The Australian Cattle Dogs, also known as Blue Heelers, started long ago in the land down under. Though many still debate to this day the heritage of the Blue Heeler, it is said that they began from the aboriginal Dingo. The Dingo is Australia's version of a coyote. It has been said that the Dingo's were taken from their mom's at an early age, hand reared by the aborigines, and taught to hunt and track.
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| Dingo |
In the early 1800's the first settlers had limited availability for laborers and were having difficulty controlling the large herds of cattle that grazed on wide open unfenced land. So they decided to give the Smithfields a chance at herding the cattle. The Smithfields could not tolerate the heat, were slow on their feet, scared the cattle with continuous bark, and bit the cattle too severely.
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| Smithfield |
Then a man named Timmins came up with a plan to cross breed the Dingo with Smithfield. Which resulted in a great silent cattle herding dog with one fault. If the dog wandered out of the owners sight, it would chew the cattle to pieces.
After introducing a rough haired collie into the mix, they soon realized the new breed was going for the cattle's head which caused them to run wild. That soon died out.
Then came the imported smooth haired blue merle Highland Collies who were bred into the dingo blood infusion from above. The new breed resulted in the Dingo's trait to creep in from behind, nipping at the heel until the stubborn cattle decided to rejoin the herd without the tearing them to shreds part! Instinctively the new breed would flatten itself out on the ground after nipping the heels to avoid any kicks lashed out. Alas, the perfect cattle dog.
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| Smooth Haired Blue Merle Highland Collie |
So why not leave well enough alone? The cross breed wasn't all that friendly with horses or humans. There is always room for improvement, right? The Dalmatian was soon bred into the mix to give them a good rapport among the horses (and humans). Once this gene was introduced, it created a friendlier dog that was born primarily white only to obtain markings at around 3 weeks of age.
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| Dalmatian Picture Credit |
As much as the Dalmatian's influence improved the working relationship with humans and horses, it didn't come without consequence. Some of their working ability was lost with this new cross. No problem, they had a solution! After admiring the working ability of the black and tan Kelpie, they decided to add them to the mix.
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| Black and tan working Kelpie Picture Credit |
All of these breeds together in perfect balance obtained a line of hard working, friendly, agile, high stamina, highly intelligent, beautifully marked, controllable, dogs that could tolerate heat.
Whala! And now you have an Australian Cattle Dog. Interesting huh?
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| Australian Cattle Dog Picture Credit |
So why the title new birth?
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| Female Sissy (left) Male Charlie (right) |
1 Mom + 1 Dad
Equals 9. (that's homeschool math)
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| Born on Sept 19, 2014, we have reserved homes for all puppies! (the darkest puppy didn't make it) |
Yes, we have new puppies!
Is all of this part of homeschool lessons? Heck yes!
Is all of this part of homeschool lessons? Heck yes!
***Update on Pete****
The new baby kitty from last blog.
He is off meds and doing great. Eating crunchy food. Though we are pretty sure he will be on the "Baba" forever.
Pete got to meet new puppies. New mom (Sissy) was welcoming and also in booty-licking-bathing-the-litter-Mom-mode-so she gave him a good bath. (Which he really needed!) He wasn't too happy about it.
"I really enjoy having the new puppies. The most interesting thing is that they have Dalmatian in them! It was sad when we took them to the vet because I could hear them yelping when they had their dew claws removed. Some of the new owners wanted their tails docked. I like them with tails!"~Katie 8 years old
"I really enjoy having the new puppies. The most interesting thing is that they have Dalmatian in them! It was sad when we took them to the vet because I could hear them yelping when they had their dew claws removed. Some of the new owners wanted their tails docked. I like them with tails!"~Katie 8 years old
Oh all this fuzzy baby goodness going on around here is just good for the soul!
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