heeler

Etymology

heel + -er

noun

1. A gamecock that strikes well with its heels or spurs.
2. A quick runner.
   That a crowd of Sydney stealers, Jockeys, pugilists and spielers Brought some horses, real heelers, Came and put us through. 1891, Banjo Paterson, An Evening in Dandaloo
3. A dog that readily comes to heel.
   If your dog is a good heeler, you'll find some competition in the obedience ring. 1999, Ted Baer, Communicating with Your Dog: A Humane Approach to Dog Training
4. (US, slang, politics, dated) A dependent and subservient hanger-on of a political patron.
   The army of hungry heelers who do their bidding. 1886, Theodore Roosevelt, “Machine Politics”, in The Century
5. The rodeo performer who ropes the steer by its hind feet after the header has turned it.