Characteristics Black and tan Kelpie Chocolate brown Kelpie Appearance The variety of colouration and coat types puts the Kelpie in a select group, as it is not possible to look at an unidentified dog and classify it as a Kelpie.[citation needed] Kelpies referred to as Red Cloud Kelpies have red features with white markings on the face, chest, and feet. Breed standards Breed standards vary depending on whether the registry is for working or show Kelpies. 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. In Australia, there are two separate registries for Kelpies.[citation needed] Working Kelpies are registered with the Working Kelpie Council (WKC), which is the primary authority on the breed standard, and/or the State Sheepdog Workers Association. The WKC encourages breeding for working ability, and allows a wide varie ty of coat colours. The Working Kelpie cannot be shown, due to the wide standards allowed by the WKC. Show Kelpies are registered with the Australian National Kennel Council, that encourages breeding for a certain appearance and limits dogs to certain colours. Only Show Kelpies may be shown in Australia. Breed Standards Outside Australia In the USA, the Kelpie is not recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC). The North American Australian Kelpie Registry, which promotes the dog as a working breed, does not want the breed to be promoted by the AKC. Kelpies are recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) in the United States and may compete in UKC events. The Svenska Working Kelpie Klubben also does not permit Working Kelpies to be shown. Working Kelpies Kelpie walking across the backs of sheep An Australian Kelpie competing in a cattle dog trial, Woolbrook, NSW. Kelpie going back down a race to move the sheep forward. The working Kelpie comes in three coat types, smooth, short, and rough, with almost every colour from black through light tan or cream. Some Kelpies have a white blaze on the chest, a few have white points. Kelpies sometimes to have a double coat, which sheds out in spring in temperate climates. Agouti is not unusual, and can look like a double coat. Working Kelpies stand about 50 cm (19.5 inches) at the withers for females, 55 cm (21.5 inches) for males; weight would be between 1421 kg (31-46 lbs). Ears are pricked, but a few will have one or both ears flopped; the tail will often follow the coat type, and will vary between smooth to bushy. The dog's working ability is unrelated to appearance, so stockmen looking for capable working dogs disregard the dog's appearance. A working Kelpie can be a cheap and efficient worker which can save farmers and graziers the cost of several hands when mustering livestock. The good working Kelpies are heading dogs that will prevent stock from moving away from the stockman. This natur al instinct is crucial when mustering stock in isolated gorge country, where a good dog will silently move ahead of the stockman and block up the stock (usually cattle) until the rider appears. The preferred dogs for cattle work are Kelpies, often of a special line, or a Kelpie cross. They will drive a mob of livestock long distances in extremes of climates and conditions. Kelpies have natural instincts for managing livestock. They will work sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, and other domestic livestock. The Kelpie's signature move is to jump on the backs of sheep and walk across the tops of the sheep to reach the other side and break up the jam. A good working Kelpie is a versatile doghey can work all day on the farm, ranch, or station, and trial on the weekends. Kelpies compete and are exhibited in herding trials, ranging from yards or arenas to large open fields working sheep, goats, cattle, or ducks. Show Kelpies Show Kelpies are restricted to solid colours (black, ch ocolate, red, smoky blue, fawn, black and tan, red and tan) in a short double coat and pricked ears. Different kennel clubs'[citation needed] breed standards have preferences for certain colours. Show Kelpies are generally heavier and shorter than working Kelpies.[citation needed] Temperament Kelpie competing in a dog jumping class Kelpies are loyal, friendly, intelligent, energetic dogs that require a challenging job to be satisfactory companions.[citation needed] They need to be stimulated as idle and bored dogs become frustrated, noisy, and destructive.[citation needed] With personalised love and attention, they can be very placid and faithful, although they do need space to run.[citation needed] For the show or bench Kelpie, walks and socialisation may be sufficient to keep them happy.[citation needed] A working bred Kelpie must have a job to do and plenty of exercise and mental stimulation to remain healthy and companionable. A Kelpie is not aggressive towards people an d cannot be considered a guard dog, though he will certainly bark when necessary.[citation needed] Working Kelpies may nip when working stock and should be taught early not to do so to humans.[citation needed] Working bred Kelpies have done quite well in dog sports, search and rescue work[citation needed], and can be good family dogs if they receive sufficient physical and mental exercise. The breed is unsuitable for a sedentary life and would not thrive in an apartment setting.[citation needed] Show Kelpies generally excel in agility trials and may be shown in conformation in Australia. 'Riley' an Australian Kelpie set the world record for dog jumping when he jumped 2.91 metres at the Casterton, Victoria Kelpie Festival. In his previous 30 high jumping competitions he was only beaten twice. Health Kelpies are a hardy breed with few health problems, but they are susceptible to disorders common to all breeds, like cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, cerebellar abiotrophy and luxat ing patella. Current research is underway to find the genetic marker for cerebellar abiotrophy in the breed.[citation needed] History Sign at Ardlethan, New South Wales, claiming the town as "The home of the Kelpie" 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 collies were imported to Australia for stock work in the early 1800s, and were bred to other types of dogs (possibly including the occasional 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, with the first official Border Collie not brought to Australia until after Federation in 1901. Kelpies have been claimed to have some Dingo blood; as it was illegal to keep dingoes as pets, some dingo owners registered their animals as Kelpies or Kelpie crosses. It should be noted that Kelpies and dingoes are very similar in conformation and colouring.[citation needed] There is no doubt that some have deliberately mated dingoes to their Kelpies, and some opinion holds that the best dilution is 1/16-1/32, but that 1/2 and 1/4 will work. As the Dingo has been regarded as a savage sheep-killer since the first white settlement of Australia, few will admit to the practice. The first "Kelpie" was a black and tan female pup with floppy ears bought by Jack Gleeson about 1872 from a litter born on Warrock Station near Casterton, owned by George Robertson, a Scot. This dog was 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 never have seen Scotland, and may 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. The King brothers joined another breeder, McLeod, to form a dog breeding partnership whose dogs dominated trials during 1900 to 1920. There were a number of Kelpies called 'Red Cloud'. The first and most famous was John Quinn's Red Cloud in the early 1900s, and then in the 1960s another "Red Cloud" which became very well known in Western Australia. This started the tradition in Western Australia of calling all red or red and tan Kelpies, especially those with white chests, Red Cloud Kelpies. See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Australian Kelpie Red Dog (Karratha) Working Group (dogs) Sheep husbandry References ^ THE SHOW KELPIE ^ Complete Breed List ^ Farming Ahead, Learning t o train your four-legged workers, February 1997 ^ Parsons, A.D.Tony, The Working Kelpie, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1986 ^ Messner, Andrew, Green Gully Historical Report, NSW Dept. of Environment & Conservation, 2006 ^ The Sun-Herald, 27 July 2008, Wonder dog Riley banned for simply being too good, p.15 ^ "COAL etymology" ^ "COLLIE etymology" ^ THE KELPIE STORY ^ Early Australian Working Kelpie History ^ a b CROSSBREEDING DINGOES WITH SHEEPDOGS - PAGE 2 ^ a b Parsons, AD, The Working Kelpie, Nelson, Melbourne, 1986 ^ The Kelpie Foundation & John D Jack Gleeson ^ Historical Sheepdog Trials ^ Hey dogs Retrieved 2009-11-6 External links Working Kelpie Council Photographs of the officially recognised Show Kelpie coat colours Genetic basis of Kelpie coat colours Casterton, 'Kelpie Country' Home of the annual Australian Kelpie Muster and Festival Kelpies around the world WorkingKelpie.eu Australian Kelpies in Hungary Australian Kelpies Kennels in Holland KelpieNet: Australian Kelpi es in Finland Australian Kelpie in Holland North American Australian Kelpie Registry Svenska Working Kelpie Klubben Svenska Australian Kelpie Klubben v d e Breeds of pastoral dog Herding and droving dogs Australian Cattle Dog Australian Kelpie Australian Shepherd Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog Basque Shepherd Dog Bearded Collie Beauceron Belgian Shepherd Dog (Groenendael) Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois) Belgian Shepherd Dog (Tervuren) Bergamasco Berger Picard Bernese Mountain Dog Blue Lacy Border Collie Bouvier des Flandres Briard Canaan Dog Co da Serra de Aires Co Fila de So Miguel Catahoula Bulldog Catahoula Leopard Dog Catalan Sheepdog Collie (Rough) Collie (Smooth) Croatian Sheepdog Dutch Shepherd Dog English Shepherd German Shepherd Dog Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Icelandic Sheepdog Koolie Lancashire Heeler Lapponian Herder McNab Miniature Australian Shepherd Mudi New Zealand Huntaway Old English Sheepdog Polish Lowland Sheepdog Puli P umi Pyrenean Shepherd Shetland Sheepdog Spanish Water Dog Tornjak Welsh Corgi (Cardigan) Welsh Corgi (Pembroke) Welsh Sheepdog White Shepherd Dog Livestock guardian dogs Akbash Dog Anatolian Shepherd Dog Bucovina Shepherd Dog Co de Castro Laboreiro Carpathian Shepherd Dog Caucasian Shepherd Dog Central Asian Shepherd Dog Estrela Mountain Dog Great Pyrenees Kangal Dog Karakachan Dog Karst Shepherd Komondor Kuvasz Leonberger Maremma Sheepdog Mioritic Polish Tatra Sheepdog Pyrenean Mastiff Rafeiro do Alentejo arplaninac Slovak Cuvac South Russian Ovcharka Spanish Mastiff Tibetan Mastiff Categories: Dog breeds | Herding dogs | Animal breeds originating in Australia | Dog breeds originating in AustraliaHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from June 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from January 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from August 2008 | Artic les with unsourced statements from October 2007
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