The History of the Blue Heeler

Blue Heelers, otherwise known as Australian Cattle Dogs, are a versatile and intelligent breed. These dogs are able to perform many different jobs and make wonderful, loving, loyal companions. Bred for the harsh conditions of the Australian outback by early settlers, these dogs are excellent herders.

The first attempt at breeding a dog suitable for the environment in Australia was by a man named Timmins. He crossed the Smithfield, (a heavy, black dog with floppy ears and white around the neck) with the Australian Dingo. Timmins was aiming to breed quiet working dogs. What he got were red bob-tailed dogs that were terrible biters and had the reputation of killing the cattle they were herding. They were dubbed “Timmins Biters”.

Ranchers tried a second time to create a usable breed for the ranches of the Australian outback when they crossed the Dingo with rough collies. Unfortunately, this union was not a good match either because the breed barked so much, working the cattle into a frenzy, the ranchers would find them pounds lighter when the got the cattle to market.

Some years later, Thomas Hall of New South Wales imported a couple of Blue Smooth Highland Collies in 1840. They were better than the Timmins breed but still had poor heading habits. Hall later bred a Dingo with a dog from the litter of the 2 collies. The resulting pups were blue or red speckled and were known as “Halls Heelers”.

It was Jack and Harry Bagust who introduced Dalmatian to the mix. They bred a Hall’s Heeler bitch with a Dalmatian. While successful, these dogs were not quite as skillful as the original breed. The brothers liked the working ability of the Kelpie and added this blood to the Heelers which gives the breed of today their bits of tan and brown. The white stripe or “blaze” on the forehead is referred to as the “Bentley Mark”. Tom Bentley’s dog was a purebred of the Hall strain and reputed to be “beautifully built and an incredible worker”.

Dr. Allen McNiven, an Australian veterinarian, thought these dogs had become softer than their original breed. In 1940, he bred the Heeler with a bit more Dingo blood. Although, these dogs, referred to as McNiven’s dogs, were heavily imported by US ranchers for work as cattle dogs, McNiven’s reputation had been tarnished because of crossing purebreds with the Dingo. He was banned from showing and his dogs removed from the registry by the Royal Agricultural Society Kennel Council.

The first clubs formed for the Heeler began in the 1960’s due to the categorizing of the AKC. Unhappy with being in the Miscellaneous Group, Christina Smith-Risk and Ester Ekman formed The Queensland Heeler Club of America which was later changed to The Australian Cattle Dog of America. The American Kennel Club took over the registry in 1979 and the breed became fully recognized in 1980.