Links

About Kelpies:

• Wikipedia:Australian Kelpies: This Wikipedia article has some nice pictures.
• The Kelpie Story: This is a page with a lot of information about Kelpies from a descriptive, rather than prescriptive, point of view. For example, a lot of people think that Kelpies always have ears that stick straight up, which looks pretty funny because our ears are so big. Not true! This page says that 15-20% of Kelpies have tipped (the tips fold over) or even lop (the whole ear flops over) ears like me! And that some of the best herding Kelpies have had lop ears!
• Breed Guide: This is an Australian site, and since Kelpies are an Australian breed, they really know their stuff! For example, they say I am friendly but very protective of my family, and I love to learn and need plenty of walking and playing games, and get along especially well with human puppies.
• North American Australian Kelpie Registry: A site about Kelpies in the United States and Canada.

About my Favorite Activities:

• Wikipedia:Dog Agility: I love agility! I get to run around a giant obstacle course. My favorite apparatus is the teeter-totter. Most dogs are afraid of it, but I just think it’s fun.
• The North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC) and the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) are two organizations that sponsor agility trials in the US, including in my hometown. (The third, the American Kennel Club, won’t let me compete because I’m a mutt … but even if I was 100% Kelpie, they still wouldn’t let me. I say “Pfft!”) I’ve never gotten to compete in a trial yet, but I hope to!
• Affordable Agility sells agility equipment for your backyard by mail order. My people better hide the credit cards!
• Explore New Mexico: My people love to hike, and I love to go with them.
• Hike with your Dog: This site has a pretty basic, yes/no list of which hiking places allow dogs and which don’t. Luckily for me, in New Mexico, almost everyone does!

Companies who really understand dogs like me!

• A company called Kyjen makes some of my favorite things: doggie hiking gear (including my backpack and my collapsible water dish); and puzzle toys like the I-Qube (remember, Kelpies need to get mental exercise as well as physical); and tug ropes made out of fleece. (My person Tug says that even though I tend to pull so hard that he keeps needing to replace them, they’re better than real ropes because you should always, always be careful that your dog doesn’t get the idea that he or she could win and take over the pack. Fleece ropes are easier for people to hold and harder for dogs.) Kyjen has also just started selling play (i.e. not trials-quality, but fun and a good intro) agility equipment. If you hear that they need a test dog to go live in their factory and try out new stuff, you will tell them to call me, right?

• Now that I’ve mentioned Kyjen, I’d like to give a shout-out to the makers of my other favorite toys, Kong (the original Kong is still the king, but they also make durable toys that are bright yellow, bouncy, and squeak—like tennis balls, but they squeak!!) and Nylabone (especially their big Durable Chewer bacon-flavored Nylabone).
• Evanger’s makes the food my people use to make into treats. Because of my food allergies, I can’t eat most dog treats. My people buy plain canned rabbit and make it into jerky or stuff it in a Kong for me. Don’t I have the best people ever?
• Garden Crisps are another treat I can have. They’re just dried carrots or bananas (I don’t like apples, and I’m allergic to sweet potatoes.)

Dog Training and Behavior:

• It’s Me or the Dog: This is a TV show with a lady who really gets dogs. My people were so impressed, they bought her book. It has a whole section on how humans can understand dog body language!
• The Dog Whisperer: I watch his show sometimes, and the dogs seem so unhappy before he gets there, and so much happier afterwards. But my people don’t like him as much as they used to, because they say his advice can only take you so far. But just so you know—my people are good pack leaders!
• Amiable Dog Training: The lady who runs this site, Amy Ammen, wrote a book called Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs. My people say it’s like she lived in our house!