Border Collie x Blue Heeler???

[New Mom]

Does this look like a Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix to you??? He's 5 1/2 mos. old, 33lbs.

[Gideon's girl]

He very well could be. BTW, he's very handsom.

[New Mom]

Thanks! I was told that dad is a tri colored border collie and mom is a blue heeler. I can see both breeds. But others have questioned it. I was just curious what people on here thought.

[Gideon's girl]

I've had blue heelers too, and he is shaped just exactly like my boy was.

[New Mom]

 

My mom has his sister (this is her pic) and several people have told her that she is hound not border collie.

[New Mom]

i'm sorry the pic ended up being huge if you click on it. i don't know how to make it smaller.

[Liz P]

They do look a bit more like Catahoula Leopard Dog cross bred pups to me. Catahoulas are rather hound like in appearance.

[gcv-border]

My first impression was also a bit of hound in there. It is very hard to tell from just the face. They are both very cute.

 

Jovi

[Gideon's girl]

The ears are a bit big. I don't know what kind of hound would give you that dark coloring and not give you ears more like a coonhound. But they might also be seeing something in how it moves or something else, IDK

[waffles]

My first thought was some hound would be in there too. Big floppy ears and his snout is pretty square for a BC and a heeler. They are both very good looking so it shouldn't make any difference what they are.

[Dragoon 45]

Here in Oklahoma, there is a trend by some Ranchers to cross Red or Blue Heelers with BC's. They say the crosses tolerate the heat better when working cattle in the summer heat. The Heeler part gives better heat tolerance, while the BC part gives more herding ability. My understanding is this started in South Texas and those BC/Heeler crosses are called Texas Heelers.

 

 

Does this look like a Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix to you??? He's 5 1/2 mos. old, 33lbs.IMG_1152.JPG

[PSmitty]

He's super cute, but my guess wouldn't have been BC/cattle dog if I didn't know that's what he's supposed to be.

[mrenee]

They do look a bit more like Catahoula Leopard Dog cross bred pups to me. Catahoulas are rather hound like in appearance.

 

This was my first thought, too.

[Cindy Evans]

Here's a picture of my 14 year old. She's a border collie with hound ear. Border collies do come with hound ears.

[Liz P]

There is a difference between drop ears, which some BCs have, and hound ears, which are larger and more rounded.

[JaderBug]

They do look a bit more like Catahoula Leopard Dog cross bred pups to me. Catahoulas are rather hound like in appearance.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking... the eyes, muzzle, and ears all say Catahoula to me

[Gideon's girl]

But Catahoulas aren't black and tan dogs. The mother was known to be a blue heeler. Something has to give it that coloring.

[Liz P]

Actually, most of the Catahoulas are black and tan, but they also tend to be MM or Mm. It may be that one parent was a mixed breed. It's common to cross various breeds for working cattle. Also, a lot of the "blue heelers" you see on working farms are mixes and not purebred in the AKC sense of the word. It's possible these pups are mixes of mixed breed dogs.

[geonni banner]

Yup, look at these...

http://www.bconnex.net/~langevin/html/our_favorite_pictures.html

[Gideon's girl]

Wow! 100% of the Catahoulas that I have seen down here have been what I think of as harlequin or spotted. I've never even heard of them being black and tan.

[Liz P]

They are genetically often black and tan, but are also frequently merle or double merle. The merle gene modifies the base colors, making them appear what you are calling harlequin and spotted. There ARE solid colored dogs in the breed, but breeders don't seem to like them so they aren't as common.

[Gideon's girl]

Cool!

[New Mom]

The dad is a tri colored border collie. She said that the mom is a blue heeler. Most of the pups in the litter looked like blue heelers. The two we got were the only two that were mostly black and tan.

[mrenee]

I've noticed that for whatever reason a lot of people mix up blue heeler and catahoula mixes, maybe because catahoulas aren't as well known as heelers. If the mom is said to be a heeler mix it could be she's actually a catahoula mix. And also, are you certain the dad is a tri color BC? If this is the result of an accidental breeding it could be there is more than one father to the litter.

 

Regardless of what breed they are they are adorable puppies, I'm very jealous, I can't wait to get my puppy.

[Murray Momma]

Super cute pup! Murray is a BC/Auzzi Shep (similar to blue heeler) and has a similar coloring but totally different fur and ears. I'm a sucker for any dog with eyebrows.