Australian Australian Kelpies or US Australian Kelpies?

She has a dog named WiFi. That is all.

I have met some at my shelter and they are awesome little dogs. I really love them. Good luck!

Agreed this is why I was saying getting a "working Kelpie" may not be suited best for agility, many breeders are only wanting to sell to people who will be using their dogs on ranches, others don't care. Kelpies are very smart dogs, even though Bria is not yet 3 months we do have Bo who is a year and a half he is the family dog and a working dog, theirs no problem having them as a "pet" dog or companion, its the herding drive, and no matter how many activities you put them in sometimes thats not enough for them mentally because they have that so deeply rooted in them. People in general like the idea of "working lines" but because Kelpies are not very popular here and are still so connected with their roots its a lot more of an intense instinct than another breed of "working lines". They are being used as agility dogs in Australia because they have a larger range of bloodlines and they are a common house dog in Australia as well.

As far as the Koolies and Kelpies being the alike I would like to disagree with that I have had my fair share of being around herding dogs of every breed, and they are all completely different they pretty much both come from Australia and both herd.

I would recommend a Kelpie to anyone who devotes as much time as you do to your dogs, but working lines, or strong working lines may not be the best choice if your wanting to use for sport. I believe that a true working Kelpie would mentally not translate well to a performance dog, but one that has more diluted working lines would not be so fixated on herding. Its hard to explain what I am talking about without offending people or it even making sense, and there isnt anyone i have met on here that works there dog on a ranch and knows what I am talking about lol or really understands their extreme herding drive.

Thank you, I really appreciate that

I think I understand what you are getting at. Example: I wanted a DS for SchH and everyone said KNPV was the way to go - WAY too sharp, way to reactive, way to thin nerve = he is doing GREAT as a personal protection dog and would have been an ok single purpose K-9, not so great travel/do sports with/have as a pet. Too extreme.

I am assuming that these lines will be suitable (do you think otherwise?) as she has placed in active homes and in agility homes before with repeat buyers. I was very, very honest in what I wanted - a house pet with serious performance aspects and what sports those were (no farm/no cattle/no "real" herding) and she said he should suit. I am hoping for the best!

I adore Kelpies. I was just about to put my name on a Noonbarra litter right before I found Quinn and I know when I can get my next dog I'll be back to trying to work out if I should go another BC or a kelpie.

Here they are the stockdog of choice - It's certainly easier to find a well bred kelpie than a well bred BC.
I adore the breed - they are athletic, trainable and intelligent but they are thinkers. If they know a better way - they're gonna do that.
I hear a lot of people talk about them vs. BC's as far as work goes as BC's being better at working in sight, they take direction well and comply. But take a Kelpie for out of sight work - you can send them off and know they will work their butt off and use their head to make the right decisions.
Ofcourse every dog is an individual, but pretty much everyone I've talked to that works their dogs has a solid preference for their breed, weather it be kelpies, BC's or Koolies.

And just for good measure. This is Willow, she belongs to one of the trainers at herding. I am madly in love with her.



And for anyone that wants to drool over some more nice Kelpie pics.
http://www.kelpies-casterton.org/index.php?mact=Album,,default,1&albumid=8&returnid=71&page=71

I looked pretty seriously at importing a dog from that breeder but found someone here in the states that says their dogs should be good in the venues I want. I'm a little nervous due to all of the info about potentially not working in a sports home - if that's the case, I would have to reconsider my goals with the dog (or if he's super miserable, rehome). I am REALLY hoping it will work.

I pride myself on doing my best to work with a dog in the way that they prefer to work and being adaptable in my training methods to accomplish this, hopefully I can do the same with the new pup.

I'm probably equally nervous and excited But, I felt the same way when I got my GSD (coming from Dutch Shepherds) and I have been very, very, very pleased with him. Lots of changes in how I think but he is just a fantastic dog and a perfect fit for me.

I don't have super high requirements for my dogs once they are in my "family" - I ask that they try their best and try to work with me...Eden's best is TERRIBLE, she's a terrible sports prospect in terms of winning/speed but she always does her very best and that's all I ask, so for me, she is awesome

FWIW I used to hear the same things being said about working bred BCs when I started in agility. That they are too "work focused" to want to do agility. And also that if you started a BC on herding you can't do anything else with them because they won't be interested. That obviously didn't hold true

Everyone thinks their breed is super unique and special but sometimes people lose sight that they're all dogs. Play with your puppy, see what toys, games and treats he likes, doesn't like and what he's totally crazy over. And use those things to train him to be crazy over working with you and crazy over doing agility obstacles. Don't let the worry of people saying "working bred Kelpies wont be good at doing this" worry you enough to interfere with you doing it

This is my philosophy, and what I keep telling myself over and over and over. My fiance keeps reminding me that this happens to be one of my strengths (finding what a dog wants to do and then tying it so close to me that the dog just wants to work with me so bad!) and not to worry. I love creating that bond and I love working with my dogs no matter their capacity and I love the whole building of the bond. I'm looking forward to that

Would you mind elaborating some? I'm just really interested.