Can a heeler be blue AND red?

Question

I adopted mine so I don't know her genetic background, but her entire head, belly, and legs all the way to the top are typical red heeler coloring, and her back has the salt-and-pepper blue heeler coloring. I've never seen so much red on a blue heeler. Her body and face shape look just like Australian Cattle Dog to me. Is she probably a mix, or does this ever happen with pure (or mostly pure) ACDs?

Answer 1

I've seen a red and blue cattle dog, but it was a mix. Generally pure cattle dogs with good bloodlines are red or blue. Blue having tan markings, and red with red markings. It is possible though that your dog is 75% or more acd with just a touch of another breed. This might dilute the color.

(for pictures of a red/blue mix look up Hasfurrychildren on www.flickr.com)

Answer 2

The Cattle Dog's coat comes in a variety of markings, sometimes quite striking. The coat has a bluish appearance, (hence the name). This is caused by the mottling of colour all over the dog's body, with the exception of the areas of solid colour. The solid colour is found in the facial mask and perhaps in a saddle or a few large splashes on the body. The rest of the dog is covered with hairs which are alternately coloured and white, like the hair on a roan (sorrel) horse. This mottling is also found in collies that are merle in colouration. But unlike merle collies, this colour in Cattle Dogs is not accompanied by odd-coloured eyes and irregular albino patching. The blue coat of a cattle dog shows an even disposition of colour, with regularly-placed denser areas of dark colour showing up as spots, inherited from the Dalmatian ancestry.

The Cattle Dog is generally blue, with ginger feet, ginger spots on the legs, and some of the ginger colour on the face and underparts. The alternate colour is red. A "Red Heeler" has no blue whatsoever. Its body is flecked with red and white, its mask is red and if it has patches on the body, they are red also.

Answer 3

A blue heeler is simply another name for an australian cattle dog. they can be blue or red or mixed in coloring.

this is from www.akc.org

Color (Blue)
The color should be blue, blue-mottled or blue speckled with or without other markings. The permissible markings are black, blue or tan markings on the head, evenly distributed for preference. The forelegs tan midway up the legs and extending up the front to breast and throat, with tan on jaws; the hindquarters tan on inside of hindlegs, and inside of thighs, showing down the front of the stifles and broadening out to the outside of the hindlegs from hock to toes. Tan undercoat is permissible on the body providing it does not show through the blue outer coat. Black markings on the body are not desirable.

Color (Red Speckle)
The color should be of good even red speckle all over, including the undercoat, (neither white nor cream), with or without darker red markings on the head. Even head markings are desirable. Red markings on the body are permissible but not desirable.