Lancashire Heeler
A very small cattle dog that drove stock by the heels and killed rats between jobs. It has a lifted lip that owners insist on calling a smile.
Photo by Svenska Mässan, CC BY 2.0
Overview
The Lancashire Heeler is a small droving dog that moved cattle by nipping heels and also killed rats, which is an unusual combination of terrier and herding function in one animal. It is the smallest of the British herding breeds.
It is on the UK Kennel Club's vulnerable native breeds list with very low annual registrations, and it was only fully recognised by the AKC in 2024.
Temperament
Alert, clever and cheerful. Heelers are affectionate with their families, good with children, and they have a distinctive lip curl that looks like a smile and is used in greeting.
They are terrier and herder together, which means they nip at heels, they bark, and they chase. They are intelligent and biddable and they enjoy training, and they can be reserved with strangers.
Care and grooming
A short weatherproof coat, a weekly brush, moderate shedding. Very easy.
Primary lens luxation and collie eye anomaly both have DNA tests and both occur in the breed, and the very narrow gene pool makes testing genuinely important. Patellar luxation is also seen. Twelve to fifteen years.
Living and exercise
An hour a day plus mental work. They enjoy agility and obedience and they are sturdier than they look.
The rarity is the main obstacle. Numbers are low enough that a breeder search is measured in months, and the gene pool question is worth raising directly.
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