CAPTION
The Australian Cattle Dog was developed in New South Wales in the 1870s by selective breeding from the blue-mottled Scotch Collie and Australian Dingo cross, through the Dalmatian and Black-and-Tan Kelpie. The characteristics of stealth, courage and endurance made the ‘blue heeler’ ideal for mustering cattle in rugged and unfenced regions by quickly and silently ‘heeling’ the herd, nipping at strays and quickly responding to command.