Australian Kelpie Kennel

FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE (AISBL) SECRETARIAT GENERAL: 13, Place Albert 1er B – 6530 Thuin (Belgique) 11.12.2012/EN FCI-Standard N° 293

AUSTRALIAN KELPIE
St-FCI n°293/ 11.12.2012 2
ORIGIN: Australia.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 08.10.2012.
UTILIZATION: Sheepdog.
FCI-CLASSIFICATION:Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Cattledogs).
Section 1 Sheepdogs. With working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: Following the opening of vast areas of land in the Australian States of New South Wales and Victoria, the sheep numbers increased so dramatically that some properties were over two million acres and ran over a quarter of a million sheep. In areas as extensive as these, herding (originally carried out by convicts) was impractical, wire fences were erected and sheep were left to run free. It was then necessary to have dogs to handle sheep in such large areas. A dog had to be developed to work in the conditions present in Australia. These conditions included heat, rough terrain, dust storms and vast distances. The Kelpie being able to perform the work of several men. Tireless workers in the hottest and dustiest of climates. Like so many breeds, the origin of the Kelpie is disputed. There is no doubt, however, that the origin of the breed came from dogs imported from Scotland. These dogs were black and tan, long-haired with semi- pricked ears, medium sized and of Collie type. Others were smooth haired with erect ears but still of Collie type. Litters from these dogs also produced red (liverbrown) puppies.

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GENERAL APPEARANCE: The general appearance shall be that of a lithe, active dog of great quality, showing hard muscular condition combined with great suppleness of limb and conveying the capability of untiring work. It must be free from any suggestion of weediness.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The length of the dog from the forechest, in a straight line to the buttocks, is greater than the height at the withers, as 10 is to 9.

BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT: The Kelpie is extremely alert, eager and highly intelligent, with a mild, tractable disposition and an almost inexhaustible energy, with marked loyalty and devotion to duty. It has a natural instinct and aptitude in working of sheep, both in open country and in the yard. Any defect of structure or temperament foreign to a working dog must be regarded as uncharacteristic.

HEAD: The head is in proportion to the size of the dog. The overall shape and contours produce a rather fox like expression, which is softened by the almond-shaped eyes.

CRANIAL REGION: Skull: Slightly rounded and broad between the ears. The forehead running in a straight profile towards the stop. Stop: Pronounced.

FACIAL REGION: Nose: The colour conforms to that of the body coat. Muzzle: Cleanly chiselled and defined, preferably slightly shorter in length than the skull. Lips: Tight and clean, free from looseness. Jaws/Teeth: The teeth should be sound, strong and evenly spaced, the lower incisors just behind but touching the upper; that is a scissor bite. Cheeks: Neither coarse nor prominent, but round to the foreface.

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Eyes: The eyes are almond shaped, of medium size, clearly defined at the corners, and show an intelligent and eager expression. The colour of the eyes to be brown, harmonising with the colour of the coat. In the case of blue dogs a lighter coloured eye is permissible.

Ears: The ears are pricked and running to a fine point at the tips, the leather fine but strong at the base, set wide apart on the skull and inclining outwards, slightly curved on the outer edge and of moderate size. The inside of the ears are well furnished with hair.

NECK: The neck is of moderate length, strong, slightly arched, gradually moulding into the shoulders, free from throatiness and showing a fair amount of ruff.

BODY: Topline: Firm, level. Loins: Strong and well muscled. Flanks of good depth.

Croup: Rather long and sloping.

Chest: Deep, muscular and moderately broad. Ribs well sprung and carried well back, not barrel ribbed.

TAIL: The tail during rest should hang in a very slight curve. During movement of excitement it may be raised, but under no circumstances should the tail be carried past a vertical line drawn through the root. It should be furnished with a good brush. Set on a position to blend with sloping croup, and it should reach approximately to the hock.

LIMBS FOREQUARTERS: General appearance: The forelegs should be muscular with strong but refined bone, straight and parallel when viewed from the front.

Shoulder: Clean, muscular, well sloping with the shoulder-blades close set at the withers.

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Upperarm: Should be at a right angle with the shoulder-blade.

Elbow: Neither in nor out. Metacarpus (Pastern): When viewed from the side, the pasterns should show a slight slope to ensure flexibility of movement and the ability to turn quickly.

Forefeet: The feet should be round, strong, deep in pads, with close knit well arched toes and strong, short nails.

HINDQUARTERS: General appearance: Should show breadth and strength. When viewed from behind, the hind legs, from the hocks to the feet, are straight and placed parallel, neither close nor too wide apart. Stifle (Knee): Well turned. Hock joint: Fairly well let down. Hind feet: The feet should be round, strong, deep in pads, with close knit well arched toes and strong short nails.

GAIT/MOVEMENT: To produce the almost limitless stamina demanded of a working sheepdog in wide open spaces, the kelpie must be perfectly sound, both in construction and movement. Movement should be free and tireless and the dog must have the ability to turn suddenly at speed. When trotting the feet tend to come closer together at ground level as speed increases, but when the dog comes to rest it stands four square.

COAT Hair: The coat is a double coat with a short dense undercoat. The outer coat is close, each hair straight, hard and lying flat, so that it is rain-resisting. Under the body, to behind the legs, the coat is longer and forms near the thigh a mild form of breeching. On the head (including the inside of the ears), to the front of the legs and feet, the hair is short. Along the neck it is longer and thicker forming a ruff. The tail should be furnished with a good brush. A coat either too long or too short is a fault. As an average, the hairs on the body should be from 2 to 3 cms in length.

GROOMING: For grooming, a good weekly brushing with a brush to remove dead hairs from the coat should be enough. For a shiny coat you can polish the dog with a chamois towel. Bathe them only when necessary.

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Colour: Black, black and tan, red, red and tan, fawn, chocolate, and smoke blue.

SIZE AND WEIGHT: Height at the withers: Males: 46 to 51 cms. Females: 43 to 48 cms.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on its ability to perform its traditional work.

SEVERE FAULTS: • Loose shoulders. • Any tendency of cow- or bow hocked. • Weaving or plating movement. • Movement that is restricted or shows stiltedness.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS: • Aggressive or overly shy dogs. • Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified. N.B: • Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. • Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation, should be used for breeding. The latest amendments are in bold characters.

HD: / HIP DYSPLASIA:

This type of disease directly affects the hip joints of dogs, which is the bone structure that attaches the dog’s body to the hind legs. The hips joints are ball and socket joints that rotate freely to allow dogs to walk normally. There are two ball and socket joints present both in animals and humans, one for each leg. If these two joints don’t match in shape and in form, or if one of them is grows abnormally, limping will occur. This is one the symptoms of hip dysplasia.

Hip dysplasia normally occurs during a young dog’s growing stages. Hip dysplasia may affect both the left and right hips, causing intense discomfort to your pet. The disease usually develops due to the laxity of the ligaments, connective tissues, and muscles around the joints.

Hip dysplasia is mostly regarded as a genetic disease. However, there are many dogs that are born with normal hip joints but eventually acquire the disease growing up. There are some factors that cause the soft tissues around the hip joints to grow peculiarly. When bones develop too far apart from each other, the bones become unstable. These are just a few of the reasons why hip dysplasia occurs.

PRA or PRD (Progressive retinal atrophy or degeneration):

There are multiple forms of PRA which differ in the age of onset and rate of progression of the disease. Some breeds experience an earlier onset than others; other breeds do not develop PRA until later in life. Normally, the photoreceptors in the retinas develop after birth to about 8 weeks of age. The retinas of dogs with PRA either have arrested development (retinal dysplasia) or early degeneration of the photoreceptors. Retinal dysplastic dogs are usually affected within two months of birth and may be completely blind by one year. Dogs with retinal degeneration are affected from one year to eight years of age and the symptoms progress slowly. PRA worsens over time. The affected animal experiences night blindness initially because the rods are affected first. The condition progresses to failed daytime vision.

La Razza

FCI Standard N° 293/ 21.04.1997 CANE DA PASTORE AUSTRALIANO

ORIGINE: Australia

DATA DI PUBBLICAZIONE DELLO STANDARD ORIGINALE VIGENTE : 11.09.1989

UTILIZZAZIONE: Cane da pastore

CLASSIFICAZIONE F.C.I.: Gruppo 1 Cani da pastore e bovari ( esclusi i Bovari svizzeri) Sezione 1 Cani da pastore Con prova di lavoro

ASPETTO GENERALE Deve essere quello di un cane di grande qualità, vivace e attivo, che presenti una forte muscolatura combinata con grande agilità, che esprima la possibilità di svolgere un lavoro instancabile. Deve essere privo di qualsiasi accenno di gracilità

COMPORTAMENTO – CARATTERE Il Kelpie è estremamente attivo, zelante e molto intelligente, con un carattere mite e docile, e con un’energia quasi inesauribile, con spiccata lealtà e devozione al suo dovere. Ha un istinto naturale e attitudine per lavorare col gregge, sia in aperta campagna che nelle recinzioni. Qualsiasi elemento di carattere e struttura, che siano estranei al cane da lavoro, devono essere considerati come difetti di tipicità.

TESTA è in proporzione con la taglia del cane. L’insieme della forma e dei profili danno al cane l’espressione quasi di volpe, mitigata dagli occhi a forma di mandorla.

REGIONE DEL CRANIO Cranio leggermente arrotondato e ampio fra gli orecchi. La fronte arriva con un profilo diritto allo stop Stop pronunciato

REGIONE DEL MUSO Tartufo il colore armonizza con quello del mantello Muso nettamente cesellato e definito, preferibilmente leggermente più corto del cranio Labbra aderenti e pulite, non pendule Denti devono essere sani forti e regolarmente distanziati, con gli incisivi inferiori appena dietro, ma che toccano quelli superiori; cioè chiusura a forbice Guance né grosse né sporgenti ma arrotondate Occhi hanno forma di mandorla, di media misura, nettamente definiti agli angoli, e hanno un’espressione zelante e intelligente. Il colore degli occhi deve essere marrone, in armonia col colore del mantello. Nel caso di cani blu, è permesso un colore più chiaro. Orecchi sono eretti e finiscono alla sommità in una punta fine; il padiglione è fine e forte alla base. Sono ben distanziati sul cranio e inclinati verso 1 l’esterno, leggermente curvi sul bordo esterno e di misura moderata. L’interno degli orecchi è ben ricoperto di pelo.

COLLO di moderata lunghezza, forte, leggermente arcuato, gradualmente si fonde nelle spalle, senza pelle rilasciata alla gola e con un abbondante collare.

CORPO la lunghezza del cane misurata in linea netta dal petto alle natiche è superiore all’altezza al garrese nella proporzione di 10 a 9 Linea superiore ferma e orizzontale Rene forte e molto muscoloso Groppa piuttosto lunga e obliqua Torace più profondo che ampio Costole ben cerchiate Fianchi di buona profondità

CODA a riposo la coda dovrebbe pendere con una leggera curva. In movimento può essere rialzata, ma in nessun caso dovrebbe essere portata oltre la linea verticale che passa per l’inserzione. Dovrebbe essere fornita di pelo che formi una buona spazzola. Inserita in modo che si fonde con la linea inclinata della groppa; dovrebbe essere lunga circa fino ai garretti.

ARTI ANTERIORI: gli anteriori dovrebbero essere muscolosi con ossa robuste ma non grossolane, diritti e paralleli se visti dal davanti Spalle pulite, muscolose, ben oblique con scapole ben appoggiate al garrese Braccio dovrebbe essere ad angolo retto con la scapola Gomiti né in fuori né in dentro Metacarpo se visto di lato, dovrebbe mostrare una leggera inclinazione per assicurare flessibilità al movimento, e la possibilità di girare velocemente

POSTERIORI: dovrebbero mostrare ampiezza e forza. Se viste da dietro, le gambe, dal garretto al piede, sono diritte e parallele, né strette né troppo distanziate. Ginocchio ben angolato Garretto piuttosto disceso Piedi dovrebbero essere rotondi, forti, con cuscinetti spessi, e dita ben chiuse e arcuate; unghie forti e corte.

ANDATURA per la illimitata resistenza richiesta a un cane da pastore che lavora negli spazi aperti, il Kelpie deve essere perfettamente sano, sia nella costruzione che nel movimento. Qualsiasi tendenza ad avere garretti vaccini o a botte, gracilità, spalle deboli o movimenti limitati con andatura serpeggiante o incrociata, è un difetto grave. Il movimento dovrebbe essere sciolto e instancabile e il cane deve avere la capacità di cambiare direzione improvvisamente mentre corre.. Al trotto i piedi tendono a ravvicinarsi a livello del suolo quando la velocità aumenta, ma quando il cane è a riposo, devono essere perpendicolari al terreno.

MANTELLO 2 PELO è un doppio pelo con un sottopelo denso e corto. Il pelo esterno è fitto, con ogni pelo diritto, duro e appiattito, tale da essere impermeabile. Sotto il corpo, dietro le gambe, il pelo è più lungo e forma vicino alla coscia una specie di calzone. Sulla testa, (incluso l’interno degli orecchi), sul davanti degli arti e piedi, il pelo è corto. Lungo il collo il pelo è più lungo e più spesso e forma un collare. La coda dovrebbe essere fornita di una buona spazzola. Un pelo troppo lungo o troppo corto è un difetto. In media, il pelo sul corpo dovrebbe essere lungo da 2 a 3 cm.

COLORE nero, nero e fuoco, rosso, rosso e fuoco, fulvo, cioccolato e blu cenere TAGLIA La taglia al garrese: per i maschi da 46 a 51 cm “ le femmine da 43 a 48 cm

DIFETTI: qualsiasi deviazione da quanto sopra deve essere considerato difetto e la severità con cui va penalizzato deve essere proporzionata alla sua gravità N.B. I maschi devono avere due testicolo apparentemente normali completamente discesi nello scroto.