New Mexico Adoptable Australian Cattle Dog Courtesy Postings

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Australian Cattle Dog, Queensland Heeler, Red Heeler, Blue Heeler, Dingo, Australian Heeler

These are all names by which these dogs have been called. When the first standard was drawn up and the first official registry established the breed had to be given a name and "Australian Cattle Dog" was chosen. The dogs working Australian cattle came with a variety of names, some local variations, some more widespread. The name "Australian Cattle Dog" acknowledges the widespread usage of the dogs and their Australian origins without putting one local variant of the name ahead of the others. Nevertheless many of the other names have survived as "nicknames" for the breed and in some places are the more commonly used name. New nicknames, such as "Dingo" which is popular in parts of the American west, occasionally pop up to further confuse the issue.

Despite the plethora of names, they are all still the same breed and the official name is "Australian Cattle Dog". Many people, unfamiliar with the history of the breed and its names, believe that the different names designate different breeds, in other words that "Blue Heelers" are actually distinct from "Australian Cattle Dogs", an understandable misconception.

There are a lot of dogs out there working on farms and ranches and not registered with any of the dog-registering organizations. Many of these dogs are purebred Australian Cattle Dogs or mixes of Australian Cattle Dogs and other herding dogs. Frequently the unregistered dogs are more likely to go by a locally used nickname than by the official breed name and frequently the ranchers and farmers with these dogs don't much care what the official name is. Their interest is in the dog's working ability and they call it whatever they please. They may not know or care that the "official" name for their Blue Heeler is "Australian Cattle Dog" and as the dog is never going to be registered anywhere it doesn't really matter. Personally I think they can call their dogs whatever they want and who are we to tell them that the name they're using is wrong. As long as people are not spreading misinformation, perhaps something along the lines of insisting that Blue Heelers and Australian Cattle Dogs are completely distinct breeds, I do not feel that the name used is all that important.