Australian Kelpie

Sign at Ardlethan, New South Wales, claiming the town as "The home of the Kelpie"

The Kelpie Monument in Casterton, "Birthplace of the Kelpie".

The ancestors of most Kelpies were British dogs known loosely as collies (sometimes spelled colleys). These were mostly black, or very dark brown, dogs – hence the name collie, which has the same root as coal.[3][4] (The official collie breeds were not formed until about 10 or 15 years after the Kelpie was established as a breed,[5] and the first recognised Border Collie was not brought to Australia until after the Federation in 1901).[6] Some collies were imported to Australia for stock work in the early 19th century, and were bred with other types of dogs – usually with an eye to working sheep without direct supervision.

For much of the 20th century and early 21st century it was claimed that kelpies were partly descended from dingoes.[7] In 2019, it was widely reported[8][9][10] that a genomic study conducted by researchers from the University of Sydney indicated that the kelpie had no dingo ancestry[11] although this is still uncertain. Claire Wade, co-author of the study's paper, informed Bill Robinson (author of Origins of the Australian Kelpie) that she has never suggested there was "no dingo blood in the Kelpie breed" as the media reported.[12] Wade explained:

The genes studied in our analysis were specifically chosen because it is those aspects of Kelpies (the ears and the ginger/cream colours) that lead most everyday people to presume the relationship between Kelpie and dingo. The evidence of our study proves conclusively that, at least for those characteristics, there is no evidence for relationship to be found.[12]

The first dog known as a Kelpie was a black and tan female pup with floppy ears bought by Jack Gleeson about 1872[13] from a litter born on Warrock Station near Casterton, owned by George Robertson, a Scot.[14] This dog was named Kelpie after the kelpie, a mythological shapeshifting water spirit of Celtic folklore.[15] In later years she was referred to as "(Gleeson's) Kelpie", to differentiate her from "(King's) Kelpie", her daughter.

The second "Kelpie" was "(King's) Kelpie", another black and tan bitch out of "Kelpie" by "Caesar", a pup from two sheepdogs imported from Scotland. "(King's) Kelpie" tied for the prestigious Forbes Trial in 1879,[16] and the strain was soon popularly referred to as "Kelpie's pups", or just Kelpies. The King brothers joined another breeder, McLeod, to form a dog breeding partnership whose dogs dominated trials during 1900 to 1920.[13]

An early Kelpie, Sally, was mated to Moss, a Smooth Collie, and she produced a black pup that was named Barb after The Barb, a black horse which had won the Melbourne Cup in 1866. Consequently, black Kelpies became known as Barb Kelpies or Barbs.[17]

There were a number of Kelpies named Red Cloud. The first and most famous was John Quinn's Red Cloud in the early 20th century. In the 1960s, another Red Cloud became well known in Western Australia. This started the tradition in Western Australia of calling all Red or Red and Tan Kelpies, especially those with white chests, Red Cloud Kelpies.[18] Other notable specimens include Gunner and Red Dog (c. 1971 – 21 November 1979), a Kelpie mix which was the subject of a movie, Red Dog, released in 2011.

Kelpies have been exported to many countries including Argentina, Canada, Italy, Korea, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States for various pursuits.[17]

Kelpie circa 1915

By 1990, Kelpies had been trained as scent dogs with good success rates. In Sweden they have been widely used for tracking and rescue work.[17]

Black and Tan Kelpie

The Kelpie is a soft-coated, medium-sized dog, usually with prick ears and an athletic appearance. Their coat colours include black, black and tan, red, red and tan, blue, blue and tan, fawn, fawn and tan, cream, black and blue, and white and gold. The Kelpie generally weighs 14–20 kg (31–44 lb) and measures 41–51 cm (16–20 in) at the withers. They can reach a maximum weight of 25–27 kg (55–60 lb).[19]

Working Kelpie

Kelpie walking across the backs of sheep

An Australian Kelpie competing in a cattle dog trial, Woolbrook, NSW

Kelpie going back down a race to move the sheep forward

The Working Kelpie comes in three coat types: short, smooth and rough. The coat can be almost any colour from black to light tan or cream. Some Kelpies have a white blaze on the chest, and a few have white points. Kelpies sometimes have a double coat, which sheds out in spring in temperate climates. Agouti[27] is not unusual, and can look like a double coat.

Working Kelpies vary in size, ranging from about 19–25 in (48–64 cm) and 28–60 lb (13–27 kg). The dog's working ability is unrelated to appearance, so stockmen looking for capable working dogs disregard the dog's appearance.

A Working Kelpie can be a cheap and efficient worker that can save farmers and graziers the cost of several hands when mustering livestock.[28][lower-alpha 1] The good working Kelpies are herding dogs that will prevent stock from moving away from the stockman.[13] This natural instinct is crucial when mustering stock in isolated gorge country, where a good dog will silently move ahead of the stockman and block up the stock (usually cattle) until the rider appears. The preferred dogs for cattle work are Kelpies, often of a special line, or a Kelpie cross.[30] They will drive a mob of livestock long distances in extremes of climates and conditions. Kelpies have natural instincts for managing livestock. They will work sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, and other domestic livestock. The Kelpie's signature move is to jump on the backs of sheep and walk across the tops of the sheep to reach the other side and break up the jam. A good working Kelpie is a versatile dog – they can work all day on the farm, ranch, or station, and trial on the weekends. Kelpies compete and are exhibited in livestock working trials, ranging from yards or arenas to large open fields working sheep, goats, cattle, or ducks.[17]

Kelpie competing in a dog jumping class

Show Kelpies generally excel in agility trials and may be shown in conformation in Australia.

Kelpies are intelligent and easy to train dogs making them good-tempered and good pets, especially with children. However they require a lot of physical exercise and mental stimulation, otherwise, they can become bored and hence be disruptive by constantly barking or digging, or by chewing on objects. Taking them on medium to long walks or playing fetch are good ways to keep them stimulated.

Kelpies are a hardy breed with few health problems, but they are susceptible to disorders common to all breeds, such as cryptorchidism, hip dysplasia, cerebellar abiotrophy and luxating patella. Research is underway to find the genetic marker for cerebellar abiotrophy in the breed.

They tend to live to around 10–12 years although some injure themselves as by the age of 10 or 11 they become weaker.[31][32] Until she died at her home in Woolsthorpe, Victoria in April 2016, aged 30 years (about 150 "dog years"), Maggie (a Kelpie), was thought to be the world's oldest dog at her time of death.[33]

• 
  Black Kelpie
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  Chocolate Kelpie
• 
  Red Kelpie
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  Black and Tan Kelpie
• 
  Red and Tan Kelpie
• 
  Smoky Blue Kelpie
• 
  Fawn Kelpie

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• Hartnagle-Taylor, Jeanne Joy; Taylor, Ty (2010). Stockdog Savvy. Alpine Publications. ISBN 978-1-57779-106-5.

Media related to Australian Kelpie at Wikimedia Commons

• Working Kelpie Council
• North American Australian Kelpie Registry
• Kelpie coat colour genetics Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine