We adopted a dog from a local Pittsburgh (PA, USA) shelter back in April of last year. She was advertised as a "rat terrier." Right away we knew that wasn't very accurate, but we weren't sure what her ancestry was. We had a DNA test done, and it suggested Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd, and Border Collie. That seems closer, but I'm not sure that's entirely right, either. https://photos.app.goo.gl/jFZa5BgKTMUQ5Zzu6 After a bit of looking, we're wondering if she's a kelpie mix, or possibly a pure kelpie. There seems to be some variability within the breed, but I don't know a whole lot. She's 2 or 3 years old (we think), weighs about 14 kg (30-ish lbs), is very athletic, has a ton of energy, and is powerfully motivated by food. Her metabolism is insane. She's a very sweet and affectionate dog, but needs a lot of attention and activity. It seems consistent with what I read about kelpies, but I'd be interested to hear opinions in this forum. Thoughts? Thanks, Greg
I wouldn't disbelieve the dna test. Though you could try querying it if you really do suspect that there has been a mistake. They are pretty accurate for all of the popular breeds, and are getting more so all the time as they build records for the rarer breeds. A crossbred dog does not necessarily have to closely resemble one of the breeds in its genetic make-up, as nature deals a fresh hand with each generation and with a rescue dog multiple breeds are usually involved.
Does look like a kelpie , the weight is ok there is kelpies that size here . Seeing how a lot of Australian working dogs on farms will not be a pure bred , cattle dog is a very common cross in station dogs as how well they work is more important to many farmers than being pure bred . Lots of times they are advertised as working dogs specifically , and papered working dogs are not that common here actually . Chances are a station dog would have a bit of cross breeding in there , kelpie has a type of collie in its breeding also , I’m not a geneticist obviously , however it also seems possible this could explain that if not a straight cross with a border collie which is also very common in working dogs here Either way ,If you were in Australia and I saw that dog , I would think , looks like you have a working dog to some degree there ! I imagine it is a genius too. Nice looking dog .
Some things about mixed breeds: 1. Outside of "designer dogs", most mixes have at least three breeds in them. Often more. 2. Not every breed in the mix will present itself physically. So while the dog may not look at all like a poodle, he may have poodle in his makeup. Same for temperament and behavior. The smaller the amount of a breed, the less likely you'll "see" it in the dog. 3. When breeds mix, they do weird things. The physical traits from each breed may combine to create something different. A large dog may have small dog dna - he just got his size from a large breed in the mix, or visa versa. A dog may get her body shape from a lab and her legs from a bassett. Or a dog may get her ears from a beagle and her muzzle shape from a pug and her tail from an akita. With that, I wouldn't consider the dna results as incorrect. Aussie, cattle dogs and borders are common enough in the states to be in a mix. Kelpies are not that common in the states. Your description of her: affectionate, high energy, fast metabolism, food motivated, etc, all fit with any one of those breeds, so they don't cause a questioning of her results either. Her looks could easily be such a combination.
If you are like me and like a scruffy or quirky looking cross breed, its always a comedy when a pup has one ear stand up , bat ears , different patterns mixed in together and unexpected size and lengths . My hunting pup is a cross who’s parents were 32 kg and 23 kg weight , At 12 weeks old he was 15kg already , so he has thrown back to the bull arab larger size . his father had one ear ‘kinda’ up , one other tatty looking ear and scruffy , admittedly his mother is a stunner so it could have gone either way . hunting dogs bred together for their ability , noses athleticism and purposes , less so than looks , thats the other part of the equation . A good mate most importantly .
I love how dna twists things. I fostered a lovely all black lab with basset legs. Everything about her was lab except for those stubby wrinkly fat legs. Well that and her extremely laid back to the point of lazy temperament.
I remember a neighbor back in the late 80’s had a working very expensive blue kelpie . I have no idea how blue got into the mix, it was around even way back then . now they are rare to see , i never see them personally from memory these days , though I have online seen pics. a blue and silver best i can describe it , like a 2 layered color. now if that was a staffy , a pit , am staff , frenchie a “insert breed here“ they would be commonplace and beginning to be inbred due to desire ability. instead they are fazed out mostly (at least it seems to me) , except some breeders . not sure why , other than working dogs seem to follow a different genetic pathway than most domestic breeds . Got my curiosity noticing that recently . maybe the price became actually reduced for them , as they are hyperactive as pets and often moved on to new homes when people cant keep up , Often advertised to go to a farm to work or large block of land only .A bit like buying Say an anatolian shephard would be then what do you know ? it does what it says on the box! , I mean so people don’t so much keep kelpies as pets, especially in cities or suburbs. Therefore no demand for the ‘designer ‘ blue type trends there . Hmmm ‘ musings.
Or maybe the Blue kelpies are actually in the city and they have successfully turned then into couch potatoes through selective breeding and I just don’t know because I never go to cities these days
