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The Kelpie is an Australian sheep dog that has proven very successful at herding and droving with little or no command guidance in Australia and in the mountainous areas of New Zealand. They are medium-sized dogs and come in a variety of colors. Kelpies have been exported throughout the world and are used for herding sheep, cattle, goats, ducks, and other livestock.
The breed has split over time into the Show Kelpie and the
Working Kelpie. The Show Kelpie is the variety that is seen at
conformation dog shows. They usually have little or no herding
instinct or skill. Show Kelpie breeders tend to call their
breeding establishments kennels, whereas Working Kelpie
breeders tend to call their breeding establishments
"Studs" in a similar way to cattle and sheep Studs.
Working Kelpies are registered with the Working Kelpie
Council (which is the primary authority on the breed standard)
and/or the State Sheepdog Workers Association. The Working
Kelpie cannot be shown. The Show Kelpie is registered with the
Australian National Kennel Council; it can only be bred with
other Show Kelpies and never back to the original Working
Kelpies. This means that never again can the Show Kelpies have
the working ability from the original working Kelpie lines
legally bred into their bloodlines without a major rule
change.
Appearance: The Working Kelpie comes in three coat
types, smooth, short and rough, with almost every colour from
black through light tan or cream. Many Kelpies have white
blazes, a few have white points. Kelpies used to have a double
coat, but this has largely disappeared, possibly due to
environmental factors. Agouti is not unusual, and can
initially look like a double coat.
Ears are usually pricked, but about 20% will have one or
both ears flopped; the tail will often follow the coat type,
and will vary between smooth to bushy. Cosmetic features have
no relationship to the dog's working ability, so stockmen
looking for capable working dogs usually disregard the dog's
appearance.
Show Kelpies are restricted to solid colours (black,
chocolate, red, smokey blue, fawn, black and tan) in a short
double coat and pricked ears. Different kennel clubs' breed
standards have preferences for certain colours, so what is
acceptable for show dogs in some venues might not be
acceptable in others.
Working Kelpies stand about 50cm (19.5 inches) at the
withers for females, 55cm (21.5 inches) for dogs; weight would
be between 14-21Kg (31-46lbs). Show Kelpies are generally
heavier and shorter.
The sheer variety of colouration and coat type puts the
Kelpie in a select group: it is not possible to look at an
unidentified dog and classify it as a Kelpie—or something
else.
Temperament: Kelpies are loyal, friendly,
intelligent, problem-solving dogs and make excellent pets.
However, they do need to be stimulated—idle and bored dogs
become frustrated and destructive, no matter what breed they
are. Walks and socialisation are more than sufficient to keep
them happy, but agility and ball games bring out the best—as
with any breed.
The Working Kelpie typically has an abundance of energy and
deep endurance. It will often drove a mob of sheep over sixty
kilometers (37 miles) and upwards in extremes of climates and
conditions.
Kelpies are very agile: Working Kelpies are renowned for
running along the backs of sheep when moving them through
chutes. Show Kelpies generally excel in agility trials.
A Kelpie is not an aggressive dog, but family pets will
protect their family with no regard for themselves.
Health: Kelpies are a hardy breed with few health
problems. Having said that, there are some disorders common to
all breeds, like Cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, Cerebellar
Abiotrophy and luxating patella, which reputable breeders
check every litter for. Naturally, any dog can get sick, so
have your dog vaccinated for things like Parvovirus, Distemper
and Rabies (Australia is currently free of Rabies).
History: It is important to understand that the
ancestors of the Kelpie were simply (black) dogs, called
Colleys or Collies. The word "collie" has the same
root as "coal" and "collier (ship)". Some
of these Colleys were imported to Australia for stock work in
the early 1800's, and were bred to other types of dogs
(including the odd Dingo), but always with an eye to working
sheep without direct supervision. Today's Collie breeds were
not formed until about 10 or 15 years after the Kelpie was
established as a breed.
We should note that the first Border Collie was not brought
to Australia until after Federation, in 1901.
Some people claim that Kelpies have some Dingo blood. One
possible reason for this belief is that, in areas where it is
illegal to keep dingoes as pets, some dingo owners register
their animals as Kelpies or Kelpie crosses. It should be noted
that Kelpies and Dingos are very similar in conformation and
colouring. There is no doubt that some have deliberately mated
Dingos to their Kelpies, and much opinion holds that the best
dilution is 1/16-1/32, but that 1/2 and 1/4 will work. Given
that the Dingo has been regarded as a savage sheep-killer
since the first white settlement of Australia, it is not
surprising that few—if any—would admit to the practice.
The first "kelpie" was a black and tan bitch pup
with slightly floppy ears bought by Jack Gleeson about 1860
from a litter born on Warrock Station near Casterton, owned by
George Robertson, a Scot. This dog was probably named after
the mythological kelpie from Celtic folklore. Legend has it
that "Kelpie" was sired by a Dingo, but there is
little evidence for or against this. In later years she was
referred to as "Gleeson's Kelpie", to differentiate
her from "King's Kelpie", her daughter.
The second "kelpie" was "King's
Kelpie", another black and tan bitch out of
"Kelpie" by "Caesar", a pup from two
sheep-dogs imported from Scotland. Again, there are legends
that these two sheep-dogs may well have never seen Scotland,
and may well have had Dingo blood. "King's Kelpie"
tied the prestigious Forbes Trial in 1879, and the strain was
soon popularly referred to as "Kelpie's pups", or
just Kelpies.
There is no Red Cloud Kelpie, beloved of Western
Australians. There was a famous "Red Cloud" in the
1900's, and during the 1960's another "Red Cloud"
became very well known in Western Australia. This started the
tradition in WA of calling all red or red and tan Kelpies Red
Clouds.
Breed standards: As is the case with many breeds of
dogs that are still used for their original purposes, breed
standards vary depending on whether the registry is more
interested in a dog who performs his job superbly or a dog
whose appearance meets an ideal standard. It is possible for a
dog to do both, but his options for competition in
conformation shows might be limited depending on his ancestry
and on the opinions of the various kennel clubs or breed clubs
involved.
For example, in Australia, there are two separate
registries for Kelpies. The Working Kelpie Council encourages
breeding for herding ability, and allows a wider variety of
coat colors than does the Australian National Kennel Council,
which encourages breeding for a certain appearance and limits
dogs to certain colors, apparently promoting solid colors over
others. The WKC does not permit Working Kelpies to be shown.
As another example, in the United States, the Kelpie was
recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club for a while,
but currently the AKC (which promotes standards based on the
dog's appearance) does not recognize the breed, and the North
American Australian Kelpie Registry[2], which promotes the dog
as a working breed, does not appear to want the breed to be
promoted by the AKC. Sweden also does not permit Working
Kelpies to be shown.
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