Australian Kelpie

Australian Kelpie

Australian Kelpie

Australian Kelpie

Australian Kelpie

The Kelpie is an Australian sheep dog successful at mustering and droving with little or no command guidance. They are medium-sized dogs and come in a variety of colours. Kelpies have been exported throughout the world and are used to muster livestock, primarily sheep, cattle and goats.

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.Kelpies referred to as Red Cloud Kelpies have red features with white markings on the face, chest, and feet.

Temperament: 

• Kelpies are loyal, friendly, intelligent, energetic dogs that require a challenging job to be satisfactory companions. 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. 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 and cannot be considered a guard dog, though he will certainly bark when necessary. Working Kelpies may nip when working stock and should be taught early not to do so to humans.

•  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.

•  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 2.95 metres at the Casterton, Victoria Kelpie Festival. In his previous 30 high jumping competitions he was defeated only twice.