4Kelpies

For such a new Kelpie owner you've described the breed so well. I love my Kelpies for their enthusiasm for life, their intelligence and willingness to please me. They have opened up more social life and allowed me to meet more people and provided challenges for me through training and trialling. I'm basically lazy and while I'm happy to walk twice a day and work sheep, when I come inside I want dogs that can chill out and will sleep (at least one at my feet) while I am on the computer or reading a book. I would get fed up with dogs who want to be played with or entertained all day and I'm not into constant fetch games. I love their general athleticism, soundness and good health, easy care coats that come clean with very little help from me, their ability to get along with each other, the way they want to be with me but don't suffer separation anxiety when I leave them, the warmth they throw out on cold nights when they snuggle up beside me. And they come in very handy when I need to do any work with sheep. I would hate to have to run around the paddocks to bring sheep in without them.

Niques do you have any news about your boy?

Oh the joys of working dogs. When I did agility I had to be so careful not to move towards my Kelpie Tia or she would break out even further, sometimes going over the ring rope and taking an obstacle in the next ring. Fortunately the ring wasn't in use at the time. I only wish I could get that kind of distance when working sheep. I could never use food as a reward anywhere near obstacles, she just wouldn't look at it. If your dog likes the squeaky ball, make the most of it. Tia loved tunnels and I would use this as a reward for contacts - by asking her to go to a contact, use the word "touch" meaning two feet on the contact and two on the ground and after a pause would tell her to "go tunnel." I occasionally used a clicker for this but didn't really need it, she would be quivering on the contact just waiting for the release and fly into the tunnel. Just make it all a game. Maybe she would respond and come in closer to you if you have her chase you. You'll probably be able to work out how close you can get to her on course. One to two metres isn't really all that far away from you. I used to run Tia a lot further than that from me. On most of the courses I was just sending her on an arc over several obstacles and running to different meeting points on the course and then sending her out again. Not many people are fast enough to run with a Kelpie.

Fences. I live on a property too but wouldn't dream of letting my dogs roam all the paddocks, let alone the road or neighbours' places. They would be likely to be run over or shot because they got too close to the neighbours' sheep. My dogs often have the freedom of my one acre house yard and are walked around the property twice a day as well as working sheep regularly, but when I am away from home or can't supervise them, they are all in escape proof dog runs.There is no way to teach a dog to stay home and never roam if it has the freedom to do so.

I agree with poodlefan. This is still my favourite method and one I've seen work with a variety of handlers and dogs. It has resulted in relaxed dogs and owners. http://k9deb.com/foodguar.htm

What a sad time it's been for you - losing several good friends. I'm sure they had wonderful lives with you.

Some more websites which might help. http://www.wagntrain.com/deaf_dog.htm (lots of links) http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/websites.php (even more links) http://www.dogsincanada.com/silent-treatment-deaf-dogs (by Jean Donaldson) http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.p...amp;SourceID=60 http://www.amorak.net/ArticlesCaringForADeafDog.html http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_DeafDogs.html http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/Sabrin..._deaf_intro.htm Good luck.

I 'm glad Hoover is feeling better. Now the challenge will be for you to keep him from doing too much. You might wish he was still groggy. It's quite common for ears to go up and down with Kelpie pups in reaction to illness, teething etc. At least if they have gone up before, they will go up again and stay up.

Toby is not dying from cancer. He is living with cancer and thoroughly enjoying his life at present. There will come a time when he is not enjoying life any more and you will know when to step in and end his pain. Right now he is happier than he has ever been before, treasure these times. His life is so much better than it would have been if he hadn't met you. My Ruff has just turned 15 and was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago. He has beaten the odds and had a great 5 years but I know our time together will be ending soon. It is heartbreaking to lose a loved dog. Our time with them is so short. But it is wonderful to have them in our lives however short a time that might be.

More information about fish oil capsules and vitamin E can be found here. http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/suppl...-for-daily-use/ http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/feedi...-december-2009/ The recommended doasage rates are Vitamin E minimum dosage: 0-25 pounds – 50-100 IUs 25-50 pounds 100-200 IUs 50-75 pounds 400 IUs 75- 100 pounds 400-800 IUs Omega-3 fatty acid minimum dosage: 0-25 pounds – 100 mg 25-50 pounds – 250 mg 50-75 pounds – 500 mg 100 pounds – 1000 mg I feed fish oil capsules because omega 3 fatty acids are fragile and can very easily be destroyed by heat light and air. They are not present in many foods and even if contained in commercial foods, can lose their effectiveness during storage.

One of my purebred Kelpies followed me everywhere until she was about 3 and must have decided that I could be trusted not to get lost. Now she still is the first one to curl up at my feet whenever I sit down at the computer or to read or watch TV. She was never demanding but just had to be close to me. Often my dogs will follow me when I am cleaning the house or working in the garden. I can never peg out a load of washing without the gang following me and usually lying in the shade watching. Then they follow me back inside again. I don't know if its a characteristic of Kelpies or Kelpie crosses - my GSD x does the same thing.

I have a real Christmas tree although it's a small one. I keep it outside for most of the year and then bring it inside mid December and then put it out again after the twelfth day after Christmas. I keep it in the shade for a while to let it get used to being outside and it has survived for a few years now. When it gets too big for me to carry I'll plant it in the garden and buy another small one. I have heard of male dogs who think it's OK to lift their legs on Christmas trees. I suppose you can't blame them it's what boy dogs do to trees. With such young dogs as yours it could be worth putting up a baby play pen around the tree to make sure they are not tempted to steal any of the toys hanging there. I've never had a problem with any of my dogs touching the tree but just to be safe I only have soft or plastic decorations definitely no glass balls. The colours are a bit weird in the second photo I really don't have hot pink curtains but you can see how the tree has grown.

Compounding the problem is apparently there's a 'code of silence' i.e. a “shoot, shovel and shut-up attitude”: Interestingly, the key isn't to PTS the carriers. Apparently the solution is to develop a DNA test so that carriers could be desexed and still used as working dogs and non-carriers of a litter could be bred and the positive traits of those lines passed on. What I find puzzling is that the Wilton lab has been able to develop tests for at least two different fatal diseases in Border collies. The Working Kelpie Council approached the lab to help them develop a DNA test for CA in Kelpies so that they could detect the carriers and avoid matings that would produce animals with ataxia, and eventually allow them to eliminate the problem from the breed altogether but this was way back in 2007. Reading the literature, the Wilton lab seemed to think that because they had already done so much of the hard work with the Border Collies, it shouldn't take them so long to find a DNA test for Kelpies - one item even said maybe just six months. We're nearing the end of 2010 and from what I can see, there isn't a DNA test for ataxia in Kelpies yet - or is there? Ataxia (or correctly Cerebellar Abiotrophy) is a horrible condition and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. There is no great conspiracy about it. I've heard breeders speak openly about CA showing up in a litter and which parents produced it. They have put down puppies, desexed the parents and generally culled those bloodlines from their breeding programs. People have spoken freely about which famous dogs from the past have been believed to be carriers, but no one would ever put it in writing that another person's dog is a carrier just in case they were wrong and most people don't want to ruin the reputation of other breeders. The WKC have been criticized by some people (imo very rudely and arrogantly) for not publishing which dogs are carriers, but they are in the same position as the rest of us. They are a breed registry not detectives. Publishing the names of dogs who have produced affected pups would only punish the honest breeders and drive the whole thing underground. It is believed that about 90% of Kelpies have at least one ancestor who carried ataxia. My dogs have several, but in twenty years of breeding my breeder has never seen a Kelpie with ataxia. Because there is no test for identifying carriers as yet, no one can guarantee that puppies they breed won't have the condition. It generally but not always shows up when the puppies are very young. If you are not a breeder you really don't have much to worry about. While dogs are not machines and with any living creature things can go wrong, Kelpies are one of the healthiest breeds around. Keep reading the WKC bulletins, they regularly have updates on the latest research. Hopefully in time a DNA test will be developed and this awful condition can be eradicated.

I'm so sorry to hear this. You have done the right thing for Sophie even though it breaks your heart. You gave her the best life you could and when you had no other choice you gave her an easy death and didn't let her suffer. :D I hope that in time all your happy memories will help you.

And if that wasn't enough to get heads spinning, some Kelpies' names cause even more confusion. My Caleb is by a dog called Capree Blue (named because he is a redhead.) I have just started trialling Caleb and have had some people ask if he is my "young Blue dog." Caleb is obviously red and tan and this has drawn some strange looks from spectators at trials who wouldn't know about his breeding. Capree Blue sired a dog called Capree Red. A friend of mine bought a young bitch by him and told me that he had just picked up a young "Red Bitch." I went over to his trailer to look at her and couldn't see a red bitch anywhere. Of course she was black and tan.

I've dealt with Allsport Trophies in Geelong http://www.allsporttrophies.com.au/ and have had some lovely trophies from them. They do a whole range from the gold coloured plastic type to some very beautiful but expensive things. They do lovely etched glass trophies and can do the art work from a photo if you have a favourite or want a distinctive breed or type of competition. I think the art work was about $55 but it only has to be done once and well worth it if you are going to be buying trophies for years to come. They can also etch a design or picture from a photo on to a medallion or disc which can be attached to most of their trophies. The medallion is gold (or brass coloured) with black etching and is eye catching. Feel free to pm me if you would like more information.

Hi KTB I'll bet your head is spinning with all the varied information you'll find on the internet. In the US there are a lot of dogs who are registered as Kelpies who have some ancestors imported from Australia but also a lot of dogs back in their pedigrees who have no stud prefixes and go by single names - Rocky, Jack etc. I tend to suspect that these have other breeds in them apart from Kelpie. If you look at the dogs from old US "Kelpie" bloodlines, they don't look like Australian Working Kelpies. The dogs you've seen in the photos could well be crossbreds. And as kelpiechick said a lot of terms used there may not be what we would use here. To make things even more confusing, in a lot of writing about early Kelpies; dogs were described by their primary colours only, so a lot of black and tan dogs would only have been described as black. The Bilsons (of Noonbarra) used to have an excellent website about the history of the Kelpie and it included a section on colours and coat types etc. but unfortunately when the website host geocities was closed down, it went too. A lot of Kelpies have that ring around their necks. Tia's mother and several of her sisters had it.

Of course my dogs get presents - usually treats and a bag of cheap toys from the op shop. One year they got an air conditioner (I have to admit that was for me as well) but their best present ever was the year I first got sheep.

No the blaze, chest, toes etc. are definitely white. There is no problem with white markings with the WKC, but I do know some breeders who don't like white . It wouldn't stop them from keeping or breeding from a dog with white markings if its work was good enough. I remember hearing of some breeders who would put down any cream pups at birth because they thought that sheep wouldn't respect light coloured dogs. (I doubt that dingoes have any problem scaring sheep.) Interestingly a few years ago a cream Kelpie called Yakka Custard sired the dog who won the Bradley Sisters Memorial Trophy for Best Type of Kelpie competing in WKC National Trials. "The trophy is awarded to the dog which possesses sound conformation and pleasing ‘Kelpie type’ appearance." (WKC website) I'm not sure of the colour of the dog who won but his sire was successful in trials and has plenty of progeny around.

I've been following this topic and I suppose it was only a matter of time before I couldn't help but join in. There are plenty of solid coloured Working Kelpies around, considerably more competing in yard dog trials than there are two tone dogs in the show ring. I don't know about other states but in Victoria there have been many highly successful solid black dogs and there are also a number of solid reds around. I don't know any breeders of Working Kelpies who breed for colour. Here are the Victorian Yard Utility and farm Dog Association's dogs of the year for the last few years. Those in bold type are solid black dogs. These are just the top trial dogs. There are plenty more solid coloured dogs around who don't get to trials or who haven't won as much. 1997 CRAIG TRICKEY NUGGET 1998 CRAIG TRICKEY NUGGET 1999 CRAIG TRICKEY NUGGET 2000 PETER BOYD REX 2001 R PUDDICOMBE PACE 2002 JOE SPICER SCORIOCHRE MISS MUFFET 2003 WAYNE HAYWARD ASH 2004 JOE SPICER WONDER DORG 2005 JOE SPICER GOGETTA AGRO 2006 D SWEATMAN BURANDO KOSTA 2007 D SWEATMAN BURANDO KOSTA 2008 C ROBERTSON DIGGER 2009 V JOYCE TIM I tend to see Working Kelpies as being a bit like Thoroughbred horses - bred for performance and rarely for appearance but still the most beautiful breed of all. Thoroughbreds are still the breed used most often to improve other breeds - whether they are Warmbloods, Riding Ponies, Anglo Arabs, Quarter Horses or whatever.

My dog had a bout of vestibular earlier this year. He took about ten days to show any improvement, but had the head tilt for a few months. I also had to raise his food bowl as he would lose his balance when he lowered his head to eat. My vet did some tests such as flexing his toes and seeing how quickly he responded to rule out any brain condition. His eyes were flicking from side to side which is also a symptom of vestibular Don't rush into expensive scans - vestibular is a lot more common in old dogs than tumours.

;) Hope you'll both be feeling a whole lot better now.

Maybe! The thing was, if it had been Elbie, he would have barking like an absolute maniac but when we got there, Hoover was as placid as a cow with his serene: "I knew my humans would find me" expression. He was very excited to be released from his accidental prison but seemed completely untraumatised. This sounds like such a typical Kelpie. I've had a few heart stopping moments when I haven't been able to find one of my dogs - usually when I let them out in the morning for a toilet break and they don't come back in and I'm still in my PJs having visions of running down the street looking for them dressed like that. My dogs have never barked when they've got into some place they shouldn't. I don't know if it that they are worried about being in trouble. They've always looked very relieved when I've "rescued" them. I won't bore you with all the "missing dog" stories but here's my best one. I was sitting in a recliner chair reading when I realized I hadn't heard Caleb for a while so I got up and went looking. No sign of him as I went from room to room calling and becoming more panicky. I came past the chair again when I saw the side of it moving. He had crawled in under the foot rest and was inside the chair. When I had stood up the chair had closed trapping him inside. Fortunately there was plenty of room for a small puppy and the mechanism hadn't squashed him. He hadn't made a sound the whole time and it was just luck that he bumped against the fabric at the side of the chair as I was next to it or who knows how long it would have taken me to find him. I would never have thought of looking there.

I've just found these photos - what a great record. I wonder how many pictures you'll have when your dogs are in their teens. Loved the Kung Fu Fighting video. Aren't you glad you got Elbie a friend? While I usually like to space my dogs out - there is generally a gap of about 3 years in age between mine, Elbie would have missed out on so much fun if he'd been an only dog for so long.

60 kms per day? I walk my dogs in two separate groups and believe I am never going to walk anywhere near as far as that. I can only add that mental stimulus and company are far more important to my Kelpies than physical exercise. I had a bad bout of flu some years ago and my dogs weren't walked for over a week. When eventually I could stagger down the paddock on my wobbly legs and sit on a rock, telling my dogs to go and run, they all stayed with me and decided to lie at my feet. I didn't have the energy to throw anything (mine are not big on retrieving anything but sheep anyway) so I headed back to bed and dogs came with me and settled themselves on the bed around me and went to sleep. In a strange environment like a kennel they may well be more anxious and active.