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Discussion: Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
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java2go |
Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
May 8 2008, 3:30 AM EDT
I am a "show" Kelpie owner and have done a lot of research in the area of the breed. Some of you may recall a website I had posted a few years ago called Australian Kelpie Outpost. What I am about to say may irritate some of you, so be forewarned. If you look at the earliest known photographs of the Kelpie breed, they appear as the "show Kelpie" and not the working kelpie line. I think many have the history reversed. The working Kelpies continue to look less and less like the original early Kelpies in the earliest historical records and to me personally, look nothing like the original early kelpie. They are not built the same, the breech is different, the face and ears are different. I have looked at many breeder pages (primarily in Australia), and the show kelpie is fading from the lines which to me is alarming. The working kelpies, I am sure, are great animals and are great herders, but don't discount the "show" kelpie as not capable of being a working dog, too. My dog was never trained to herd, but did it instinctively when I visited a friend's ranch in South Texas. I hate to see what I consider to be the best companion breed and one of the most intelligent breeds (what you call the show Kelpie" ) to be vanishing from the planet and breeding programs.
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Keyword tags:
Australian
Kelpie
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Yatahae |
1. RE: Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
May 11 2008, 12:13 PM EDT
Java2go the lines split in the 1920's with the show people developing a more showy type dog and the working people continuing with selecting for herding dogs. The Kelpie did not start out as a show dog, it started out as a herding dog because of the need for herding dogs in Australia. The working Kelpie was needed during that time (1800's), as there were no other effective working dogs in Australia to help the stockmen on the large sheep stations. Here is a more comprehensive research study on the Working Kelpie, than from the Outpost, http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/6392/ The show Kelpie is not vanishing from the planet, and is still going strong in Australia in the show breeding programs. Your post may have been better posted in the show Kelpie (Australian Kelpie) page. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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java2go |
2. RE: Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
Oct 7 2008, 2:01 AM EDT
Thanks for the comments. . If you check the source, the website you reference on http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/6392/ is from the Noonbarra breeder of the working kelpie which doesn't surpise me. Although this content is disseminated freely, I do not consider it necessarily a credible research source. I have found some differences in my own research which I won't go into here. Most of the puppymill sites online copy content like this onto their own sites because they are too lazy to do their own research and people just consider it truth because it's in print. I implore you to locate the earliest photos of the kelpies and they look nothing like "working kelpie" of today. The working kelpie looks like someone introduced lines of German Shepherd and Doberman with the original Kelpies and basically created something altogether different. I guess it doesn't matter because the propaganda has worked.
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java2go |
3. RE: Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
Oct 7 2008, 2:38 AM EDT
One last thing - if the show kelpie is not vanishing, then do some searches on Google and let me know how many "Show" kelpie breeders you can locate. Can you find one? Do another search and try to locate events on any shows that "show" kelpies are in. Find that article yet? Good luck. The breed has been watered down. All I ask is that you look at all photos of what kelpies were called from late 19th century to the early 1930's and see if what is now termed "working kelpie" looks like those dogs. They don't. I really think it's that simple. I think the breeds should officially split and the working kelpies be called Australian Stock Dogs because that's what they are and leave the original Kelpies with their original name because they came first on the scene. Word out. Do you find this valuable? |
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Yatahae |
4. RE: Show Kelpie -Working Kelpie Misinformation
Oct 9 2008, 11:32 PM EDT
I have read several books or Articles by Tim Austin, Doohan, Tony Parsons, Les Tarrant, Jack Woolsey and they all say the same with documentation to back it up that the breed split in the 1920's -- with the show Kelpies going one way and Working Kelpies going another. There are more Working Kelpie owners/breeders in the USA than the Show breeders/owners (there are very few Show Kelpie breeders in the USA). There seems to be many Show breeders in Australia, but many more Working Kelpie breeders (in Australia).Please state your facts about the Show Kelpies vs the Working Kelpies as I'd like to hear them. I'm not sure what you are getting at, or what you want to prove or disprove. It would be helpful if you would state your facts and list where your found them. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
