Ed and I have trained with a couple of Kelpies and I like the breed a lot. I have skimmed the videos, will watch when I have more time. The book looks interesting.
Where I grew up the neighbor had and bred working kelpies. He went to work with them pushing sheep up in the pens at the local abbatoir. I still say kelpies are the smartest dogs I’ve ever seen . I picked a lot up from that guy and his dogs early on. I put these vids up , so maybe someone considering getting a kelpie for a pet may see them . especially the part in one of these vids where the guy says how far would they run in a day working , to which the man replies probably about 50 or 60 kilometers in a day! And for those who want a working kelpie for a pet let that sink in I also liked the part where the guy says it was an act of god the cross that created them , Which could not be repeated, and how healthy and fit they are. plus the best dog there working he’s talking about is 14
there has been a lot of conflicting stories of the breeds origins , however in the second vid here , the guy has done his dna homework and travelled overseas also to track the ancestors
A Kelpie pup learning detection work . Enjoyable watching how they ‘ join the dots’ together from an early age.
Been watching kelpies do agility course on YouTube. I think they must be underrepresented worldwide and being Australian perhaps they’re not so well known everywhere else. I know the border collies are phenomenal and can’t take anything away from them . I see them as quite calm , where as I see kelpies as more switched ‘on’. just my opinion and feeling however I believe if kelpies were better represented they can keep up with the collies ‘at least’.
The border collies have amazing balance. Some kelpies are really light framed , some have bigger chests and bodies. I think the lighter framed kelpies would do well.