Australian Kelpie
Dogs
Australian Kelpie
Australian Kelpie |
A red and tan working-line Kelpie
|
Alternative names |
Australian Sheep Dog
Barb
Kelpie |
Country of origin |
Australia |
Common nicknames |
|
Classification and breed standards |
Not recognized by any major kennel club |
This breed of dog is
extinct |
Notes |
|
The Kelpie is an
Australian
breed of
sheep dog that has proven very successful at
herding sheep 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 Australian Kelpie and the
working Kelpie. The Australian is the variety that is seen at dog shows.
Appearance
The Kelpie's short double coat has a thick undercoat
and a weather-resistent outer coat. The coat comes in seven colors: black,
chocolate, red, smokey blue, fawn, black and tan (from dark brown to a light
cream), and red and tan -- in the 'Australian' the colour should be solid; the
'working' can have the colours either solid or with tan, and occasionally with
small white markings. 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. The colour has no relationship
to the dog's working ability, so ranchers
looking for capable working dogs usually disregard the dog's colour.
Kelpies stand between 17 and 23 inches (43-58.5 cm) at the
withers and
generally weigh from 24 to 45 lbs (11 to 30 kg).
Temperament
They are clever, loyal, and friendly and typically have an abundunce of
energy. A working Kelpie often works sixty kilometers (37 miles) and upwards in
extremes of climates and conditions. They are renowned for running along the
backs of sheep when moving them through chutes.
Health
Kelpies are a hardy breed with few health problems. For more information
concerning the healthissues in this breed, click on this link:
[1]
History
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. Another support for this belief is that the Kelpies
seem to be immune to the poison of Australian ticks (a tick from the New South
Wales coast can kill a healthy
Alsatian dog ). Similar immunity display the
dingoes. However,
the breed is most likely a cross between Scottish sheepdogs and smooth-haired
collies of the
past.
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
dog 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
[2] 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.
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[3],
which promotes the dog as a working breed, does not appear to want the breed to
be promoted by the AKC.
Gallery
Australian Kelpie, chocolate brown
[1]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home | Up | Affenpinscher | Afghan Hound | Africanis | Aidi | Airedale Terrier | Akbash Dog | Akita Inu | Alano Español | Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog | Alaskan Klee Kai | Alaskan Malamute | Alaskan Husky | Alpine Dachsbracke | American Bulldog | American Cocker Spaniel | American Eskimo Dog | American Foxhound | American Hairless Terrier | American Mastiff | American Pit Bull Terrier | American Staffordshire Terrier | American Staghound | American Water Spaniel | Anatolian Shepherd Dog | Appenzeller Sennenhund | Argentine Dogo | Artois Hound | Australian Bulldog | Australian Cattle Dog | Australian Kelpie | Australian Shepherd | Australian Silky Terrier | Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog | Australian Terrier | Azawakh
Dogs, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
|