dog flips back and forth between our places some...her place more than mine. I'm proud of my girlfriend, she takes raising her Heeler Shepard the right way and seriously, as seriously as I would. She's not neglected and if she has to stay inside an extended period her and I are both good to take her to the park or for a walk. She's not untrained and a terror to be around as some other peoples' dogs our age are.

She's bout 9 months old and weighs around 35? Lbs.

Had a pure male BH (Hank) when I go married 23 years ago and my wife picked up a rescued female BH (Kate) that appears pure. Hank loved people and other dogs, except his dad, and chasing balls. Would whoop his dad's ass. We raised goats and turkeys and had lots of deer, he knew not to chase animals. I wanted to stud him out until my wife took a nap when she was pregnant with our first son. Hank walked up to her, sniffed her long hair hanging off the couch, lifted his leg and peed on her hair. I did not have to worry about studding him out after that episode and learned that peeing on my wife's hair comes with dire consequences. Kate loves people (has feet and toe fetish), thinks neighborhood kids need her and loves some dogs and hates other. Neither dog ran off. Hank and Kate are very smart and Hank's smartness was limited to my means of training. He would stop, sit and come on whistle commands. I pity the person who tries to come in my house without us letting them in. If a burglar came to my house with a tennis ball when Hank was alive, Hank would have opened the door. Kate stays in the house but my wife takes Kate on a several mile walk on most days. We can tell when Kate does not have her walks. BH need room, things to do and someone to follow. They are not a real good lap dog. Both are great around children. Great dogs in the right environment and owner.

I've ran BH and Catahoulas on cattle for years. They need a job like others have said but they are hard headed when it comes to discipline. My healer loved to lay under the cattle trailer and catch cows by the nose when they come down the chute. Never could beat that out of him.

Best dog I've ever had was half blue heeler, half catahoula

Now married to the aforementioned gf, and our heeler mutt just had her 5th birthday. A great dog and a great breed! They're definitely a lot of work, but they're loyal, smart, and fun.