KENAI
Australian Kelpie

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Herding · FCI standard 293

Australian Kelpie.

FCI 293 utilization: sheepdog, Group 1 Section 1, 'with working trial'; the Kelpie 'being able to perform the work of several men' on vast Australian properties; natural instinct and aptitude in working sheep in open country and in the yard. UKC: originated around 1870, a working stock dog that played a major role in the Australian sheep and wool industry; often worked unsupervised on stations, relying on its own wits to find and gather livestock; bred in the US by ranchers and farmers as a working stock dog.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
35–50LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 35 to 50 lb; breed bitches 35 to 50 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 17 to 20.1 in · bitches 16.9 to 20 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

Low and high span the FCI centimetres, the UKC inches and the AKC page band (a breed-wide band counted in both sex rows). No ideal printed.

Weight

dogs 35 to 50 lb · bitches 35 to 50 lb

Breed clubAKC

Single source, a registry breed page; breed-wide band counted in both sex rows.

Coat

FCI 293: double coat with a short dense undercoat; outer coat close, each hair straight, hard and lying flat, rain-resisting; mild breeching near the thigh; a ruff along the neck; body hair about 2 to 3 cm; colours black, black and tan, red, red and tan, fawn, chocolate and smoke blue. UKC: outer coat moderately short, flat, hard, straight and weather resisting with dense undercoat; colours black, blue (gray), red (chocolate to light red) and tan, with or without tan markings

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · FCI 293: double coat with a short dense undercoat, outer coat close and flat, body hair about 2 to 3 cm; the breed was developed for 'heat, rough terrain, dust storms and vast distances'

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

Derived from the coat description (short dense double coat = 4). The heat statement in the FCI history describes the breed's origin, not a measurement.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

FCI 293: 'almost inexhaustible energy', 'tireless workers in the hottest and dustiest of climates', gait 'free and tireless'. UKC: 'always ready to work', 'good balance between keenness to work and ability to rest'. AKC breed page: energy level 5 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

No minutes-per-day band was found (the Royal Kennel Club page for the breed did not load), so exercise_need_min is left out.

Energy

AKC breed page: energy level 5 of 5, playfulness 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5, barking level 1 of 5, trainability 4 of 5, watchdog/protective nature 4 of 5, adaptability 3 of 5, affectionate with family 3 of 5, openness to strangers 3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

1 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency 1 of 5, shedding level 3 of 5. FCI 293: double coat, short and dense, 'rain-resisting', hairs about 2 to 3 cm on the body

Breed clubAKC

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 293 utilization: sheepdog, Group 1 Section 1, 'with working trial'; the Kelpie 'being able to perform the work of several men' on vast Australian properties; natural instinct and aptitude in working sheep in open country and in the yard. UKC: originated around 1870, a working stock dog that played a major role in the Australian sheep and wool industry; often worked unsupervised on stations, relying on its own wits to find and gather livestock; bred in the US by ranchers and farmers as a working stock dog

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

The show and FCI breed. The Working Kelpie of the Working Kelpie Council of Australia registry is a separate entry; this entry does not use its figures.

Primary game

Sheep, especially the unruly Merino sheep of Australian stations (FCI 293, UKC)

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

Also used on

UKC: in the United States used 'on all types of livestock, on large and small operations'; also entered in herding trials, obedience and agility

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

Range

FCI 293: bred to work sheep in vast paddocks of over two million acres, in open country and in the yard. Neither the FCI nor the UKC standard prints a close, medium or wide range

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2012

Search pattern

UKC: a gathering-style dog using eye, bark and bite (grip) to move stock as conditions warrant; gait with 'the capability of crouching, stealthy movement demanded by its work'; often worked unsupervised on stations. FCI 293: ability to turn suddenly at speed. AKC breed page: barking level 1 of 5

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

Single dog working stock; heading versus backing sheep is not stated by the registry texts.

Field trial standard

FCI 293: Group 1 Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'with working trial'. UKC: entered in herding trials; a black and tan bitch named Kelpie won the Forbes Sheepdog Trial and made the name a household word

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

Trial rules (yard and paddock trial scoring) were not read; see open_gaps.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

9.7% · 9.7% dysplastic of 196 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 89.3% normal; mild 5.6%, moderate 4.1%, severe 0.0%; breed rank 137 in the OFA table

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. OFA figures are US dogs. OFA lists the Australian Kelpie only, never the Working Kelpie. No OFA elbow row for the breed.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Kelpie, Show Kelpie

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your australian kelpie, on the record.

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