I have a dog. His name is Rocky. When I got him at 7 weeks old, the people I got him from didn’t know what kind of dog his dad is, as his mom had been impregnated by 2 different males. So, upon arriving home I posted a picture of him on my Facebook page.
I received several opinions as to what Rocky could possibly be mixed with, Australian Shepherd, Blue Heeler (from my daughter), and a few others. I’d never heard of Blue Heelers, so decided to research the breed, paying close attention to the temperament. I also wanted to find out if there was any special considerations I would have to take into account regarding training, meals, habits, etc.
What I learned is that Blue Heelers (aka Australian Cattle Dog, Red Heeler or Queensland Heeler) are extremely intelligent, loyal, and protective. Because certain breeds have to be away from their handler in order to perform their “job”, herding, retrieving birds, ducks, chasing raccoons, etc., they have to be able to figure out ways of getting around obstacles they may encounter without a human to guide them. And, believe me, Rocky is a problem solver!
He is a very keen animal, constantly observing his surroundings and should something be out of place, gives a low “WOOF” to alert me of the fact. He also wants to know what he should do– whether he should remain on guard or can he relax while remaining vigilant just in case?
Rocky has a strange sense of humor, which makes me laugh at his antics. He’s not the type of dog that goes running and rolling in anything he sees, but because of his level of intelligence and problem-solving abilities, I am more often than not amazed at how he figures out what to do.
For example, I would put him in the bathroom when I’d leave to go to the doctor’s because I don’t believe in crating dogs, and he wasn’t housebroken yet so I could not let him wander around the apartment while I was gone. Three weeks of my doing this, and (as anyone who has a dog knows!) I went to the bathroom. Rocky naturally has to accompany me, and he starts to sniff around. He discovers a pj top that I’d hung on the door handle, so he grabs it with his mouth and gently pulls. Discovers that it moves! Yay!!!!
Because it moved, he slowly started walking out of the bathroom, keeping the pj top in his mouth, and closed the door behind him as tight as it would go. The pj top prevented the door from closing tight, and once it wouldn’t move, Rocky proceeded to let go of the top, and scampered away from the door. It was almost as if he was saying: “Ha! Got you now! How do you LIKE being locked away?”
No matter how much I called him to come open the door, he would not come near the bathroom. What he didn’t realize is that I have the capability to turn the knob and get out by myself. I’d just wanted to see if he would “release” me from the prison he’d put me in!
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Originally Published on Twisted Politics
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