KENAI
Working Kelpie

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service

Working Kelpie.

WKC: a working stock dog: 'a strongly inherited natural instinct and aptitude in the working of sheep, (and other livestock) both in open country and in the yards'; 'a medium sized, lithe, active, strongly muscled dog' with 'almost inexhaustible energy'. Wikipedia: used to muster livestock, primarily sheep, cattle and goats; the Working Kelpie is bred for working ability, the Show Kelpie for appearance. Early 2018: three work-types, Yard, Paddock and Utility Kelpies.

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.
28–60LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 28 to 60 lb; breed bitches 28 to 60 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 15 to 25 in · bitches 15 to 25 in

Breed clubAKC

Two sources disagree in spread (AKC 19-25 in, Wikipedia 15-20 in); low/high span both. Breed-wide bands counted in both sex rows. No FCI or UKC standard read for the Working Kelpie; the WKC does not support the FCI standard.

Weight

dogs 28 to 60 lb · bitches 28 to 60 lb

Breed clubAKC

Two sources; low/high span the AKC band and Wikipedia's printed pounds (28 to 60). Breed-wide bands counted in both sex rows.

Coat

WKC: outer coat moderately short, flat, straight and weather resisting, with or without a short dense undercoat; hair short on head, ears, feet and legs, slightly longer at the neck, rear of the thighs and underside of the tail. Colour: any historically associated with the breed (black, blue, red, fawn, tan, with or without tan). Wikipedia: short double coat (infobox)

Breed clubWorking Kelpie Council of Australia

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.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

AKC breed page: energy level 5 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 5 of 5 (the highest AKC bands)

Breed clubAKC

No minutes-per-day source; exercise_need_min is left out.

Energy

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

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

WKC: a working stock dog: 'a strongly inherited natural instinct and aptitude in the working of sheep, (and other livestock) both in open country and in the yards'; 'a medium sized, lithe, active, strongly muscled dog' with 'almost inexhaustible energy'. Wikipedia: used to muster livestock, primarily sheep, cattle and goats; the Working Kelpie is bred for working ability, the Show Kelpie for appearance. Early 2018: three work-types, Yard, Paddock and Utility Kelpies

Breed clubWorking Kelpie Council of Australia

Primary game

Sheep first (WKC: 'working of sheep, (and other livestock)'); Wikipedia: sheep, cattle and goats

Breed clubWorking Kelpie Council of Australia

Also used on

Cattle and goats (Wikipedia: 'primarily sheep, cattle and goats'); WKC: 'other livestock'

EditorialWikipedia

Range

Early 2018: paddock work in 'extensive open fields and ranges' with an extensive cast around the mob; yard work at close quarters. A range by work-type, not one figure

StudiedEarly JB, 2018

Search pattern

Early 2018 (University of Sydney): Paddock Kelpies muster from extensive open fields, work independently of the handler, start facing the front of the stock and run around the periphery in an extensive cast, then use eye and hold to gather the mob and move it calmly towards the handler. Yard Kelpies work at close quarters, using force, bark and bite, and may back the stock (jump onto sheep's backs). Utility Kelpies do both. Single-dog work; no pack work stated

StudiedEarly JB, 2018

Field trial standard

Wikipedia: Working Kelpies are registered with the Working Kelpie Council and/or the Australian Sheepdog Workers Association. WKC: the breed was named from King's Kelpie's performance at the first Sheep Dog Trial at the Forbes Show, NSW. The WKC yard and paddock trial rules were not read

Breed clubWorking Kelpie Council of Australia

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 5; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 4.

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. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Kelpie (working), Working Kelpie Council registry Kelpie

Every breed, read the same way.

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

All published breeds

Your working kelpie, on the record.

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