About Kelpies

The Australian Kelpie is an Australian breed not recognized by the American Kennel Club, but they are quite common in the US in sheep-ranching areas such as Texas and New Mexico.

Kelpies are related to other sheep- and cattle-herding dogs such as Border Collies and Australian Cattle Dogs (also called Red Heelers).  They are descended from Colleys (which later became Border Collies, Rough and Smooth Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, etc.) that were brought to Australia and mated with  whatever dog was handy, allegedly including an occasional Dingo.

Kelpies are medium-sized dogs about the same size as Border Collies, and like BCs, can have huge variations in size and weight (from 25-65 lbs. and 16-24″). They come in almost any color and tend to be one solid color with either white markings (usually on the chest and occasionally the chin) or tan markings on the paws and face. (The most common combinations are black with white markings, red with white markings, or black with tan markings; but they also come in chocolate, tan and smoke/blue.)

Kelpies have particularly large ears and paws compared to other dogs, which sometimes causes people to believe they will grow up to be quite large—but the big ears and paws are a lifelong feature. They also have very large tongues and eyes that are usually tan or amber-colored and almond-shaped. They have thick undercoats and thinner outer coats. They generally have short-to-medium fur, with feathering on the elbows, tail, and a thick ruff. They may have feathering around the ears, but this is not preferred in show Kelpies. Also, they generally have pricked (upright) ears, but some have lop (floppy) or tipped ears (the tips fold over); again, this is not preferred in show Kelpies.

The most endearing quality of Kelpies is probably their facility in using their paws. They have very flexible paws and are very good at using them to grab and hold things for which other dogs tend to use their mouths. This comes in handy in their most unique herding technique: running along the backs of the sheep as they go through the chutes.

Kelpies are extremely intelligent and need a lot of physical and mental exercise. They are generally friendly towards humans, but can be fierce guard dogs when protecting their family or their sheep.