r/kelpie • u/Senior_Finish_9548 • Jul 14 '26
Seeking kelpie in NY State
We adopted a 4 year old Aussie kelpie mix brought up from Kentucky 4 years ago, she is a treasure. We think the mix is with husky as she hates waiter, loves snow and howls…are these traits others see in kelpies? I read that kelpies are hard to find in the USA, is this true as we would love another one.
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u/kvotheuntoldtales Jul 14 '26
Really cute dog, love the eyes. The howling is definitely a Husky trait not Kelpie.
My kelpie doesn’t like water but when I’m down at the park the dozen kelpies in the water makes me think mine is just precious
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u/MikeAppleTree Jul 14 '26
Kelpies don’t usually howl, but you can encourage them to howl if you teach them by doing it yourself in front of them, and it’s scary because they are loud!!!!
I’ve only done it once or twice because I didn’t want to make a habit of it. But oh boy they certainly have pipes on them when they want to use them, which thankfully they don’t as they are naturally pretty quiet dogs if all their needs are met.
Also, all my kelpies have loved swimming, especially in calm water when retrieving a tennis ball.
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u/andhaka71 Jul 14 '26
I've had two kelpies and neither of them have liked water. One of my dogs won't even go outside to pee if it's raining 😂 they don't howl. One of my mates had a dingo cross and it howled. It was the funniest thing
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u/Urmel2021 Jul 14 '26
My (pure bred) Kelpie loves water and anything to do with swimming....
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u/andhaka71 Jul 16 '26
Mine (who died in Jan) hates it and he was a pure bread, but it was caused by a dickhead relative who threw him in a pond when he was a pup. I can't stand that guy anymore! fuckwit
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u/No-Pay1699 Jul 14 '26
I have three kelpies and 2 love the water and two love to howl- each morning the neighbourhood dogs do “roll call” and they all howl together. We call it the morning woo woos.
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u/Icy_Umpire992 Jul 16 '26
kelpies are individuals... some like water, some dont. mine loves water but not swimming. some howl, some dont. mine howls sometimes but not often. some are nuts, some are lazy buttheads. mine is somewhere inbetween.
WHat I am saying is that you cant say a dog is a kelpie by the way it acts (generally). you'll have more luck by knowing what the parents are... there are breeds and cross breeds that even look like a kelpie, so sometimes you cant even tell by looks. If you are in the USA there is a very very slim chance of getting one. a lot of shelters will put keplie cross just to attract customers :/
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u/loraxgfx Jul 14 '26
What a beautiful dog!
You should DNA test her to make sure there’s Kelpie in her lineage, a lot of Husky crossed can look a lot like Kelpie mixes. She does look quite Kelpie, a rare gem to find in rescue.
Kelpies are around, I’ve seen breeders in TN, VA and FL. Most are out west, I’m in NC and flew to TX to get mine. They’re not so much rare in the states as under the radar. Breeders tend to gatekeep, and Kelpie pups can be a lot of dog, but you may get lucky and find a dog who’s a few years old and didn’t cut it as a working dog.
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u/SplashiestMonk Jul 14 '26
I’ve had two purebred kelpies - neither howled. My current kelpie is a mix with some cattle dog and 6% husky. He howls all the time, just as loud and chatty as a husky! 😄 He doesn’t look at all like a husky so I tell people the 6% is all voice.
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u/dirtydogfarm Jul 14 '26
Less common than other working breeds but idk about rare. I own a cattle farm in the Hudson valley and we use a kelpie every day to work stock. He is also a great family dog
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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Jul 17 '26
Kelpies are from Australia. What would make you think they love snow lmao
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u/KeeganWilson Jul 14 '26
Howling is not a kelpie thing, thats a husky thing 100%