Cattle Dog Conversations

The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) or blue/red heeler is a breed becoming more common in our pet dog population. Lucklily its one of my favorites! As much as I enjoy their quirky personalities, I also see that they can be a difficult breed for many to own. As a working breed assigned as your new shadow, the ACD has a sharp mind, loyal heart, and strong sense of justice. I like to say mine is my personal assistant who's convinced he could do my job better than me.

Meet Turtle! This is my handsome little assistant.

Something I find generally endearing, and sometimes annoying, is that these guys are talkers. Turtle trys as hard as he can to plead his case through woos and screams that he should be given his evening enrichment food toy early. He whines and chirps his sorrows when he has to wait patiently to come out of the car when we get to our trailheads to hike. In short, he talks.

The more cattle dogs I train, the more I see this is a breed trait. When we have other cattle dogs in our home for training, they'll talk to each other. As I began writing this, Turtle was playing with our foster dog, Turbo. Turbo is also a cattle dog in part, is just as chatty as his new pal, and they were growling and yipping as they played tug with a stuffed octopus. Many owners would be worried that they sounded "upset" or "mad" but they were just communicating. You have to pay attention to the whole picture of body language, vocalization, and actual contact being made. These boys were loose bodied, and primarily shoulder bumping in between tugging and throwing paws. Their tails were wagging loosely from the base with a wide sweep from side to side. Everything was mutual and, therefore, fun.

Full of BIG feelings, heelers can be super expressive in multiple ways. This is a breed full of quirks and high expectations, so be ready to feel judged and smoothered in love. If your Australian Cattle Dog's big feelings stress you out, reach out for help learning to communicate with your spicy best friend.