OUNTRY: Australia
The harsh, unaccustomed environment of Australia forced settlers from England and Scotland to select working dogs that fit the land's conditions—much larger spaces, great numbers of fractious merino sheep, plus the intense heat. The mob (Aussie lingo for a flock of sheep) had to be folded (brought into the pens at the ranch or station) each night, in those early days, to protect them from Dingoes, aborigines and straying. This required a real workaholic "mustering" or gathering-style sheep dog, rather than the shepherding type from the old country. Many counties and even some estates in the base for the breed we know today as the Australian Kelpie dog.
In the late 1800s, a rancher named Gleason swapped a horse for a black/tan sheep dog pup bred in Victoria of imported parents from the Rutherford strain. He named her "Kelpie," Gaelic for water sprite, and found her to be a fine worker. She became known as "Gleason's Kelpie," and it was her offspring that gave the breed its name. This original Kelpie was bred twice to "Moss," a black Australian dog from the Rutherford strain, and then to "Caesar," a black/tan dog from pure Scottish parentage. From this last litter by Caesar was created the most renowned "Kelpie" of all. A black/tan female, also named "Kelpie," was given to G.T.W. King. His Kelpie (the second) later won the first sheep dog trial held hi Australia. This coup created a greater interest in the strain.
The Australian Kelpie breed evolved from this beginning, with crosses to other strains throughout the years. The breed is essentially all English without introduction of the Dingo. Many fine working black dogs resulted from the line created by back crosses to Moss, particularly one named "Barb," For many years, there was a story illustrates the breed's intense desire to work which blocks out everything else.
An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Australian Kelpies are in service on Australian ranches today, still the top herding dog in that country, and sheep workers say a good Kelpie is equivalent to two men on horseback. The labor-saving statistics are staggering, and many American ranchers are learning the worth of these dogs. Although a natural header with sheep, the Kelpie can be taught to drive in order to work cattle. Kelpies bred for cattle work are forceful, and many both head and heel. They can be most useful in gathering sheep and bringing them into the pens, forcing them through the dipping vats, loading them into trucks and railcars, and even "backing" them (leaping on their backs) if they get jammed in the loading chutes. A team of Australian Kelpies can be sent out to round up a herd of dairy cows or cattle while the owner waits at the gate. They can assist in running them through the veterinary chutes, loading them and driving them down the road to another pasture.
Australian Kelpies have been used effectively, also, with hogs, horses, goats, poultry and even reindeer.
No comments:
Post a Comment