One....OK, Twice.....really?

[HOSS]

Three times? How can this be?

I have a 3 year old Red Heeler that is a tough SOB no question. I have seen him take a kick from a cow that knocked hide and hair off of him and he gets right back up and at them. I have seen him take on two of my neighbors boxers at the same time. He weighs 40 lbs and they were probably 70lbs each. He sent them both home on the run with bloodied ears and necks. He put a pretty bad whipping on a friends Catahoula Leopard dog on Friday and sent it yelping back through the open window of my friends pickup. But that is not what is leaving me wondering if this dog is not really a dog but maybe a wolf or something. Last night is the 3rd time he has taken on and killed a full grown coon all by himself. Two big boars and a sow coon so far. He has come out of each without a scratch that I could find with the exception of a small cut on his nose the first time he tangled with one as a year old pup. I was able to witness the fight last night in the lights of my 4 wheeler. The first two where behind the barn and by the time I heard the commotion and got around there with a flashlight it was over. It seems he is so fast and agile they cannot keep up with him. He feinted left, switch directions in what looked like mid air and grabbed the coon by the back of the neck, clamped down and shook him until I assume his neck broke. I have had big hounds that have killed coons before but never without getting a bit of their own medicine in return. This is my first Heeler and I am very surprised by their intelligence, toughness and loyalty. Anybody have similar experiences with a heeler?

 

[dieselbeef]

they dig and dig and then they dig some more..and when they get done diggin..they find a place to go dig

 

[cow pollinater]

I had a pup that went to the animal emergency room on Saturday morning to get the shattered teeth pulled out of his lower jaw after he went after a horse. Sunday morning we took him back to do the top half after he went after the same horse.

 

[skyhightree1]

I let my coonhounds fight the coons and kill during training and season.. dogs not being cut by coons happens more than you would think. good fast while dogs do that often.

 

[Jogeephus]

I can't praise mine enough. Just wish he had thumbs. He's tough as nails but is getting a little soft with age. Smart as a whip. Only dog I've ever owned that will sit patiently in a deer stand and alert me when the deer are coming long before I see them. Glad to see it the breed and not him because I'll surely get another if ....God forbid.....something happens to him.

 

[TCRanch]

Is he full Heeler? We have a Lab/Greyhound mix someone dumped at the ranch when he was around 10 - 11 weeks old. He's up to 65 lbs but will take out coons, coyotes, armadillos and last year even an adult beaver - which he subsequently ate.

 

[HOSS]

I can't praise mine enough. Just wish he had thumbs. He's tough as nails but is getting a little soft with age. Smart as a whip. Only dog I've ever owned that will sit patiently in a deer stand and alert me when the deer are coming long before I see them. Glad to see it the breed and not him because I'll surely get another if ....God forbid.....something happens to him.

If they had thumbs they would be really dangerous :lol2: It is amazing how smart they are. He knows exactly what I am talking about almost human-like. Weird and cool things he does:

Kills wasps.....the more they sting him the madder he gets. He will jump up into the air and catch them and eat them.
Will attack the tractor tires when I tell him to even though it is parked. He will not chase a moving tractor, car or bike.
Will kill snapping turtles if he catches one away from the water. He basically keeps biting at the back end of it until he gets into the vitals.
Watches over my 7 year old son like he is a secret service agent.

 

[HOSS]

Is he full Heeler? We have a Lab/Greyhound mix someone dumped at the ranch when he was around 10 - 11 weeks old. He's up to 65 lbs but will take out coons, coyotes, armadillos and last year even an adult beaver - which he subsequently ate.

He is a purebred. My veterinarian used to raise RH pups. I got one from the last litter that she had.

 

[M.Magis]

A friends family had one years ago. It was loyal to a fault. If anyone pulled up the driveway he would bite at their tires, barking and growling. You didn't dare get out of the vehicle until someone came out, and then he was fine. He even flattened someone's tire once. Once the grandkids started being born, they decided he had to go. Even while playing he could be rough and they weren't willing to chance it.

 

[Jogeephus]

I know the secret service routine. Must be their nature. Someone grabbed my daughter once while unexpectedly roughhousing. Eli shot across the driver's seat and out the door and caught the guys arm and stopped the assault. 17 stitches in the dumbazzes arm. You don't lay a hand on anyone in my family if he is around.

 

[Nesikep]

My friend has a red heeler.. not a well trained dog, unless chasing a Kong or pine cone is considered trained.. he is *exceptional* at it... a lot of hockey teams could use him in the net and be ahead!.. you can't kick a pine cone past him, no matter how hard you try.

I had a blue heeler years ago, again, not well trained, but he was a good dog.. he loved attacking the water from the sprinklers.. and we have REALLY high water pressure here.. after 20 minutes of that he'd look like an overfilled water balloon.

For digging.. nothing digs more than my neighbors dachshund weiner dog.. all 4 pounds of her do nothing but dig all day when they're up here, and she's 14 years old.. she has slowed a bit in the last couple of years.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Our old Red Healer killed a lot of coons. Hated like hell to lose him. Got a pup now guess we will see how he turns out.

 

[Jogeephus]

For digging.. nothing digs more than my neighbors dachshund weiner dog.

I believe Flash, my old Basset Hound, could beat the dachshund in a digging match any day. Someone gave him to us...or should I say pawned him off on us. I loved the dog but he had the front yard looking like no man's land in France during WW1 within two weeks. A visitor really liked him and my tender heart told them they could have him and my wife even agreed and packed his toys.

 

[cow pollinater]

I know the secret service routine. Must be their nature. Someone grabbed my daughter once while unexpectedly roughhousing. Eli shot across the driver's seat and out the door and caught the guys arm and stopped the assault. 17 stitches in the dumbazzes arm. You don't lay a hand on anyone in my family if he is around.

I have two pure queenslands and one that is over half right now. One of them will grab the front fence and shake it to get at people but it's a bluff and once they get in he is pretty friendly as long as they stay calm. The two quiet ones will sit in the corner of the yard and wait to see who belongs and who doesn't and good luck if you don't belong. :mrgreen:
One of them is the protector of all babies on this place. My wife got after her a few times for going after chicks and she figured it out. My kids learned how to walk next to her and when we have little ones around she dotes on them to the point where their own parents have to get me to tell her to let them handle their own kid. She only goes with me when I have to handle cattle on foot as she won't do anything unless they come after me and then it's he!! unleashed until I'm safe again.

 

[Nesikep]

For digging.. nothing digs more than my neighbors dachshund weiner dog.

I believe Flash, my old Basset Hound, could beat the dachshund in a digging match any day. Someone gave him to us...or should I say pawned him off on us. I loved the dog but he had the front yard looking like no man's land in France during WW1 within two weeks. A visitor really liked him and my tender heart told them they could have him and my wife even agreed and packed his toys.

Of course the Basset hound will dig a bigger hole... but not pound for pound

 

[Jogeephus]

Isn't it in both their natures to dig? Flash just just didn't seem to grasp our discontent with his digging. He even seemed right proud of his craters. :lol2:

 

[chippie]

my daughters dog is a mutt heeler catahoula mix. he turned a year old in May and he has killed 5 coons and 3 possums since the end of June. He is a silent killer.
He usually sleeps in the house at night. Sunday night around 10, he was still outside. When I checked on him, he was laying in the front yard with a dead possum.
I haven't lost any chickens since he started working. My husband is really happy with the dog.
We have a big varmint problem since the Brazos River went out of it's banks. It displaced a lot of animals.

 

[Backbone Ranch]

Our 11 month old Blue Heeler just ran into her first skunk two days ago. She got sprayed in the face while I was cooking breakfast. I quickly turned off the stove and grabbed the gun. She was right there beside me when I got outside and she ran up behind it again; she almost took a chunk out of it. She went back for round three before I was able to put a bullet in the skunk. I don't know if she is just protective or has no common sense... maybe some of both.

 

[Jogeephus]

I hate to say it but its been my experience heelers think skunks smell good.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I hate to say it but its been my experience heelers think skunks smell good.

So do collies, except they have more hair to absorb the scent.