Karmala Merino and Working Kelpie Studs

The Karmala Working Kelpie Stud was relocated to Queensland from Western Victoria in 2001. It is now situated at Nobby, about 40 km south of Toowoomba.

Only a small nucleus of bitches is retained for breeding so that a high standard can be maintained. The foundation bitches have done a great job and in 2010 are making way for the ‘next gen’ girls who have been carefully selected from the many bitch pups born. Lily, Finesse and Peggysue will be bred for the first time and I am excited by the potential they represent. The plethora of cooking shows on TV make it very plain that even the finest ingredients can be reduced to a mess unless combined carefully, and the same applies to breeding animals. Each mating here is thought out very carefully with one aim in mind…to breed pups that have the potential to be better than their parents.

My aim is to breed sensible dogs who can work naturally and cause their owners as few headaches as possible. I have no time for very excitable, stock-crazy animals. They must value their relationship with their handler to a high degree and want to please in their work. Highly respected Kelpie breeder, John White, wrote recently in the WKC newsletter:
“I always select a dog that is friendly, wants to be with you, to work as a team with you. You can tell those characteristics at a fairly young age.” I couldn’t agree more.

I like dogs that can work with a little distance off their stock when young, and are happy to hold when they have them balanced. They should also be capable of firing up when required for yard work… I don’t guarantee that every pup will comply exactly with this description, but some do, judging by this email received recently entitled ‘Zen and the art of sheepdog handling’…..
“The experience of working her is exactly the opposite of any other I have had with kelpies. It is veritably tranquil; I can hear the wind blowing and the birds chirping instead of myself yelling and screaming obscenities…. it is akin to zen!”

I know just how he feels. It was many years before I owned a really good, well bred dog. Once your stock work becomes a pleasure and you start looking forward to taking your dogs out, you’ll never settle for second best again.

In the last few decades, with the increasing use of bikes for mustering, some old kelpie traits are starting to disappear. Many dogs are now used mainly for yard work, and backing, barking, full-on kelpies are in the majority. I prefer an all-round dog that retains its heading instinct, has some eye, and is capable of mustering difficult country. With this in mind, I have sought sires with bloodlines that have been proven in hard conditions where brains and stamina are essential.
With the decline of the Merino in Queensland I have found that most clients need a dog that can work cattle as well as sheep, and that is my aim.

I have accessed old Kelpie families through the Karrawarra and Riana studs and I am very grateful for the help I have received from these experienced stud masters. Tony Parsons (Karrawarra) was responsible for seeking out and preserving Kelpie bloodlines after the fiasco of two World Wars, during which many ‘studs’ disappeared. His books on the Working Kelpie are an invaluable record of these dogs and are collectively known as ‘The Kelpie Bible’. Tony has always selected dogs with eye, style and distance.

Arthur Hazlett (Riana) founded his stud on Karrawarra kelpies and is one of the few Kelpie breeders of recent years who finessed the fine art of line breeding. Outside dogs are rarely introduced, and as a result his dogs are defined in type and prepotent. The Riana dogs still retain that stock minding ability that was required by all drovers; they were bred for many years in very tough country and selected for their brains and ability. It is fitting that in 2011 Riana is again using Karrawarra blood; Riana sires used by Karrawarra/Paddy’s Kelpies over the years include Don, Ace and Driftwood Ace(XRiana Frank).

It is the relentless culling by these old studmasters, and their singleminded search for their perfect dog that has improved the breed over the years. No breeder of stock will achieve what these two have unless they have a very clear mental picture of exactly what they want to breed and pursue their ideal relentlessly.

Because I have little real work for my dogs these days, I try to ensure that any young dogs kept for breeding are tested in the real world. I have been most fortunate in finding some very kind, like minded stockmen to help me do this, and can’t thank them enough for their efforts. It surely proves their dedication to the Kelpie breed. With cooperation like this, and by working with a loose group of breeders who are looking for the same type of dog, I hope to preserve those Kelpie traits that originally made the breed such an invaluable asset. It’s sad that some fall by the wayside in the process; this year I have lost Karmala Swags, Karra. Quince and Karmala Pride. I have changed my mind a bit about ‘proven’ breeding dogs, and am now quite anxious to get a litter from a very promising young dog/bitch in case it doesn’t live very long. Snakes are a curse in Queensland, and Mark Wendelborn(Vic) lost two nice Karmala dogs last year to a tiger snake. He was fortunate enough to be able to save the third, Karmala Gift, but sadly her stamina has been affected. Hopefully she’ll breed some nice pups.

Three brood bitches(left) Karrawarra Gift, Woorivale Spice and Riana Delta Dawn.

Received some beautiful photos from Asa Wallstrom in Sweden, and would like to share them with you all and wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and wealthy 2012.
People seem to have realised at last that bitches are as good as dogs, and the demand for dog pups has been a lot weaker. I wonder if this has anything to do with the lady of the house/farm gaining some long awaited equality in decision making!
The three girls who whelped in early December produced 22 pups between them, all by Tracker Gibbs(Tracker the ChiefxKarrawarra Ruby Tuesday). Chief details under ‘sires’. At this stage Gibbs is more than living up to the wrap I gave him as the best young kelpie dog I’ve seen. A representative lot of the pups below clearly shows the Gibbs ‘brand’….quality and calmness.

After dog/dingo attacks on my sheep I continue to yard them all at night. The feed is drying off a bit at present, so I hope it rains again soon or it will look like a feed lot around the back yard! The ewes are less than enthusiastic about leaving the lower paddocks and take longer to walk home each night.

Three of Delta’s litter to Tracker Gibbs have been retained and will go to work with Matt Bignell at Goondiwindi as they get older. Karmala Cooper has been sold to Mark Wendelborn at Toolang, Gritjurk in Western Vic., the first of the dogs Matt has worked to be sold. I already have orders for more well started dogs and some pups from the present litters will be run on. Arthur Crumblin is keen to take a couple to train after losing some of his contract work due to a change to cattle because of dog attacks. Matt has been working Karmala Speed(Meson Stig x K.Finesse) and loves his natural ability in handling large mobs.

The AkubraxTilly litter has been sold with the exception of a nice dog pup called Andy, his sister Aggie has gone to Menindee to the Croziers who are long time Kelpie breeders; Adie to Rob Sevil near Moree, Airlie to Ned Brown in Victoria, and Anna(Pip) is back home again while her Toowoomba family holidays at the beach.

Karmala Switch is doing well in the Netherlands and apparently starring on Youtube which my computer is too old to handle.
Two pups from the M.MaverickXK.Lily litter are in Sweden, pics below. Both have started well and are pleasing their new owners. I do admire the confidence Asa Wallstrom had in buying pups at such an age that they were yet to start working, and I’m delighted they have turned out well.
The main guide I use when choosing pups for export is temperament and breeding, I have confidence that they will work because only a couple of pups I’ve sold have failed to start well. In both cases it was because the pup had not received enough affection/praise/positive affirmation of its actions. These pups are quite sensitive and need that to build up confidence, some more than others of course.
For this reason I find it better to sell pups at 8-10 weeks so they can grow up with their new boss and get to understand him/her. If they stay here with me for too long they can sometimes have trouble adjusting to a new male owner, particularly one who is always grumpy. The pup takes this as disapproval and simply stops trying, thinking it is doing the wrong thing.

A bit of clarification on the WKC Appendix dogs for many of you who might not understand their system. If a dog is classified A2 or A3 it is in the Appendix to the main stud book and may not appear on WKC pedigree forms. This does not necessarily mean that the breeding of the dog is sketchy or unknown, simply that some of the dogs in its pedigree were bred by a breeder who was not a member of the WKC. Karrawarra dogs come into this area, also any dog that has not been tattooed…amongst others. In many cases these dogs have full pedigrees going back many generations, which could even be more complete than some others.

Karmala Brandy to Tracker Gibbs due Dec.2. Brandy’s first pups. This should be
one of the most exciting litters bred here.
Brandy has 8 black/tan pups, 4 males 4 females.

Karmala Peggysue to Tracker Gibbs due Dec.5
Peg had 9 pups, 4 males, 5 females. There are 2 creams, one of each, the rest black/tan

Karmala Lily to Tracker Gibbs due Dec. 7
Lil had 5 black/tan pups, 2 males, 3 females

Peg and Lil are proving very good brood bitches with good reports of their earlier pups’ work.

Tracker GibbsxKarmala Brandy pups, 4 wks.

Tracker GibbsxKarmala Lily pups, 4 wks

Tracker GibbsxKarmala Peggysue pups, 4 wks

A white Christmas for Jen(Karmala Moolah).

Jen in Sweden, Dec. 2011.

The Lyddy litter by Whitehead's Tracker, 5 wks. Beautiful, friendly pups.

Karmala Switch in the Netherlands, Dec. 2011 aged 7mths.

Karmala Tilly enjoying the evening task of bringing in the stud ewes and lambs.

Karmala Lyddy with her brand new litter (born Oct.5) by Whitehead's Tracker.

Erika Visser and Maurice Puyssegur collecting their pups in Paris.

Erika Visser and Catrinus Homan of Shepherd's Kelpie Stud with Karmala Switch. Catrinus has been a moving force on the Kelpie scene in the Netherlands for many years.

My grand daughters Tiana and Jaimie had fun in the school holidays playing with the GibbsxDelta pups.Tiana(L) with K.Stoner who looks to be enjoying the attention......and the two bitches, K.Cadelle and K.Stozer.

Karmala Mulga(Birk) with his new owner in Sweden.

Grant Hutchin's young dog, Karmala Neon(Whitehead's TrackerxKarmala Lily)

MaverickXPeg pups....an armful of blondes!

Josh Behn's pup from Delta's litter to Barru Merlin, Karmala Dodge 8mths

Karmala Turbo(K.AkubraXK.Peggysue) with his best buddy Chief just outside Alice Springs.

Simon's nice pup Karmala Rebel(K.AkubraXK.Peggysue), 5 months.

Two doggy critics: Jodi O'Connor's Grace assesses Karmala Scout on video(left). Jodi also took this photo of Telford's Tally(xKarmala Shiner) taking her first look at The Kelpie. Karrawarra RooII lives with Kirsten Wosnitza in Germany who visited earlier in 2010.

These are big, productive sheep with quality wool, and can reduce the micron in stronger flocks without loss of cut… and increase production in finer flocks without increasing micron. This is stated with confidence based on the results in clients’ flocks over many years.

At Karmala micron, quality and production are the chief selection criteria. The infusion of genetics from Rockbank has given a finer ewe base and more elite-woolled young sheep. An AI programme using N.43 has provided a number of ewes which when mated to old NB produced some outstanding sheep. Another Nerstane ram has been used in 2011… N910 was Champion August Shorn Ram at the Royal Sydney Easter Show this year and went on to represent NSW in the National Ram Competition. He is a ram with excellent structure and has left some very exciting lambs, although some of the lambs by grandsons of N43 look just as promising. Liz (see below) has a set of twins, a ewe and a ram, by a son of Cindy.

The State Sheep Show at Goondiwindi, May, 2010, proved a bonanza for Karmala, Harry and Liz, the Queensland Pair from 2009 are now Queensland Ram and Ewe for 2010, and Harry was Grand Champion Ram! The second time for Liz, who has a big ram lamb as well…she’s certainly not just a pretty face… but it certainly did nothing to improve her underline, which cost her in the judging.
There was good competition from New England studs in the finer sections, and congrats to Shalimar Park who won Supreme; their young ewe beat Liz for Superfine ewe.
Harry went to Dubbo in August for the National Ram Comp. The sheep arrived soaking wet after travelling through heavy rain all the way south; they were not judged at all next day, so the wet trip could have been avoided. Very disappointing. It was impossible to dry the sheep out properly, Harry was unsuccessful, a big heavy ram from Weealla which he had previously defeated at Goondi was Australian State Champ. Liz was Res. G.C.Ewe.
Dubbo is changing to a short wool show with March shorn sheep totally dominant; this is understandable considering the cost involved in preparing a sheep for 12 months, but can give a very misleading picture of how a young ram will finish up.

These lambs from an AI programme using Nerstane 43 in 2004 provided ewes that suited 'NB'. The cross produced the Queensland Pair in 2009.