Temperament
Kelpies are loyal, friendly, intelligent, energetic dogs that require a challenging job to be satisfactory companions. They need to be stimulated, as idle and bored dogs become frustrated, noisy, and destructive. With personalised love and attention, they can be very placid and faithful, although they do need space to run. A working bred Kelpie must have a job to do and plenty of exercise and mental stimulation to remain healthy and companionable. A Kelpie is not aggressive towards people and cannot be considered a guard dog, though he will certainly bark when necessary. Working Kelpies may nip when working stock and should be taught early not to do so to humans.
Working-bred Kelpies have done quite well in dog sports, search and rescue work, and can be good family dogs if they receive sufficient physical and mental exercise. The breed is unsuitable for a sedentary life and would not thrive in an apartment setting.
Show Kelpies generally excel in agility trials and may be shown in conformation in Australia. 'Riley', an Australian Kelpie, set the world record for dog jumping when he jumped 2.95 metres at the Casterton, Victoria Kelpie Festival. In his previous 30 high jumping competitions he was defeated only twice.
Read more about this topic: Australian Kelpie
Famous quotes containing the word temperament:
“That a good fit between parental handling and child temperament is vital to help children adapt to the imperatives of their society is a crucial concept that can be applied to other cultures.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)
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—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
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