About the breedAustralia's most well known working breed, the Australian Kelpie originated from just 3 breeding pairs of working collies. The foundation female kelpie was born on "Worrock" station, on the Glenelg river in Victoria somewhere around 1872, but she was later sold to Jack Gleeson, who named her "Kelpie".
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A medium-large sized dog with a thick double coat, Siberian Huskies are well known for their distinctive markings and array of eye colours, as well as their wolf-like appearance. Though they are not as large as their cousins, the Alaskan Malamute, dogs should be 53-60cms tall at the shoulder and weigh in at roughly 20-27kgs while bitches should be 51-56cms at the shoulder and around 16-23kgs.
It is a common misconception that Sibes all have blue eyes - they can have brown eyes, blue eyes, one of each (bi-eyes) or even eyes that are part blue and part brown (parti-eyes). |
Siberian Huskies are incredibly intelligent, with many owners quickly realising that their dogs have trained them rather than the other way around. Because they are so smart, obtaining reliability in training, particularly under distraction can be difficult, but it is achievable, especially with positive reinforcement training and a great reward history, built over time.
Behavioural issues in the breed include digging (a natural behaviour for them, as they would dig a hole to sleep in), chewing, howling and escaping (fence jumping) though these can usually be curbed with training and mental stimulation. Their high prey drive means that they can be prone to chasing (and killing) small animals so it is generally recommended that you do not let your Sibe off lead, unless you have put in the training to ensure that they will come back when called. |
Siberian Huskies are bred to run so they do require a relatively large amount of exercise. It is recommended that you provide an hour of walking each day, or lots of free running if you have a safe space where they can be let off lead.
Due to their thick coat, the breed can be head affected so they should never be exercised in warm weather. Lots of Sibes enjoy active pursuits like swimming, canicross (cross country running) and sledding if their owners allow them to do so. There are many Sibes competing in active sports like flyball and agility both here in Australia and overseas. |
Siberian Huskies have a thick double coat. The undercoat is soft, dense and capable of insulating them in temperatures of up to -60°C, while the longer, harsher top coat provides their all weather protection.
Grooming is simple, though it can be time consuming - they do not need bathing often and generally don't smell "doggy" but benefit from a regular brushing or combing with an undercoat rake or comb, or blowing out with a forced air dryer, which forces the loose hair out of the coat. Sibes should not be clipped or shaved as they have sun-sensitive skin and their coat is designed to act as insulation from both heat and cold. They can actually overheat faster without the protection of the coat. Rather than shaving them in summer, ensure they have access to the shade (or air conditioning!), and plenty of cool, fresh water. |
While Sibes are a relatively healthy breed, they should be screened for health issues like juvenile cataracts and hip and elbow dysplasia.
Breeders should have hip and elbow scoring done on every dog they plan on breeding from, which involves x-rays being taken of the hip and elbow joints and sent away to a specialist for "scoring" under the ANKC's Canine Hip and Elbows Dysplasia (CHED) scheme. They should also conduct eye testing under the Australian Canine Eye Scheme (ACES) at least every 2 years. Ask your breeder to produce these certificates for the parents of your new puppy prior to purchase. |
The Legend of the Red DogSibes were originally bred by the semi-nomadic Chukchi people of Eastern Siberia, who relied on the breed to support their hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They were bred to pull their owner's sleds through the snow, protect their families from strangers and to help them hunt.
The dogs needed to be able to pull lightly loaded sleds across the frozen landscape at speed so the breed evolved to be quick and agile on their feet, intelligent enough to recognise the danger of thin ice, deep snow or unstable terrain (and make the split-second navigational decisions needed to get through it safely!) and also have great endurance. During summer, the Chukchi people would allow them to roam free, enabling them to hunt in packs, preying mostly on small animals, birds and wild cats. For this reason, Sibes have a high prey drive and it is not common for them to be placid enough to live with cats or pocket pets unless trained to be around them as puppies. |
The Kelpie RainbowSadly, a split between working line kelpies, and "Bench" or show line kelpies has developed over time and this is very obvious in both their structure and their colouring. It is quite uncommon for kelpies in the show ring to come in anything other than solid brown, or solid black, though the occasional tan point does |
Red DogThe Siberian Husky gained fame in 1925, when a diphtheria epidemic broke out in Nome, Alaska. Twenty teams of sled dogs relayed the medicine the town needed over 650 miles from Nenana to Nome, saving the lives of more than 10,000 people.
Though Balto didn't run the longest stretch of the relay (that honour was given to Leonhard Seppala's Togo who led his team for 264 of the 674 total miles and who has now had a Disney film made about him), he was the lead dog of the team that ran the serum into Nome, and had fought through impossible conditions (including the dogs and sled being lifted off the ground in a blizzard!). The entire relay took just 127.5 hours - or just over 5 days -to Balto, became the most famous Siberian Husky in history, having toured throughout the USA after his run and commemorated in a bronze statue in New York's central park. The plaque below Balto's statue reads: Red Dog Sadly, Balto and the other dogs in his team were left to languish in a dime-a-look side show, hitched up to a sled with nowhere to go, when their handler was recalled to Alaska. Finally, they were purchased by a touring businessman and sent to Brookside Zoo, where Balto lived out the rest of his days. He died 8 years after the serum run, in 1933, aged 14.
Today, the Iditarod Trail Sled Race commemorates the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs who ran in The Great Race of Mercy, held over the path Balto and the other dogs took. |
NSW Breeder Identification Number: B000685661 | Victoria Source Number: EE102260
Dogs NSW Member Number: 2100088743 |
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