Blue Heelers/ACD

Does anyone have ACD's? Would you recommend them as a farm dog? Pros? Cons? Pictures? I have been wanting a dog on the farm that can be outside with me and I won't have to worry about them getting stepped on. (I have small chihuahuas who don't know that cattle shouldn't be messed with) I'd like a dog that can ride the 4wheeler with me or go with me when I go horse back riding. That can help with the cattle. The absolute must is he must get along with our current small dogs and my fiance's mix dog and our farm cat.

Does an ACD possess these traits? I'm looking at puppies and want to make sure I'm making the best choice for me, the farm, my family and our way of life.

Here are the puppies I looked at yesterday and am suppose to go back and look at more closely today. Today I want to see them playing and interacting together. I'm leaning towards both puppies on the left of the pictures.




I will try to take better pictures when I go back out today.

Cute puppies!

I had, briefly, an ACD as a kid before it went back to the farm from whence it came after it quickly became apparent that it needed more exercise and room to run than a two working parent subruban family with young children could afford. He was a really great dog personality-wise -- just got destructive when bored and under exercised.

They have a lot of energy, not necessarily a problem if you've got the time and the space for them. The only thing I know that I would caution you about is that, as is suggested by their name, they were bred to herd cows and do so by nipping at their heels. They do this by nature, not training...the one we had would herd us children around using this method. I guess cows dont mind this(?), but many horses would, so you'd need to train the dog not to do this with your horses. But otherwise, they're probably a great farm dog...that's what they were bred for.

I think there are several ACD owners on this forum... Puppy & Dog Forums. They could probably give you more detailed answers than my general knowledge/limited experiences.

my friend has one ! shes really cute & really sweet. she brings her out to the barn & doesnt have a problem with any of the horses

they def do need a lot of space to run around to get all that energy out =]

Id much rather go with a border collie. They are smart, dont bite, have loads of energy, and are a good family pet aswell.

They are high energy farm dogs, I think they are great dogs when given an outlet for all that energy.Not exercised enough and any dog will be a little bit crazy, also remember they can be little heel nippers. I do believe in adopting and not supporting breeders but that is your choice.

my friend just adopted hers from an ACD rescue =]

ACD? Does that stand for Austrialian Cattle dog? LOL I am not trying to hijack the thread, just wondering if so I have one lol

After talking if over with my fiance and thinking about all the blue heelers I've met, we've decided we're getting one. We viewed them again today and I think we chose well. We won't get him until the end of Nov/beginning of Dec. (no negative comments, please!)

I'd like you to meet Wyatt:

My only comment is that he is ADORABLE! I love puppy faces. Congratulations and I hope you have many good years of doggie/horsey happiness.

Definitely check out Dogforums.com. They have lots of really knowledgable people (and of course a few requisite forum blowhards) who know tons about puppy training/raising.

Also, Horse Illustrated recently had an article on how to train dogs to respect your horses' space/ get along with horses. Here's the online versions of the article.

Dogs and Horses

Range Rovers: Riding With Dogs

One of the reasons I considered a ACD is because my fiance's best friend has two of them and they are always so sweet and laid back. A friend of mine has one, and most recently a friend of ours aquired one. Here's how.

He's a farmer/rancher (our friend) and he saw this blue heeler on the side of the road. Thinking it belonged to a hunter, he didn't stop to mess with him. A week goes by and the dog is still there in the same spot! So he finally decides that this dog must have been brought out into the country and just dropped off. He takes the dog home, feeds him, bathes him, and gives him a home and two weeks later, this dog is as loyal as they come. The guy didn't want a dog but it seems the dog chose him, so he took the blue heeler (that he named Toby) to the vet, got his shots, and now the dog goes everywhere with him.

I feel sad and happy for Toby all at the same time. Sad because he had some real crappy ownders to drop him off in the middle of nowhere and because he was so loyal, he wasn't going to leave that spot no matter what. Just sure his owners were going to come back for him. And happy that he's been given a second chance, with a wonderful guy that will provide him a wonderful new home. And happy that Toby had enough heart left over to give humans a second chance too. I'm just in awe each time I see Toby.

Anyways...just wanted to share his story.