The giant blue heeler of Muswellbrook, New South Wales

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I’ve written a few discussions about some of Australia’s giant icons so thought you might like this one. It is a 2 metre high statue of an Australian Cattle dog or Blue Heeler. Graziers and cattlemen wanted a dog capable of coping with the extreme conditions of the outback whilst having the ability to control the big herds of cattle which roamed wild and free on the stations and which were mustered perhaps once or twice a year. In the 1840s, stockmen began crossing the dingo with the Northumberland Blue Merle and came up with the ideal working dog. Recognition for the establishment of the breed varies depending on the source you consult but in Muswellbrook, a monument has been erected to acknowledge the contribution to the stockman’s life by the blue heeler. These are high-energy dogs and best when they have a job of work to do. They are intelligent and not given to barking much. They are cautious and wary of strangers and make good watchdogs. There are now ‘red’ heelers which are a mix of brown and white hairs rather than the black and white mix of the ‘blue’ heelers. We haven't visited this site yet and the image is from Wikimedia, courtesy Annette Teng [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons