He so cuteee but he so evil

Loves to chomp my feet at 1 am every night lol

All my life I’ve seen, mostly “older people”, with a dog that they treated like a human child.
Well here we are. My wife and I are empty nesters. A few months back we acquired “River” she’s an ACD and she was 6 weeks old. On the way to pick her up my wife says “this is going to be YOUR dog”, “YOU are going to be responsible for her”, etc. River slept in our bed that night at my wife’s insistence.
So now, as River is 6 days from turning 6 months old, my wife refers to herself as “momma” when speaking to River. River jumps into the shower with my wife who bathes her, we keep a steady supply of snacks on hand (in the house, in the vehicles and in the camper), we’ve turned into the middle-aged couple with a dog that we treat like a human child.
I got River for the purpose of having a companion while fly fishing in the mountains. River has turned out to be so much more, she’s our baby, a family member!
Something I didn’t expect but wouldn’t change for anything.

Meatball doesn’t tolerate Halloween costumes, so we make do with some creative photoshoots :)

He was offended by me offering to help him. Off he went with some side eye 😂

I've tried multiple different brands of shoes/boots. However they are either too small to fit his feet in because most dog boots go by length and width and he had quite tall but small paws so they fit his paw pad but not the height of his paws Or much too large and they end up being too loose on his paws and moving about which isnt ideal. Hes very sensitive to prickles and also im in Australia so dont want him burning his paws on hot days. I use Mushers secret but its currently not helping with the prickles.

Picture of the best fitting ones so far. But slightly too big for his paws and an effort to squeeze his paws in. His paws are 5.5cms wide and 6cms long but about 4cms high at the knuckles

Supposedly he is full heeler, (mom was red, dad was blue, so purple heeler?). A local family got him then had to move into smaller place, and then my family got him. I don' know how much I trust the people I got him from or the people they had gotten him from, but a recent post got me curious. He is ~35 lbs and 3 years old.

All the mental descriptions check all the boxes. He certainly is brilliant, tireless, a little too intense and a bit of a jerk. I've had Aussies and German shepherds, but he is in his own category of back talk and brilliance.

So what is he?!?

I used to have a rat terrier and they had 2 types (A and B). Just wondered if there was anything similar- mine is just so leggy.

Picture is from mine following me on the edge of the pool judging my vacuuming skills. Something bit the end of the vacuum pole, but it couldnt have been him. He wasn't even looking my direction.... :)

Sota doesn’t care what season it is as long as we are out in it.

What do y'all do in the winter when it's cold and possibly snowy? Do your pups wear coats or boots or just brave it if it's above a certain temperature? And what are your go-tos for indoor entertainment so we both don't go crazy!

Does anyone else have a pee hand standing ACD? She is half ACD and 1/4 malamute 1/4 husky. I sometimes think she does it because she is pissed she is a shorty.

He's completely unapologetic!

This is how he looks at me when I'm holding one of his toys😂

My biggest struggle is when I take a shower, we go for walks and a car comes, and when I watch TV.

He barks/lunges/snaps at me (to the point that I was actually afraid of him for awhile) when I was trying to close the door to take a shower. Since getting him on trazodone, he just barks for about 5-ish minutes straight then calms himself. If I miss a dose or don’t give enough (at least 225mg) we basically start at square one. He’s gotten smart and kept directly at my feet when it comes time so he can try to sneak into the bathroom behind me. He can’t be in the bathroom because I have electric baseboard heat and he likes to try to bite at the water coming from the faucet, leading me to pull him away. Many burned clothes later I decided it’s best he’s not in the bathroom with me. It’s been 2 years of this behavior alone.

When we go for walks he lunges at cars and barks at them. We live in a small neighborhood, but people go too quickly and I think he might be scared? Or just mad they don’t listen to him? I’ve tried an electric/training collar, which has only succeeded in him now being reactive to anything that beeps, including trying to bite the air conditioner remote from my hand during warmer months (because he knows it’s going to cause a beep from the sleeve air conditioner that I have-I can’t even open the drawer I keep it in without him barking sometimes). If I try to push the buttons on the air conditioner itself instead he “heeler screams” and barks. He reacts when it’s time to take the cover on/off also.

I watched the movie Shrek nearly a year ago, probably more. He’s been reactive to the TV ever since. He will lunge at it, put his feet on the bookshelf I have it on and hit it with his nose to the point I think he’s going to knock the TV over and break it. I’ve had to hold the TV in place because I thought it was going to fall while I pulled him back.

I’ve worked with a trainer, and it didn’t help. He just started reacting sooner and louder because he knew that when he went behind the baby gate, or I gave him a high-reward treat it meant I was going to take a shower. When I watch TV (the little I try) he has to be on the leash, which just makes him “heeler scream” when he doesn’t like something and the only thing that gets him to stop is me turning the TV off, so I’ve taken to watching a lot of YouTube or TikTok videos on my phone.

I can’t even use an electric screwdriver to hang a picture without him loosing his mind and barking. I use the coffee grinder in the morning and he barks while I do that for 10 seconds.

I’m quite literally at my wits end and don’t know what to do.

I’d love to see the dog who ignited your love affair for the breed!

This is my original ‘Red’ dog circa about 1997
Bred by us here in Australia

Old school traditional working type with the narrow head and shallow stop to defend against flying hooves… very different from the broad boxy show type heads of my boys now!

If I had a dollar for every time someone got scared thinking he was a dingo 😂

He was the first dog that was my very own and I loved him endlessly, consequently I’m now on my fourth Red and wouldn’t have anything else.

Share your gateway Cattle Dog!

Cattle dog mix, from a dog shelter. Wonderful friend and constant companion.

Anyone have issues walking their heeler?