Australian Kelpie dog

As matriarch of the breed, the kelpie is a descendant of collies (a general term for herding dogs in England) brought from England to Australia around 1870. It was a very successful competitor, and so its puppies were in high demand. It is quite possible that the collies were crossed with the early herding dogs of different breeds. The presumption that dingoes were crossed with a collie is, however, rather unlikely.

Working Kelpie

One variant of the Australian kelpie is the similar-looking working dog, the working kelpie. It is bred in practice and for practice, without the participation of racial breeding associations. As a house dog, the working kelpie can be problematic because it desperately needs a hands-on task.

Kelpies are among the few breeds that run, if necessary, on the backs of sheep. There is no breed standard that describes the appearance for the working kelpie. The main criterion is the breeding of working skills.

Description

The Australian kelpie is 43-51 cm wide, weighs up to 20 kg, and comes from black-brown collies. These dogs have erect ears and coarse fur. The Kelpie has short fur, with or without undercoat. All colors and markings that occurred historically in the development are allowed in the fur.

There are kelpies with the following colors: black, black and tan, blue (from dark to light), blue and tan, red (chocolate brown) to light red, red and tan, fawn (dark to light), fawn and tan, and cream (golden brown) and cream colors.

Badges range from dark brown to cream, and vary in size. Most European Australian kelpies are purely monochromatic. It is entirely possible that this is because the genetic composition of a black female produces brown, black, blue and fawn-colored puppies in a litter.

Temperament

The Kelpie is an eager, yet tranquil dog of great intelligence and independence. It is alert, but is not an overly protective dog. When it receives the necessary employment it is a good, spirited family dog, though it does require consistent training. It is very human-and child-related. In general, the Kelpie is very compatible with other dogs, and does not seek controversy.