Heelers are great dogs? (border collie, shepherd, bite, toy)

[ColoGuy]

Had a blue and a red for three years. Constantly impressed with these qualities:
Eager to please
Fast to learn
High energy
Happy
Not fussy
Super friendly but exceptional watch dogs
Sturdy
Seem to handle temperature extremes quite well

Possible problems:
Love to hunt. May kill rabbits, chickens, and cats
Like to get re-assured frequently after trips
May decide to lay on you in the middle of the night

Feel like I have a couple great and sharp kids. About 5-6 years old.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

They can be heel nippers. They can be difficult around horses, because they love to jump out and bite them on the back legs.

The high energy can be too much for a sedate family. Heelers need lots of hours of hard work.

They are only good for active families that believe in training their dog to have good manners and who are willing to put in the hours of work to mold the dog into a good citizen. They aren't as high energy as a Border Collie, but they sure aren't a plush toy that will sit quietly on a shelf all day.

[Normashirley]

A Red Heeler/Lab mix showed up at my farm;naturally he wasn't neutered but, I took care of that.

He was half grown and a real chewer. He had been abused with a shock collar for the chewing.

I loved that dog. Very intelligent, quick study and the only dog I've ever had that went digging thru the yard for those ugly ugly moles. He would lay them on the garage apron for my inspection.

We live on a remote rural road with 18 houses on it. The neighbor was running late getting her kids to school and hit him in the edge of her drive, as he was going to visit her dogs.

At least death was instant. I brought him home in the front loader and laid him to rest with my biggest regret being that I tried to get him to live in the house and he wouldn't come in.

He was 85 lbs of lick your face full of sweetness.

Someone dumped a Catahoula Leopard Cur/Fox Terrier, a year or so later (also not neutered) and I
have to say he has the same qualities as the Red Heeler/Lab had, except he won't hunt moles. He was a nervous chewer and it was obvious a woman had abused him ---- something one doesn't see too often. It took me a couple years to be able to scratch his head without him trying to duck away

This guy lives in the house and when he is out in the real world, he refuses to leave the yard. Meaning when his end time gets here, it won't be from a vehicle.

I wish you many more great years with your Heelers

[ColoGuy]

They wanted to herd my Alpacas and Llama. Just took a couple yells and that stopped.

Now I wish I would have let them do it for the exercise. They are happier with loads of exercise.

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

They can be heel nippers. They can be difficult around horses, because they love to jump out and bite them on the back legs.

The high energy can be too much for a sedate family. Heelers need lots of hours of hard work.

They are only good for active families that believe in training their dog to have good manners and who are willing to put in the hours of work to mold the dog into a good citizen. They aren't as high energy as a Border Collie, but they sure aren't a plush toy that will sit quietly on a shelf all day.

[JrzDefector]

I just got a heeler mix. I think there is a lot of variety in the breed in terms of personality. The one constant theme is that they need a lot of exercise though. Also, socialization is hugely important. A poorly socialized cattle dog can turn into a fear biter very quickly.

My roommate's heeler is a genius, but stroppy with other dogs, especially now that she's older. My new guy is just a year old and gets along with everyone. He's very sweet and cuddly.

[ColoGuy]

What does stroppy mean?

My heelers are about perfect...for me. Their quirks give them personality and amuse me.

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

I just got a heeler mix. I think there is a lot of variety in the breed in terms of personality. The one constant theme is that they need a lot of exercise though. Also, socialization is hugely important. A poorly socialized cattle dog can turn into a fear biter very quickly.

My roommate's heeler is a genius, but stroppy with other dogs, especially now that she's older. My new guy is just a year old and gets along with everyone. He's very sweet and cuddly.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by ColoGuy

What does stroppy mean?

My heelers are about perfect...for me. Their quirks give them personality and amuse me.

Obstreperous. Meaning, they'll put another dog in their place pretty quick.

My roommate's cattle dog is very assertive with other dogs and has definite likes and dislikes.

My little kelpie/cattle dog is a big squish though. He loves everything and everyone.

[Rowan123]

Heelers are great dogs for the right owner. They are not a good choice for everyone. They may not be as high energy as some border collies but border collies are generally easier to train, not as assertive/headstrong and get along with other dogs much better. IMO the personalities of the two breeds are quite different which makes sense in that border collies were bred to herd primarily sheep and heelers were bred to herd cattle by nipping at their heels (AKC registered breed name for them is Australian Cattle Dogs). I happen to really like heelers but not it's not a dog I would recommend for the average family looking for a pet.

[bassetluv]

I had a cattle dog mix for over 15 years - she looked more like a dingo than anything else - and she was the best dog I've ever known. Great personality, loved people, tolerated children well, high energy (even though I wasn't, it didn't turn out to be a problem...there are ways to meet a high energy dog's needs via chuck-it, long walks, dog off leash, etc.), she was very attached to me and my son, and she'd take any opportunity to venture out on her own little walk-abouts if someone accidentally left the back gate open. Overall, she was a happy, happy dog, loved life.

On the negative side of the equation, Kaya never did do well with dogs she didn't know. She only ever had one dog friend (my sister's sheltie mix) and for all others, she'd avoid them, but if they insisted on wanting a meet-n-greet, Kaya would tell them in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested, and would bite - hard - if they kept it up. Only once did she ever bite with the intention of starting a fight, and that several months before she died. She was 15, had cancer, and had arthritis in both hind legs. A young lab/shepherd mix came running up to her in a field, and Kaya immediately snapped at his face. Unfortunately this prompted the young dog to retaliate and try to bite back, which led to a brief fight. The owner of the other dog ran and caught his dog right away, but Kaya was so wound up that I couldn't catch her...she kept running circles around the dog - who was now being held by his owner - and was trying to attack him. This was out of character for her and I didn't understand what had triggered it, at least not until that evening when I finally figured it out. The small tussle between the two dogs resulted in just a small lump on Kaya's head (other dog didn't have a mark on him) but her body was responding with a huge flare-up of pain because of her arthritis...Kaya had become extremely stiff and uncomfortable. I suspect her unusual 'attack relentlessly' response was a direct result of the pain she was in.

Throughout Kaya's life I had no real sense that she would be the type of dog to protect her human, as seems to be one of the typical cattle dog traits, but, it did show up once, and only once. In 2003 I underwent extensive radiation therapy - 7 weeks, plus some chemo - and it left me completely exhausted. I was off work for 5 months, and during the healing process kept trying to gain back some strength. One day, frustrated over being constantly tired, I decided to take Kaya out for a walk, and we wound up going much farther than I should have gone. We ended up in a wooded area that was known for its transient homeless people and drug addicts (I know, why did I go there?) and at a certain point I'd had enough and sat down on a chair that appeared just off the wooded path. Kaya went running through the brush, happy as a clam, exploring her surroundings. As I sat there, trying to get strength back, the bushes in front of me stirred and this rather creepy individual suddenly emerged. When he saw me he stopped and stared, not saying a word, just...staring. Normally this would have frightened me quite a bit, but I was so exhausted that I just couldn't muster up the strength to care. The guy was there for a couple of minutes, and I did wonder what he was going to do next...when suddenly a golden blur of fur burst through the bushes. Kaya, fur standing straight on end from the back of her neck to the base of her tail, was flashing all of her teeth, a strange, guttural growl coming from her throat. She took one look at the guy and went after him, and believe me, he didn't stick around very long. He turned tail and ran, with my dog giving chase closely behind. She returned a couple of minutes later, huge grin on her face and tail wagging. Now THIS was extremely out of character for my girl, as she absolutely loved people and always loved greeting strangers. I guess she sensed something about this guy, and as far as I can tell, she protected me from what could have been quite a dangerous situation. And like I said, this was the only time Kaya ever displayed this type of behaviour toward a human.

Sorry for the length...three years after her death I still miss my girl deeply. I now have a border collie - a goofy, smart as a whip little guy - and I'm finding that the traits of the cattle dog and the border collie are quite similar. At least they have been in these two dogs of mine, with the exception that my border is a bit more high energy, and definitely more nervous and shy - with him it's with both other dogs and people he doesn't know. But as for the cattle dog (heeler), at least with my girl...she was worth more than her weight in gold.

[AnywhereElse]

I had one get loose in town and go after my dog. It was a blue heeler and it would not quit nipping at her body. I now carry a stun gun.

To me, they don't put off the "warm and fuzzy" that I like from my dogs.