Post by Aussienot on Jun 16, 2006 20:13:35 GMT -5
There's a moment, raising a kelpie, when you know if the dog's going to be a success in the paddock.
"As soon as you drop him in with [the sheep], if you see him break out to one side to go round to the head of a mob and want to bring them to you, then you know straight away you're onto something," says Ian "Spuds" O'Connell.
And O'Connell should know. Yesterday he broke what is believed to be the world record sale price for a fully-trained working dog when his 20-month-old kelpie, Bagalla Mick, fetched $5400 at the 10th annual Australian Landmark Kelpie Muster in Casterton.
That's more than triple the going rate of $1585. Muster organiser and president of the Casterton Kelpie Association (www.kelpies-casterton.org), David Levy, says Mick's worth every penny.
"He's a proven worker basically, and that's really why he was highly sought after by a couple of buyers. The price was due to the fierce competition for Mick, with the winning bid eventually coming by phone from a farmer in Tasmania.
"[The sale] reflects on Ian as a dog handler - he would've put an enormous amount of work into this," said Mr Levy.
"He would've started that dog at a young age - maybe 12 weeks, 16 weeks of age - and just slowly worked his way up to this."
But despite being chuffed about the sale (and for the record O'Connell told smh.com.au the money is secondary - "number one," he said, was "that he goes to a good home and is well-treated") O'Connell argues while training is important, a good working kelpie comes primarily as a result of one thing - instinct.
"They [must] have a very strong instinct to bring the animals to the handler - they see the handler as the boss wolf, so to speak - and their instinct is just to bring [the animals] to the handler."
The kelpie breed's origins can be traced back to a single dog, Kelpie (known as "the foundation bitch of the breed").
Kelpie was born in Casterton, the same town as the Muster, and the area is now branded "Kelpie Country", with at least three bronze statues of the bitch greeting visitors as they arrive. (the two most prominent being at the bridge into town and in front of the town hall).
According to the Working Kelpie Council (www.wkc.org.au) there are more than 45,000 registered kelpies in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald 16 June 2006
"As soon as you drop him in with [the sheep], if you see him break out to one side to go round to the head of a mob and want to bring them to you, then you know straight away you're onto something," says Ian "Spuds" O'Connell.
And O'Connell should know. Yesterday he broke what is believed to be the world record sale price for a fully-trained working dog when his 20-month-old kelpie, Bagalla Mick, fetched $5400 at the 10th annual Australian Landmark Kelpie Muster in Casterton.
That's more than triple the going rate of $1585. Muster organiser and president of the Casterton Kelpie Association (www.kelpies-casterton.org), David Levy, says Mick's worth every penny.
"He's a proven worker basically, and that's really why he was highly sought after by a couple of buyers. The price was due to the fierce competition for Mick, with the winning bid eventually coming by phone from a farmer in Tasmania.
"[The sale] reflects on Ian as a dog handler - he would've put an enormous amount of work into this," said Mr Levy.
"He would've started that dog at a young age - maybe 12 weeks, 16 weeks of age - and just slowly worked his way up to this."
But despite being chuffed about the sale (and for the record O'Connell told smh.com.au the money is secondary - "number one," he said, was "that he goes to a good home and is well-treated") O'Connell argues while training is important, a good working kelpie comes primarily as a result of one thing - instinct.
"They [must] have a very strong instinct to bring the animals to the handler - they see the handler as the boss wolf, so to speak - and their instinct is just to bring [the animals] to the handler."
The kelpie breed's origins can be traced back to a single dog, Kelpie (known as "the foundation bitch of the breed").
Kelpie was born in Casterton, the same town as the Muster, and the area is now branded "Kelpie Country", with at least three bronze statues of the bitch greeting visitors as they arrive. (the two most prominent being at the bridge into town and in front of the town hall).
According to the Working Kelpie Council (www.wkc.org.au) there are more than 45,000 registered kelpies in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald 16 June 2006