A.C.D.S.C.N.Q Discussion Board

What happened to the term "Blue Heelers"? when I was growing up in the bush everyone called them Blue Heelers. If you said ACD, no one would know what you where talking about. Is ACD a term mainly only used by breeders and show people? Do people who use them as working dogs still call them Blue Heelers, or has that changed? Or was my area, (western NSW) the only place that called them Blue Heelers?

The title Australian Cattle Dog is the only "official" name for the breed.This name is recognised by all Kennel Controls throughout the world. The names like Blue Heelers, Red Heelers, Queenslands, Queensland Blues,Blueys,etc all refer to the same breed. I have heard them called all sorts of names, some you couldn't print here!

The stockmen I know don't take much notice of what kennel controls say. As far as I know their fathers called them Blue Heelers, or red heelers, as do they. I wonder how many stockmen call them ACD's. Seems like a bit of a flashy term, just wondered who uses it nowadays other than city breeders and people who show them, I've been out of the bush for some time, maybe they are all calling them ACD's now, I don't know.

Cattle people up here still call them "Blueys" - as we do when generalising - as I imagine most ACD breeders do when not talking Kennel Control Council stuff - or to other breeders. Where abouts in western NSW are you? We have some stock down that way - email us!

The term Blue Heeler is probably more prominent than A.C.D. here in the States, especially among stockmen and ranchers. However, it is generally the case that these Heelers are not the same as the registered ACDs. They are more often related to the McNiven heelers which had more dingo blood infused or re-introduced in them by a California veterinarian. These dogs got registered by kennels that are, shall we say less prominent than our American Kennel Club.
This should not be taken to mean they are not good dogs, but in closed registry kennel clubs, the American Kennel Club chose to make sure the dogs were traceable directly to Australia. Not sure that adds much to the discussion, just that we have another twist here where the terms really are not interchangeable as much as appears to be the case in Australia.

In my time growing up with cattle dogs [another term] my parents called them cattle dogs and to my kmowledge of the bush in aussie still to this day the old hands call them cattle dogs,But as jonno says, here are some terms used by ringers and owners of cattle dogs,Mongrel ,stay behind you #^*%@,get out frontyou?:}{_)(*&,and the the most popular is get under the house, this can also be used on the female of your life but dont say i said so. regards Ralph

They're called this because they are blue and they heel