Australian Cattle Dogs in NZ by Alastair

Check out the thumbnails of Bluey AKA Merle.
Merle is about 7 years old, her hobbies are walking, sleeping and Possum baiting - she is a murderous woman.
Merle is basically an outdoor dog -she sleeps in a garage and spends all day outside, or in her kennel, she is an excellent guard dog (typical of the breed) and she kills any possums which cross her path (as well as rabbits and rats).

In the early days of colonization in Australia, the first settlers, having limited availability of labor to control the large herds of Cattle that grazed on unfenced properties and rugged bushland, set about to create a breed of dog to assist in mustering and moving wild cattle.

The Dog had to be strong and be able to bite to move the cattle. Initially, the Smithfield was used - an obscure breed with a cumbersome gait and big hanging ears. But it couldn't handle the heat and barked too much - a bad trait in a cattle dog. In the words of an Australian poet it "barked like a consumptive and bit like a Crocodile".

To check out some more pics-click on the thumbnails below

To get around the problems with the Smithfield the Cattle men crossed it with the Dingo, the silent native dog, which with its natural tendency to attack from behind and its ruggedness was a perfect candidate for herding cattle (good cattle dogs should be silent and unlike sheep dogs should not head of the stock but pursue it from behind).

This dog was known as the Timmins biter (Timmins was the Cattle man who started the breed), later experimentation introduced the Dalmatian (for its love of horses and loyalty to its owner and property), as well as the Kelpie - the Australian sheep dog - for its brains and work ethic. The result was the tough intelligent breed we've got today.

Today while still valued as a cattle dog the Heeler is also used as a guard dog and for hunting and a family pet-although they are basically outdoor dogs. They are very good guard dogs - for the home and also commercially - for instance they are used to guard stables in Australia - they are trained for this job from a young age by being severely teased by any "strangers", in later life woe betide any prospective villain who approaches the stables unaccompanied !.

To see the last pics - click on the thumbnails below:

                                  

I've got some excellent links below for Blue Heeler enthusiasts:

For all general information, and links the most authoritative sites is at: www.cattledog.com
Another class site is at: www20.brinkster.com
Some great "family pictures of a well loved pup can be found at: www.expage.com