Pilbara Kelpies

Gogetta Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl, now famous for her part in the ABC documentary, Muster Dogs, is one charming young lady and she knows it.

Full of confidence and personality as a pup, she was never shy to share her opinion and still isn't to this day. Ironically, she is completely silent when she works stock, preferring to save her voice for any time I have the audacity to put her in a kennel or tie her up.

Gossip has been a great learning curve for me, with her close working style putting her in line to cop more than her fair share of kicks, which does wonders for my stress levels. As she matures and gets more experience under her belt, she is taking more responsibility for her actions (and a bit of self preservation, thank goodness!) and is working to step up as a very useful member of my team. She won me over easily from day one with her quick intelligence, sassy nature and energetic appreciation for life.

Dunyellan Jasper

My beautiful, fun loving, affectionate, exceptionally talented and loyal clown. He is a dog I can use in nearly every situation, has cover and plenty of strength with his bark, front foot and nose bite but is also very clever with his natural relief. To top it off, he is extremely biddable and honest. Now, being the oldest in my team and deserving of the luxury, Jasper lives the best life lazing around the homestead but still cherry picking the jobs he feels need he expertise. Such a gorgeous boy I was so fortunate to have join my team in 2015.

Killili Diamond

Diamond joined my team as a young pup back in late 2015. She was bred by a great friend of mine, Courtney Robinson over at Killili Contracting and Working Dogs. Though her sister was the one Court recommended, there was something about Diamond that captured me from the start. Looking back, I dare say it was her aloof attitude that suckered me in. For the first 6 months, I had to basically beg for attention and affection from this independent miss before a switch seemed to flick and she finally started returning my stubborn devotion.

Now she is one of my most loyal dogs, refusing to work for or respond to others at work which I secretly love. She is undoubtedly my most blonde dog, often getting herself in quite a tizz for no good reason. But she more than makes up for it with her wide cast, good cover and, especially in the yard situations, very clever strength. She is also proving to be a brilliant mother, throwing very consistent and capable pups in her litters.

Dunyellan Cruise

Dunyellan Cruise, one of my most handsome dogs. This boy came across from QLD as a pup and it was a last minute change of mind that had me choosing him over his sister. I'm so glad I did. There has always been something about Cruise that I've really liked and that bond, in my experience, is as important as the dog's work style. 

Our early days were interesting. His work style consisted of chasing heel's as hard as he could, which is something I'm not a fan of. Reminds me of copping the shopping trolley in the back of the foot. But with the help of a mate, after a lengthy discussion with Cruise over the pro's and cons of teamwork and leaving the back legs alone, we finally came to an understanding and have never looked back. 

Despite losing a leg to a car accident, he is still a main member of my team. He is a very clever dog with his work, very straight on the stock and is pretty to watch turn himself inside out to cover without tail-turning. He has a very strong presence and is not afraid to back it up with a hard nose bite when he feels it is required. He is also shaping up to be a dog with great stamina, is the only one of my males who even attempts to keep up with Flora on the long days and to top it all off, has an absolutely lovely nature. Just the right mix of maturely arrogant and friendly, fun loving ratbag. 

Pilbara Impulse

Pilbara Impulse joined my team in a roundabout kind of way. I actually sold him as a pup, then was lucky enough to buy him back a month later after tragically losing his mum, Layla. He switched on early with his keenness to work & showed glimpses of his mother's style and class but took until 10 months to fulfil that promise. Then it was like a switch flicking on overnight and it was incredible to watch him realise his potential.

Impulse throws his later maturing gene into his pups, like Sass but they have been well worth the wait. He is a wide covering dog with plenty of eye and natural relief but also has the strength to come in and put pressure on a beast when needed with head bite. He is loving the chance to work the lead while Charm and Diamond are on maternity leave and is doing a great job of it too.

He has an extremely affectionate nature (possibly my fault, I love sooky dogs) and loves human company but his true loyalty lies with me. As I'm writing this, he has followed me around the house and won't let me out of his sight. This boy captured my heart early and hasn't let it go since. He's proven himself a great sire, a clever worker and truly loyal friend. He won't be going anywhere.

Barrkel Pete's Sinner

Sinner....also aptly known as the Sin-man or Casanova. This boy joined my team as a pup 3.5years ago now and has always been an old soul with glimpses of the fun loving boy coming out every now and then. 

He considers himself quite the ladies man with a good work ethic, until he feels his particular talents are required elsewhere....like under a receptive females kennel like The Dog out of Footrot Flats. (If you haven't read Murray Balls comics, please do yourself a favour and chase them up. Absolutely brilliant delivered with the typical kiwi humour) 

Sinner is an allrounder with plenty of sense and brains in his work. He is hitting his stride in the paddocks now, casting out and really looking for stock a d making sure the stragglers are collected. He will bluff with the best of them to make up for no actual bite or bark but always hits the right spot. 

Heading south to help a friend out who was short handed, Sinner has now landed himself a wonderful early retirement home with family. Being the only dog in the house with no one to threaten his status as king and favourite, he is able to loosen up on his grumpiness towards young dogs and other males and is living his best life. Especially as he is still able to fulfil his sire duties on occasion.

Barrkel Peter's Charm

Of all my dogs, Charm is the one most people don't know about. She is my silent achiever, the understated gem busy getting the job done in the back ground, whether I want her out there or not. 

Miss Charm came across from SA when she was about 7months old & impressed me instantly with her neat foot work and careful cover on stock. She is a very soft bitch, working wide on the stock with no bark or bite. This makes her a brilliant lead dog, though she will work all areas of a mob and is the only one who can match Flora for stamina and endurance. She is a dog I use day in, day out, especially on mustering as I know she'll be with me on the job till the end. 

But my favourite part is her personality. She suits her name perfectly and is the sweetest little dog you'll ever meet. She is also extremely loyal and won't let her affection be swayed as long as I am near by. If I am away, she'll be as sweet as pie to whoever is filling the feed bowl, but as soon as I return, she will respond to friendly overtures by hiding behind my legs like a child behind her mother's skirts. Her loyalty shall not be swayed....and I love that about her. 

Pilbara Sass

Miss Sass is the beautiful daughter of Impulse X Diamond and is very aptly named. This girl is now a main member of my team. She has strength in spades, a wide cast with plenty of cover and a strong work drive that can have her pushing her body to the limits. Not short on brains, this kid shows her youth every now and then when everything is going too smoothly, boredom kicks in and she'll 'innocently' see what mischief she can stir up. Also known as the Sass effect.

All my dogs are affectionate but this little girl is something really special. She's with me for the long haul and I can't wait to watch her mature into the amazing dog I know she will be.

Killili Cash 

Killili Cash is a new addition to my team. Full brother to Diamond, he has the same wide cast on his stock and never grew out of the aloof attitude his sister had early on.

If I actually received money every time I yell “CASH!”, I’d be rich (and a whole lot less hoarse). But Cash runs his own show, returning only when he thinks the job is good and done, or when he realises my frustration levels are reaching the red zone.

But his big softy personality cased the in the hard exterior makes it hard to hold a grudge. He is affectionate in a tough boy way, with a tail that wags up and down & will escape his kennel any chance he can to find me at the house. He is a great asset to my team with his calm, steady (independent) work and is a brilliant sire, as his progeny keep proving.

Flora

When I first started with my dogs, I was given a beautiful pup by a very generous friend and flew to QLD to pick up a team of 4 experienced working dogs. Flora was one of my original 5 and the only one still with me now, 6 years later. I remember it took me over 3 months to win her affection, till I suddenly realised one day, 'hey, she finally likes me!'. Ironically, after my initial hard won stint, she then became very free with her affections.....to everyone else. But I still like to think I was her secret favourite. 

Flora was the kind of dog you never own. She was a queen. Most days she'd allow me to work with her, though she'd take my commands as mere suggestions and more often than not consider them wrong. More often than not she was right. She would tail cattle all day, only come back to the bike for a drink after much pleading, would work with anyone, provided they just let her do her job. She was extremely clever with her stock work, had the patience of a saint and was the kind of dog anyone starting out dreams of finding. She was also a ratbag, took forever to leave a job unless she thought you were going to another one & was caught instigating mischief in the pups more than once.

Her penchant for chasing lizards finally caught up with her on Christmas day when she tackled the wrong reptile. I owe this girl so much for all she has taught me over the years, her place in my team will be a hard one to fill.