# THE AUSSIE WORKING KELPIE.



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jun 27, 2017)

G'day ,if you click on the link you will see some interesting video on  the Aussie dogs.

BTW, they are just "as good" at working sheep.

http://campaigns.generator.com.au/t/r-l-jllyvkt-ihiyttdjjl-o/

Hope you all enjoy..T.O.R..


----------



## Southern by choice (Jun 27, 2017)

There is something so wonderful about watching dogs do what they were bred to do! A working dog is truly the best partner a herdsman/rancher/shepherd can have.

Thanks for sharing!


----------



## frustratedearthmother (Jun 27, 2017)

Loved the video!


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jun 27, 2017)

G'day at some point I must try and get some video of my dogs working our sheep both in the paddock and the yards.

I would put the value of my dogs above 3 strong sons in regard to working around the farm...T.O.R.


----------



## Southern by choice (Jun 27, 2017)

Would love to see your dogs in action!


----------



## frustratedearthmother (Jun 27, 2017)

X2!


----------



## greybeard (Jun 27, 2017)

Evidently, my dogs were bred specifically to chase the UPS truck, the Nat'l Forest folks, and eat a lot....


----------



## babsbag (Jun 28, 2017)

Somebody on Facebook asked people to post about their favorite animal on their farm. Being that I had just chased down some goats AGAIN, I told them that my favorite animal is the trained Border Collie that I dream about owning.  I know that I could never train one but I sure wish that one would fall out of the sky and into my barn.


----------



## Devonviolet (Jun 28, 2017)

greybeard said:


> Evidently, my dogs were bred specifically to chase the UPS truck, the Nat'l Forest folks, and eat a lot....


  ​


----------



## Devonviolet (Jun 28, 2017)

The Old Ram-Australia said:


> G'day ,if you click on the link you will see some interesting video on  the Aussie dogs.
> 
> BTW, they are just "as good" at working sheep.
> 
> ...


That dog is amazing!!!  Thanks for posting this, Old Ram.  I would have loved to have heard audio, with this, to hear what commands his handler was giving.

I'm with SBC. Would love to see video of you working your dogs!


----------



## Bossroo (Jun 28, 2017)

Way back in the early '60s,  I got a 6 week old female Kelpie from a commercial sheep operation.  Her parents were some of the first to be imported.  She was trained alongside a hard WORKING Border Collie. Almost a year later,  She just couldn't understand the concept of sheep herding. So, I gave her away to became just a pet as she had a great personality but little else to pay for her keep.


----------



## Roving Jacobs (Jun 28, 2017)

Australia has my favorite herding dogs. Kelpies, koolies, all sorts of heelers, I love them all! My current dog is an ACD mix and when he's gone I hope to get a full cattle dog or stumpy. I like the kelpies but a lot of the ones I've heard of here in the US have serious medical issues (seizures, exercise induced collapse) so I wouldn't risk it and the koolies are just getting a foothold.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jun 28, 2017)

G'day babsbag,we bred goats for about 25 years and it was during this time I got our first red Kelpie bitch,she cost $10.00 at a local auction barn.Early in the peace I sought advice from an  old "dogger' about my dog and he gave me some really "good advice" ."He said a dog is still learning until it is almost 2 years old and all she needs is to be taught "control" of her natural instincts.The fellow who bred "Sacha" was known to me and the bitch was stolen some time later at a stock sale .From my dogs first litter I gave him the pick of the litter for free.Pups from my bitch worked all over the place including Camden Park home of the famous MacArthur Merinos and a tourist place which operated locally.Sasha was great on goats and would "work out of sight" to collect our goat herd in her later years she was  as "deaf as a post" and worked off of hand signals.

In later years I purchased a dog at a charity auction for $5.00 he was named Jack and he was a terrific dog but now he too is a bit "deaf" and so Max is a pup of his from a bitch that a young guy "gave me"  ,she is "yard bred" and hopeless in the paddock,but Max has inherited working genes from both her and Jack and is proficient at both areas,I also have a "yellow"pup(Rusty) left over from a litter and between the two of them they will see out my sheep farming life.
Here are some pic's.Jack on the job.2.Jack and Ruby putting the mob into the yards.3.Jack ,Ruby and Max..


----------



## Baymule (Jun 28, 2017)

Nice looking dogs! A working dog is poetry in it's purest form.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jun 29, 2017)

G'day,I'm glad you enjoyed the video and pic's,I would like to "address' some of the comments that resulted.
What farmers in the U.S. need to understand is that there are two types of Kelpies ,one type is bred for the "show ring" and does not have a "working bone" in its body.The other problems indicated by RJ, I suspect some may come from maybe 'line-breeding " we all know what happens to our sheep if we continue to use the same ram over grand-daughter/great grand-daughter.


 
As for Bossroo's comment,if she was from an early import she could easily been from "show ring " stock.Many of the "old doggers" who are not "purists" put  a 'cut" of BC through their Kelpies to increase "control" for competitive trial work(Jack BTW has a cut of BC in him,hence the white tail tip and the white blaze on the chest).

All of the Kelpies I have owned and bred do not need "training" as such, the desire to work is bred into them what the handler needs is "control" of the dogs natural instincts.Unlike the BC's my dogs are required to "drive" the stock towards the destination as my sheep "hate ' me because when they are in the yards its for a reason that they "won't enjoy" (like shearing,crutching or a drenching gun being pushed down their throat).

Unlike the BC's Kelpies are "thinkers" and they learn whats required by "repetition".here is an example ,when I take a dog to move the sheep I go to the sheep the way I want them to come home,opening gates as I go,the dog learns this over time and senses what it is I want him/her to do.Max will cast ,but I do it to "block" the sheep rather than to bring the sheep to me "standing at the gate".I only use a few commands,"go back" ,"stop","here " and "heel".I use a "hand signal to tell the dog where I want him to go and when the sheep respond I raise my hand and command "stop" and command "here".I can then send him/her to the other side to move the rest of the "mob' to bunch up when nearing a gateway.

Max and Rusty are highly competitive for my praise and Max "resents how close Rusty is to me if I attach a "check"lead to him if the need to work the sheep while I have both of them out together.Max seems "distracted' if I have Rusty close while he is away from me completing a "task".Ruby on the other takes any harsh words for something she has done incorrectly "to heart" and its almost like my disapproval effects her immensely and I have to praise her as soon as possible to repair her "hurt feelings".Jack is just to old to "worry" anymore,he knows he is my favorite even though he is not up to the work anymore ,he is first of the tethers and the first to be fed ahead of the two younger dogs.

As for the video I will try to get my daughter to film some stuff when she is over at the time,and I will try to include "sound" so you can see how the system works in practice.

Well, that's enough for now,happy to respond to any questions.....T.O.R.


----------



## Bossroo (Jun 29, 2017)

The Old Ram-Australia said:


> G'day,I'm glad you enjoyed the video and pic's,I would like to "address' some of the comments that resulted.
> What farmers in the U.S. need to understand is that there are two types of Kelpies ,one type is bred for the "show ring" and does not have a "working bone" in its body.The other problems indicated by RJ, I suspect some may come from maybe 'line-breeding " we all know what happens to our sheep if we continue to use the same ram over grand-daughter/great grand-daughter.
> View attachment 36238
> As for Bossroo's comment,if she was from an early import she could easily been from "show ring " stock.Many of the "old doggers" who are not "purists" put  a 'cut" of BC through their Kelpies to increase "control" for competitive trial work(Jack BTW has a cut of BC in him,hence the white tail tip and the white blaze on the chest).
> ...


My Kelpie looked just like this photo.  Her litter mates were all good working dogs, except her.  She was obedient and had a great personality,  but she just never could learn to do her herding job even when paired with one of the best herding Border Collies around as her mentor owned by a gentleman from Scottland who had about 1,000 sheep. He owned my kelpie's  mother and kept 2 of the litter mates who  all worked well.


----------



## Bossroo (Jun 29, 2017)

The Old Ram-Australia said:


> G'day,I'm glad you enjoyed the video and pic's,I would like to "address' some of the comments that resulted.
> What farmers in the U.S. need to understand is that there are two types of Kelpies ,one type is bred for the "show ring" and does not have a "working bone" in its body.The other problems indicated by RJ, I suspect some may come from maybe 'line-breeding " we all know what happens to our sheep if we continue to use the same ram over grand-daughter/great grand-daughter.
> View attachment 36238
> As for Bossroo's comment,if she was from an early import she could easily been from "show ring " stock.Many of the "old doggers" who are not "purists" put  a 'cut" of BC through their Kelpies to increase "control" for competitive trial work(Jack BTW has a cut of BC in him,hence the white tail tip and the white blaze on the chest).
> ...


My Kelpie looked just like this photo.  Her litter mates were all good working dogs, except her.  She was obedient and had a great personality,  but she just never could learn to do her herding job even when paired with one of the best herding Border Collies around as her mentor owned by a gentleman from Scottland who had about 1,000 sheep. He owned my kelpie's  mother and kept 2 of the litter mates who  all worked well.


----------



## mystang89 (Jul 3, 2017)

Southern by choice said:


> There is something so wonderful about watching dogs do what they were bred to do! A working dog is truly the best partner a herdsman/rancher/shepherd can have.
> 
> Thanks for sharing!


 Completely agree.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jul 10, 2017)

G'day Bossroo,I guess you were just "unlucky" with that pup....T.O.R.


----------



## Mike CHS (Jul 10, 2017)

Very pretty dogs that obviously know what their job is.

What amazed me about the video was the lack of work by the herdsman.  Our dogs need constant guidance or there is no telling where our sheep will wind up.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jul 10, 2017)

G'day Mike,from your pic you have BC's,in a previous comment I remarked on the Kelpies as "thinkers" and learn by repetition what the task is and carry it out and all they ask for in return is some  " praise" from the boss.There are differences in farm dogs and Trial dogs,most old "doggers' who attend dog trials dislike the pure kelpie because they need "absolute control " in the ring with the sheep and so its "rare" to see a straight bred B/T kelpie ,they put a "cut" of BC in their dogs because it seems to me,they need  to be "told" what is required rather than to respond on instinct like they do on the farm in familiar surroundings.
It has been my experience that dogs are all" individuals" and the training of the working dog needs to "reflect this fact"...T.O.R.


----------



## Mike CHS (Jul 10, 2017)

I agree completely.  We want to trial one of our dogs but it may wind up being a dog we don't own yet.  The dog in my avatar at the moment is an Aussie and she is good for only close work but she does it without command from us other than "Hold" when the sheep are where we want.  We won't try to change that since it works and I think that is where she should excel and she is happy doing it.

Our Border Collie was better at working on the farm than most trial dogs we have seen when he was one year old.  I would like to trial a Border Collie but I'm more and more thinking it won't be this one since what he does works with the way I handle our sheep.  It doesn't take any effort and the sheep never get stressed out.  He gets let into the pen and does this huge outrun only to find out the sheep are where they need go be before he even gets winded.  @Southern by choice asked me a question about what was wrong with the way our sheep worked the other day that got me to thinking and I decided to leave a good effortless practice be.  

We are setting up another pasture for sheep used only in trial training since we enjoy doing that but our main effort has been our main flock which is working already.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jul 11, 2017)

Mike CHS said:


> I agree completely.  We want to trial one of our dogs but it may wind up being a dog we don't own yet.  The dog in my avatar at the moment is an Aussie and she is good for only close work but she does it without command from us other than "Hold" when the sheep are where we want.  We won't try to change that since it works and I think that is where she should excel and she is happy doing it.
> 
> G'day Mike,down here there are two strains of working dogs ,they are "Yard Bred" or bred for "Paddock work".Your "casting dog" is a paddock bred one and the other is a "Yard bred "one, by the sounds of it.Lots of farmers want an "all-rounder" to suit both situations ,but its rarely capable in both situations...T.O.R.


----------

