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Question
Hey, the name is brayden, and i am looking at getting a dog. We have just purchased a farm (very big one) and i am torn between a border collie and a kelpie. In my area( south western australia), there arn't many for sale, and no one is breeding collie x kelpie's either. Help me please! What breed do you prefer and how old should it be when i get it?
Thanx!

Answer
Hey Brayden,

Good question!  Thanks for selecting me to respond to it.

A good start is to speak with breeders in your country.  The equivalent to our AKC.org here is your ANKC.org.au which is your Australian Kennel Club where you can locate and speak with breeders of temperamentally and physcially sound pups and adult dogs.  I'm somewhat familiar with south western AU and I'm guessing that you're about two hours or so from Perth where there may be an ANKC home office which you might want to contact.

In addition, you might want to research local breed clubs in order to speak with breed club presidents and members of the breeds in which you're interested.  If you live in an area where there are quite a few farms, the chances are that there will be several breed clubs devoted to dogs which are known for doing farm work, such as Kelpies and Border collies.

Things you might want to consider in order to determine whether a breed is appropriate for you (not for me...!) is for what purposes you want the dog.  Are you looking for dogs that are bred specifically to herd sheep?  Do you want a dog that is both worker and companion?  Do you want a dog that is companion only?  Will the dog live inside your home, or be expected to stay with the sheep?  These are early questions to consider and most likely questions a good breeder will start out asking you as well.  A good, reputable breeder can best guide you as to whether the breeds you've mentioned are appropriate for your lifestyle and for your home.  Beware breeders whcih are willing to adopt any pup or dog to you without asking these types of questions!  Some breeders may even want to see your home before adopting any dog to you, and this is perfectly acceptable (and, in my opinion, should be required).

A good, reputable breeder won't let pups go to new homes until the dog is at least weaned, which is generally not less than seven weeks of age.  For dogs such as Border collies and Kelpies which may be doing herding work and thus need good bite inhibition, breeders may keep the dogs a little longer even still since pups learn bite inhibition, primarily from playing with their litter mates.  Bite inhibition is the pressure a dog learns he can reasonably put on his bite without hurting another animal.  A good breeder will also allow you, at a time the breeder considers appropriate, to come visit and get to know the dog you intend to adopt.  It's important too for dogs to have much contact with humans in order to learn how to be gentle with human skin as well, and to be comfortable and sociable around humans.  Breeders of Kelpies and Border collies will also have pups introduced to livestock at a young age if their dogs are being bred to herd.

Consider too breed rescues and shelters as a place to find a great dog.  Breed rescues and shelters might have the breeds for which you're looking, or even mixes of those breeds that may be just what you're looking for. Still, consult good breeders.  Such breeders will be able to give you information on the breeds you're interested in and as well may be able to direct you to excellent rescue choices since many breeders do work closely with rescue organisations.

Just a heads-up that the breeds which you've mentioned are generally dogs that need a "job."  Since you're living on a farm, my best guess is that a job won't be difficult to provide for these breeds that tend to be, generally, rather high energy.  Amongst these you will find a couch potato, so I'm speaking in general terms.

Hope this has helped.  If you would like to let me know down the road some time what you decided and how it's worked it, I would love to hear.

Thanks for agreeing to the Virtual Contract terms in my bio - much appreciated.

P.S. - After I answered your question, just for fun I did some additional research and found a link you might want to look at, so I revised my response and added it in, right here.  Enjoy!
http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/dogtrainingtip_syvl.htm

P.P.S. - I have revised my response again the next day, again adding some information to it.  This morning (8:20 a.m. here stateside) I did some checking out of curiosity and in order to see if I could be of further help to you, and found what looks like a great link for you to look at, which links to some breed rescues, including Border Collie breed rescues,working dog rescue and information links, and other links which you may find helpful.  Here it is, and hope it helps: http://www.bordercollierescue.org/Foriegn/Australia/bcraustralia.html

Best regards,
Madeline at AllExperts.com
Please direct any enquiries or comments related to this question to me at AllExperts
My Web site: Innovative Reality Dog Training & Behavior Consulting, www.ny-njDogTrainer.com