Many kelpie owners wonder if their dog has a little bit of dingo in them. Some believe the kelpie was bred with the dingo to make them more resilient to the Australian climate. New research suggests this may be bush folklore.
About the Breed
The compact but muscular Australian Cattle Dog, also called Blue or Red Heeler or Queensland Heeler, is related to Australia's famous wild dog, the Dingo.
Australian Cattle Dogs are the culmination of cross-breeding the Blue Merle and the Australian Dingo by British settlers in Australia in the late 1800s. These working dogs have plenty of energy and love to run. They're devoted to their people and can be good for families—as long they have an outlet for all that energy.
Dogs that look like Dingoes include Carolina Dog, Australian Cattle Dog, Canaan Dog, Basenji, Podenco Canario, and Thai Ridgeback are some dogs that look like Dingoes and are best for pet owners looking to have Dingo-like dogs.
The typical Carolina dog has pointed ears, a fox-like snout and a tail that curves like a fishhook when it is raised. They look similar to Australian Dingoes but, taxonomically, they fall under canis familiaris.
The Carolina Dog is very similar in appearance to a small Dingo. The distinctive features of this breed are those which have been valuable to its survival in the swamps and forests of the South.
In most animals, hybridization between closely related species does not happen, or like female horses and male donkeys, produce mules -- usually non-fertile offspring. However, many canid species, including wolves, dingoes and dogs, can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Australian Cattle Dogs, Australian Shepherds, and Border Collies are three breeds that are similar to the Australian Kelpie. Australian Cattle Dog: Australian Cattle Dogs and Kelpies were both bred to herd livestock in Australia.
The dingo is clearly not fully domesticated now nor is it necessarily a free-living, completely wild species. The dingo is a unique animal with capabilities that reflect both its lupine ancestry, a certain degree of accommodation to human company, and unique adaptations to the demands of its habitat.
Origin. The Australian Cattle Dog is the outcome of a deliberate breeding programme. Various dogs with specific abilities were crossbred over a period of 60 years. During the 1830's a collie type dog was crossed with the native wild Dingo.
He even claimed to have developed the blue heeler breed. "Now we'd always been told by Australia's great dog authority of the late 19th and early 20th century, Robert Kaleski, that it was a cross between a dingo and a collie," Hull said.
Bluey (7 June 1910 – 14 November 1939) was a female Australian Cattle Dog owned by Les and Esma Hall of Rochester, Victoria. She previously held the record as the oldest dog to ever live, until being surpassed by Bobi from Portugal.
It was believed the original kelpie breed was developed by crossing the Scottish collie with the dingo when it first came to Australia, to make it more resilient to the harsh climate.
Breed Society for the Australian Working Kelpie. The foundation of the Kelpie breed is now well documented. The breed originated from the intermixing of the progeny of three pairs of 'Working Collies' imported into Australia by three early landholders. The foundation female, born of black and tan working collies on Mr.
The Working Kelpie has remained true to his roots and is able to perform all the jobs for which he was bred. The Australian Kelpie has moved away from being able to properly perform the job he was bred for and more towards the conformation and uniformity.
Plain coloured kelpies can be black; red; blue (grey) and cream or tan. The absence of white is indicative of the Kelpie breed, however some white on chest and toes is permissible. White paws, legs, broad white chest, white collar and tip of tail generally define kelpies cross-bred with Border Collies.
Kelpies will befriend other pets and dog breeds in no time at all. With a history of herding, it's not unlikely for the Kelpie to want to see other small animals (or children) as flock. Kelpies are known to be friendly and once properly socialised, they're known to be gentle and not aggressive for their lifespan.
While still relatively rare outside of their native Australia, Kelpies have been imported all across the world as working dogs, show dogs, and pets.
Since the early days of European settlement of Australia, domestic dogs have been interbreeding with 'pure' dingoes to create hybrids or crossbreds.
Breeding behaviours
Only the most dominant members of an established Dingo pack will breed leaving the other members to help with the feeding of the pups. Dingoes can interbreed with other breeds of domestic dogs. Dingo fence along the New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia borders.
There is a small possibility you could stumble upon your dog attempting to breed with a fox. But as established, a fox and a dog cannot successfully breed. No pregnancy will result. The most likely complication from their interaction is an injury to your pup.
They are classified into three major types; desert dingoes, which are known to be sand-colored, reddish, or golden yellow, alpine dingoes, which are rare and are distinguished by their light cream coats, and northern dingoes, which are known for their lack of double coats as well as having the finest build of the three ...
The alpine dingo is endangered primarily due to eradication programs, hunting, and inbreeding, but Wandi could be helpful in furthering the proliferation of the species.
Purebred dingoes more common than researchers thought, genetic study finds. New research suggests dingoes don't have much dog ancestry and are more purebred than researchers thought.