Australian Kelpie

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Australian Kelpie is an Australian sheep dog who thrives at mustering with little or no command from his master. These medium-sized dogs come in a variety of colors. The Australian Kelpie as also known as Australian Sheepdog, Australischer Kelpie, Kelpie and Barb.
The Kelpie breed has two distinct varieties: the show or bench Kelpie and the working Kelpie. The show Kelpie as the name suggests is seen at dog shows and most of the time they are selected for their appearance than their working attitude. Working Kelpies, on the other hand, were bred for their wonderful working ability.
These highly intelligent dogs are fairly easy to train but without proper leadership, they can become independent and take over the pack. They thrive on work given to them which means they are required to be given challenging activities that would stimulate their mental and physical capabilities.

Color

This dog's coat color comes in a variety of colors. This includes Black, Black/Tan, Black Chestnut, Chocolate, Blue Gray, Blue, Fawn and Dark Chestnut.

Coat

The Kelpie's double coat consists of a short and dense undercoat with a hard, straight and weather proof other coat. They are average shedders. The working Kelpie, different from a show Kelpie, comes in three coat types: smooth, short and rough. Most Kelpies have a white blaze on their chest while a few have white points.

Personality

These dogs are friendly, loyal, intelligent and highly active that requires a job that is challenging to be delightful companions. They should be given challenging jobs as they need to be stimulated. Otherwise, they could become bored dogs and develop unwanted behaviors. They can be faithful and very placid with love and affection. They should always be stimulated physically and mentally to remain healthy and companionable. This dog is never aggressive towards people and cannot be used as a guard dog but they will bark when necessary. The working dog Kelpies does very well in dog sports, search and rescue. Given enough physical and mental exercise along with proper leadership, they can be good family dogs. The dog is not suitable for an inactive family and apartment living.

Care

The Kelpies are very easy to groom. Brushing and combing occasionally should be enough to keep them looking good. Bathing should only be done whenever necessary to avoid losing it's natural oils from their all-weather coat which could lead to skin drying. They are moderate shedders. A common problem with this breed includes Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) which is a retinal degeneration that could cause partial to total blindness. Although they are considered a healthy breed, they are still susceptible to health issues which is common to all breeds like hip dysplasia, cerebellar abiotrophy, cryptorchidism and luxating patella.

Training

These dogs are very intelligent making them fairly easy to train; however, they tend to use their own initiative. This makes these dogs less compatible than some other breeds. The dog needs to have respect for their owners while having a good relationship with them. One of the dog's extraordinary abilities is to solve complex problems. They work well in unsupervised conditions. They would usually anticipate what is needed in a situation that sometimes they act before a command is given to them. Amazingly, they are usually successful getting it right. Training should be kept challenging and interesting as this dog are quick learners but they can get bored easily when training becomes too easy for them. As a strong and intelligent breed, this dog tends to take over the pack leader when they see that no one is filling up that position. A calm assertive energy should always be carried around these dogs while providing them proper leadership. It is important that these dogs trust you enough that they are confident that you can keep them safe from any harm.

Activity

These working dogs require plenty of exercise and activities. They thrive on jobs given to them. They are extremely highly active dogs. They won't stop working or running until they run out of energy. Thus, these dogs need to be taken on very long daily walks. They are very suitable as a jogging or biking companion. However, it is important that these walks emphasize who is the pack leader by not allowing the dog to walk ahead of the human, getting in and out of doors should also be the same and focus of the dog should be on the human at all times. As a highly active dog, they are not recommended for apartment living. These working dogs need a large secured open space to run around and more preferable with a job to do. Their weather proof coat makes them suitable to live in locations with extreme climates. With a secure and safe kennel, they can live outdoors.