Of
course, not all Kelpies make good pets, just as not all dogs of any breed make
good pets. However many Kelpies do make excellent pets and the breed has been a
big favourite as a household pet in Australia for generations. KELPIES AS PETS
Australian Working Kelpies are an ideal pet dog for most Australian families. They are easy to care for, have a high sense of loyalty and a great sense of fun. Because they are such a super smart breed they do need owners that are willing to train them in basic obedience and willing to spend some time with them. They are not a dog that do well neglected in a backyard day after day. They love to interact with people.
Of
course, not all Kelpies make good pets, just as not all dogs of any breed make
good pets. However many Kelpies do make excellent pets and the breed has been a
big favourite as a household pet in Australia for generations.
When I was a young bloke nearly every street in Sydney and Melbourne had a Working Kelpie or two. They were great dogs with children and loved to be around people. But there was a period during the 70's and 80's where Kelpies lost favour for the more exotic fancy breeds from overseas but in the last 10 years there has been a big turn around and families are once again embracing the Working Kelpie breed for their companion dogs.
Our Noonbarra Kelpies are an ideal dog for a family that wants a very intelligent dog that is medium sized and needs very little grooming or veterinary care. A Noonbarra Kelpie is a dog that can run and play with the whole family and has a wonderful nature that makes him a favourite amongst family and friends.
Some Working Kelpie breeders do not like their kelpies being sold as pets at all! Some Kelpie breeders don't think Kelpies should ever be pets. There are various reasons for this but the main one seems to be that they think the good working ability of their Kelpies is wasted. Other breeders will only sell to handlers that will do sheepdog trials and promote their Kelpies. We only care that the dog has a good loving home. But we do expect owners to do a reasonable amount of training and preferably attend a course at a local obedience class. That way they can get the best from their Kelpie.
We feel it is more important that every Kelpie we sell has a good life and we don't worry too much about anything else. There are of course always going to be some bad dog owners in the city but there are also some owners on huge sheep stations with thousands of acres that don't deserve to ever own a dog. We will never sell to a person who we feel may be cruel or neglect their Kelpie. Dog owners have a responsibility to look after their animals.
Dr Harry Cooper with Noonbarra Jackaroo, Noonbarra Flash, Noonbarra Cassie and Noonbarra Dusty III.
This picture was taken at an advertising photo shoot we did for Greens Supercoat Dog food. Dr. Harry, a well known TV. identity was very good with the dogs and kindly offered to do this photo in the garden with all the dogs we had with us at the photo studio.
We have sold a lot of Noonbarra companion Kelpies over the years to homes in Cities and suburbs and even overseas. They have done extremely well in this environment. They have often surprised their owners with their intelligence, loyalty and behaviour. We like our dogs to be calm in the house but active outside. Our Kelpies are very smart and learn things quickly and that includes general house rules, toilet training and other important everyday tasks.
Temperament has always been an
important selection quality for our Noonbarra Kelpie Stud. This has always given
us a big advantage over other breeders. We feel a dog with a temperament that
wants to please and is easy going will work better with their owner and as well as making
a better companion dog also makes a much better working
dog!
We breed our Noonbarra Kelpies to be friendly, even tempered, good with children and able to handle noise, traffic, crowds etc. Every year we improve more and more in our breeding program and we now have a reputation that other breeders envy and many try to copy. We sell a number of our Noonbarra Kelpies to other breeders and we are regarded as parent Stud and one of the longest established.
These special qualities in our Kelpies have
not happened by accident. We have spent many years improving these
special Noonbarra bloodlines and spent thousands of dollars and many hundreds of hours
working to continually improve the Kelpie pups we produce. The result has been very special
Kelpies that are versatile and very keen as workers and very devoted
mates to their owners.
We are very proud of our reputation and as a result we are often contacted by other Kelpie Stud breeders to supply them with quality Kelpies for their own breeding stock.
MORE DETAILS & PHOTOS ON OUR KELPIES AS PETS
Mary & Stephen Bilson, Noonbarra Kelpies
P.O. Box 1374 Orange NSW 2800 Australia
Australia Ph. 02-6366 1641
International calls 011-61-2-6366 1641
GREAT LINKS
MORE INFORMATION ON NOONBARRA KELPIES
KELPIE BREEDING AND ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
THE KELPIE STORY: HISTORY AND FAMOUS KELPIES