Q. What is a “Blue Heeler?”
A. A Blue Heeler is another name for the Australian Cattle Dog. A third name is the Australian Queensland Heeler.
Back in the 1830s, Thomas Hall, a squatter in Australia with two blue merle Smooth Collies imported from Scotland, bred them to a Dingo. The Collie-Dingo crosses were excellent workers and the best were retained. The red or blue offspring were called Hall’s Heelers and proved to be tough, silent drovers.
Further breeding experiments continued, incorporating crosses to the Dingo, Dalmatian, Australian Kelpie and even the Bull Terrier. By 1893, the breed we know today as the Australian Cattle Dog had been created.