Australian Kelpie – Focused Specialist

The Australian Kelpie goes back to collies imported to Australia from Scotland. In particular, a black & tan-colored bitch named “Kelpie” laid the foundation for the entire breed. From the beginning, when selecting the breeding animals, attention was paid to a dark color and excellent work performance.

The Australian herding dogs are real specialists in their field and can run with incredible endurance. The demands of the Australian outback have produced a dog of extreme toughness and efficiency. The Kelpies bred in this country are also robust, motivated, and willing to perform.

The Australian Kelpie is highly intelligent and learns new things at lightning speed – both desirable and undesirable. He has a very low stimulus threshold, is always attentive, and uses all his senses in his environment. The Kelpie has to live out its strong herding instinct. If he doesn’t have a real herding job, he will declare bicycles, cars, joggers, or even the children of his human family to be herding objects.

Australians are known for their excellent loyalty and trainability. However, they have a very special nature, which makes keeping and training them difficult for owners without herding dog experience. The Australian Kelpie is very active and likes to exercise, but with the right workload in his free time, he likes to be a cuddly dog. Thanks to its close bond with people, the medium-sized working dog usually finds it very difficult to stay alone.

The appealing appearance with the alert, attentive look and the clear focus on its people has brought the Kelpie a lot of attention in recent years. However, it is by no means suitable for keeping in the city and as a pure companion dog.

The Australian Kelpie is a herding specialist who should have regular opportunities to “work the sheep”. A possible alternative can be hat ball training. Not for all Kelpies, this is a good enough substitute for working with the live animal. Agility and obedience are also dog sports that suit the Kelpie. Whether they are sufficient over the long term to satisfy the Australian’s enthusiasm for work and herding instincts depends on the individual dog.

Unfortunately, without suitable exercise, extensive exercise, and work for the head, the Kelpie quickly develops bad habits and creative behavior. This can be dominant or even aggressive behavior, destroying furniture and objects, or skipping actions such as chasing your own tail.

The Australian Kelpie has a relatively short, dense coat made of a robust topcoat and a warm undercoat. Brush him twice a week and daily when he changes his coat. It is also advisable to check the ears, eyes, and claws.

The breed, selected for robustness, has only a few hereditary diseases for which breeding must be tested. These include certain hip joint diseases and pathological changes in the eyes. Kelpies can live up to 15 years if they are cared for properly and fed and exercised appropriately.