Thinking about getting a working Kelpie?
-
Think about what type of dog you would like. There are many different styles of Kelpie, and it is important you get one which suits you. Will you be mainly doing paddock or pen work, or would you require a mix? Any good breeder should be able to tell you the working styles of their genetic lines and sell you a dog which suits your situation, not just sell you a puppy from the litter.
-
Ask to see the parents working. The importance of this is not to be underestimated. It is easy to make a dog look good on a photo or video! Purchasing from someone who does not work their dogs regularly, can sometimes mean that health issues are hidden and not as obvious as they would be if the dog was worked regularly. BATWK breeders listed on our directory are required to show videos of parents regularly working stock, and we encourage that you request to see those dogs working.
-
Use the BATWK dog registry and database to see if the parents are registered, and if they have been health tested or any other breeding history.
-
Check to see what health tests the dogs being bred from have had done. We recommend that all dogs bred from are hip scored by the BVA and are of known CA status. More information can be found about both of these important diseases can be found on the health page.
-
Not all good dogs are historically registered, many of the best dogs are not! Get in touch with BATWK to find out more about the history of the breeding lines of the dog. We here at BATWK are encouraging UK breeders who may not have historically registered dogs do so now, so that we don't lose records of breeding lines.
-
Price does not necessarily determine the quality of a dog. Many of those who breed good dogs, breed for their own needs, and not necessarily for profit!
-
Make sure you are committed to the dog. A dog is only as good as their owner, or more importantly as good as their owners understanding of the dog. Please see below a series of videos from Beloka Kelpies which we strongly recommend you watch if you are thinking about or have just purchased/adopted a kelpie pup.
2 MIN Kelpie Pup Training Videos from Beloka Kelpies
Many thanks to Paul Macphail and Anneke Homan from Beloka Kelpies for allowing us to share these videos.