Pups at Blue Hills Heelers
2003 Litter
Blue Hills Heelers, located in
Justus, Pennsylvania, offers "Blue Heeler" (Queensland Heeler / Australian Cattle Dog) pups. Our Heelers are registered with the National Stock Dog Registry and the Animal Research Foundation. We strive to breed healthy dogs with good conformation, even temperaments, and outstanding color, and we make every effort to assist prospective new owners to find the best pup suited to their expectations and lifestyles.
Blue Hills Heelers' 2003 litter was born on July 29, 2003. Their Dam was Blue
Hills Nellie. Their Sire was Blue Hills Tex. The pups of this litter of 6 included 2 males and 4 females. The photos below show the pups at 4 weeks old.
Heeler pups are born pure white and begin to "color" at about three to four weeks of
age. Typically, the Blue Heeler "blue" body coat ranges from dark to light grey merle (black, grey, and white hairs mixed together) with tan or redish markings on the legs, chest, and sometimes on the face.
Blue Heelers can also have a speckled grey coat, and sometimes the coat will be very light. (This color dog
is called a "ghost dog" by some people because its coat glistens in the moonlight.)
Note: All of Blue Hills Heelers' pups are "Blue." We do not breed for the "Red" coat color.
Pup A (SOLD) - A Female with no mask - At birth, she was the largest pup in the litter. Her body coloring includes a good deal of tan on the chest and lower legs, tan "eyespots" (dots above the eyes), and a tan muzzle. She has a body conformation similar to that of her Sire: a sturdy bone structure and a broad forehead and muzzle. She was a strong pup and was one of the dominant pups in the litter. She was content and seldom whimpered or cried. She would follow a person when called "PUPPY" and she made good eye contact. Although she had a self-assured manner, she was not a "wanderer" or a "loner" since she did not run away from the other pups, but instead allowed them to crawl on top of her to sleep, indicating that she had a good "pack" instinct. Although as an "alpha" type female, she was dominant toward the other pups, she has an affectionate nature toward humans. When picked up, she did not squirm, and she would vigorously lick a person's face. This indicated that she has a low "defense"instinct (non-aggressive) and an accepting nature.
Click HERE to see her photos at age 5 days.
Pup B (SOLD) - A Male with no mask - At birth, he was the smallest pup in the litter but with a sturdy conformation, broad forehead and muzzle. Since he was smaller than his siblings, he had to fight for a spot to nurse. This is nature's way of helping to compensate, as his extra activity helped him to build more muscle. At age 4 weeks, he was no longer the smallest pup but was medium sized within the litter. His body coloring includes a tan muzzle, some tan on the chest and speckled tan on the lower legs. He would seek out close companionship with both other pups and with humans, and he made good eye contact. Since an early age, this pup exhibited a very high "pack" instinct. "Pack" is one of the inherited (genetic) instincts. The higher the "pack" instinct of a pup, the stronger its bond to others, and therefore, the quicker it will form a strong attachment to its owner. Dogs with a high "pack" instinct are generally the easiest to train because they are very attentive to their owners and eager for their owners' approval. Dogs with a high "pack" instinct form strong bonds with their owner and thrive on affection.
Click HERE to see his photos at age 5 days.
Pup C (SOLD) - A Half-Masked Female - This pup has a mask on the left, like her mother. Her body coloring includes a tan muzzle and some tan on the lower legs. She was of smaller size within the litter, with a conformation similar to that of her dam (the shorter, more fine-boned variety of Australian Cattle Dog, commonly referred to as the "Queensland Heeler.") She was an alert and moderately active pup. She made good eye contact. She was not an overly vocal pup and seldom compained about anything in her environment. She would "pack" with the group but was equally content to be removed from the group and held in a lap without squirming. These puppy behaviors indicated that she had an overall "even" temperament and a well-balanced range of inherited instincts.
Click HERE to see her photos at age 5 days.
Pup
D (SOLD) - A Full Masked Female with a black tail - This pup was the largest within the litter and exhibited the conformation of her sire (broad forehead and chest and sturdy bone structure.) Other markings included a dark "spot" on the upper portion of her tail, dark tan on her cheeks, some tan on her chest, and speckled tan on her muzzle and lower legs. Although she was a large pup and exhibited "alpha" behavior toward the other pups, she had a quiet temperament and showed signs of high intelligence. At ten days old, she was a strong pup, the first to "walk" rather than crawl. At 4 weeks old, she was the first to eat solid food. She was
keenly alert to her surroundings and explored her environment, but she returned to the group for sleep, indicating good "pack" instinct. She made good eye contact and was content to "pack" with a human as contentedly as with the other pups. When placed in a lap and petted, she would quickly find a comfortable position and fall asleep. Her birth size, bone conformation, and early growth rate indicate that she will most likely grow to be a larger sized adult.Click HERE to see her photos at age 5 days.
Pup E (SOLD) - A Full Masked Female - This pup had excellent markings and conformation, with a full mask and no other dark markings on the body. Her body color includes tan "eyespots" (dots above the eyes, a common marking in Heelers), tan spots on her cheeks (another common Heeler marking), and tan on the lower legs. She was of medium size in the litter and had a sturdy build and a thick coat. Her energy level was high within the litter and she had a strong pack instinct and high intelligence. She was very people-oriented and thrived on affection. She made excellent eye contact, understood the word "PUPPY," and would quickly follow a person. Her favorite place to sleep was in someone's lap or curled up on a person's feet. This pup had a vocal nature that may be partly explained by her birth order. She was the first pup born but had to wait for quite some time to nurse, because her mother became busy immediately giving birth to another pup. She continued to be vocal when she thought she was alone, and she would often "sing herself to sleep." As with all puppy behaviors, "puppy complaining" decreases as a dog grows older, and by adulthood puppy behaviors disappear (i.e. adult dogs do not cry at night.) This pup was chosen as a companion as a house pet, as her temperament indicated that she would make a strong, devoted attachment to her owner. (This pup's mother has this type of personality -- a "velcro dog" that would rather be with its owner than do anything else.)
Click HERE to see her photos at age 5 days.
Pup F (SOLD) - A Full Masked Male - This pup's mask is asymetrical. His coloring includes a tan muzzle, tan "eyespots" (dots above the eyes, a common Heeler marking), dark tan from jowel across cheek, and tan on the lower legs. He was medium-to-large in size, with a long muzzle. His temperament was mild but he had a high energy level and was an "explorer." This independent nature may carry over as he becomes older. Since he did not mind being alone, he was an ideal candidate for an owner who has no other pets. Dogs with this disposition generally do not experience "separation anxiety" to a great degree when living with persons who must be away from home for a portion of the day (at work, etc.) Such pups usually take to "crate training" with little or no difficulty, often becoming very fond of their crate (a large wire cage that is initially used at night and when the owner is away as an aid in house-breaking a pup.) Some dogs enjoy having their own "den" and adopt their crate as their favorite sleeping place as adults (with the door open and a dog bed inside.) Many dogs with an independent nature have a relatively low "pack" instinct, which means that they can sometimes become "strong willed" adults, particularly if they also have very high intelligence. Such a dog has the ability to "think for himself," which can get him into mischief when left home alone with nothing to do. A strong-willed dog is not the ideal candidate for a family with very young children, or for an owner who has never previously raised a dog from a pup, because he may need firm handling and obedience training. However, this pup's behavior was not dominant within the litter, and he was not a vocal pup, which indicated that he could develop a relatively "laid back" attitude as an adult. (This pup had the same combination of personality traits as his sire -- a dog with this high-energy, high-intelligence personality is a quick learner, always willing to learn new fun things to do with his owner.)Click HERE to see his photos at age 5 days.
Send email to Blue Hills Heelers: Blue-Heeler@worldnet.att.net
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Web page created by Dee Allen / Last updated on 1/20/05