Australian Kelpie vs Aussalier | DOGGODRIFT

Australian Kelpie plays with Aussalier puppy. Lucy the Kelpie is the brown dog, and Harley the Aussalier is the Black/white dog. They are best friends, and love to wrestle and play together. Here is some info about them:

"The Australian Kelpie, or simply Kelpie, is an Australian sheep dog successful at mustering and droving with little or no guidance. It is a medium-sized dog and comes in a variety of colours. The Kelpie has been exported throughout the world and is used to muster livestock, primarily sheep, cattle and goats.

The breed has been separated into two distinct varieties: the Show (or Bench) Kelpie and the Working Kelpie. The Show Kelpie is seen at conformation dog shows in some countries and is selected for appearance rather than working instinct, while the Working Kelpie is bred for working ability rather than appearance." "History

Sign at Ardlethan, New South Wales, claiming the town as "The home of the Kelpie"

The Kelpie Monument in Casterton, "Birthplace of the Kelpie".
The ancestors of most kelpies were British dogs known loosely as collies (sometimes spelt colleys). These were mostly black ie dark brown dogs – hence the name collie, which has the same root as coal. (The official collie breeds were not formed until about ten or 15 years after the kelpie was established as a breed, and the first recognised border collie was not brought to Australia until after Federation in 1901. Some collies were imported to Australia for stock work in the early 19th century, and were bred with other types of dogs – usually with an eye to working sheep without direct supervision.

Kelpies are partly descended from dingoes, with 3–4% of their genes coming from the native Australian dog. There is no doubt that some kelpie breeders deliberately mated dingoes into the breed, and some sources have suggested that the best degree of admixture is one 32nd or one 16th, but kelpies with a quarter or half dingo ancestry have also become successful sheepdogs. The two breeds have become similar in conformation and colouring. As the dingo was regarded as a savage sheep killer from the earliest stages of European settlement in Australia, dog breeders were unlikely to admit the practice. At the time of the origin of the kelpie, it was illegal to keep dingoes as pets, and the owners of some dingoes and dingo crosses evidently registered their animals as kelpies."

"The Aussalier is a cross between the Australian Shepherd and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The best way to determine the temperament of a mixed breed is to look up all breeds in the cross and know you can get any combination of any of the characteristics found in either breed. Not all of these designer hybrid dogs being bred are 50% purebred to 50% purebred. It is very common for breeders to breed multi-generation crosses."

"The Aussalier is a newly recognized hybrid, a cross between either a toy or miniature Australian Shepherd and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and there can be several areas of variation in the looks of these little dogs even within one litter. For the most part, they should be happy, friendly, and energetic animals that are very attentive to their family.

This is an extremely new crossbreed of dog, registered with the American Canine Hybrid Club in 2013 by a breeder in Spokane, WA. The Australian Shepherd that we know today was actually developed in the United States rather than in Australia, as the name would suggest. This breed was developed by cattle and sheep herders in the mid to late 19th century. Their early history is most likely from Basque shepherding dogs that traveled from Australia to America in the early 1800’s. These dogs, most likely Pyrenean Sheepdogs that had been crossed with a Collie type breed are believed to have been crossed with other hard working stock dogs in America in order to develop an agile and enduring herding animal. The miniature and toy sizes of the Australian Shepherd were developed in the 1960’s to create a smaller version of these energetic and versatile dogs. Like standard sized Australian Shepherds, toy and miniature Australian Shepherds can sometimes be described as a little standoffish, so they mixed it with the gentle and affectionate Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a dog breed specifically developed as a lap and foot warmer. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was given its name as it was a great favorite of both King Charles I and King Charles II in the 1600’s and this dog remains a favorite, listed as the 19th most popular dog breed by the AKC. The Australian Shepherd is more popular still, listed as the 16th most popular. With this level of popularity, it's no surprise that the few reputable Aussalier breeders have long waiting lists."