heeler
1
5.5
- noun
- /ˈhiːlər/
- US
:
perro pastor
- We took our heeler on a hike, and he loved running alongside us.
- a blue heeler
- a red heeler
- heeler dog
Examples
-
The energetic heeler chased after the cattle, nipping at their heels.
-
I had someone ask me one time if my Red Heeler was a pit bull.
Blog text (29) -
All blue heelers are Australian cattle dogs, but not all Australian cattle dogs are blue heelers.
-
I have a blue heeler pup who steals socks from the laundry baskets, just socks.
Blog text (23) -
The dog was pretty big—a heeler mix of some sort, probably 45-50 pounds.
Blog text (25) -
Three puppies belonging to one of the blue heelers went in a pack basket, the runt inside Jack's coat, for he loved a little dog.
Fiction book (2000) -
We have two other dogs, a 3-year-old, 45 lb collie/blue heeler mix and a 2 1/2-year-old, 15 lb schnauzer mix, with whom he plays all day.
Blog text (26) -
My blue heeler helps me herd the cattle every evening.
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
heeler = heel (transparent) = heel + er
Agentive '-er' on the verb 'heel' yields an animate noun meaning 'one who heels (nips at cattle)', which is directly inferable.
Etymology
Heeler comes from heel ('back of the foot') plus the agent -er, and was first used for dogs that 'nip' at the heels of cattle to move them. So a heeler is a working dog trained to herd cattle by biting or nudging their heels.