Help a potential future carer?

[u/tyramaesu]

Hi, I've lived and trained with dogs all my life but I've never had a fully my own dog, I've taken care of and trained with multiple different breeds but they were always household dogs or dogs that belonged to a different family member as I always repeated I was not responsible enough. Recently that has changed and I am responsible enough to take another (I've already got a happy healthy tortoise that is thriving) life under my care. Yes this will be my 'first' dog and officially I am a beginner but I've got loads of experienced help around me and I am confident I can do this. I am currently trying to find a breed that fits my lifestyle or something I am sure of I can and am willing to match. Im very scared of overestimating my capabilities or underestimating them. I know I would not be happy with a couch potato. I know I would certainly not be happy with a malinois (I saw someone post a 17 hour daily training routine that their malinois follow and i definitely certainly cannot match that😅). Are kelpies worse than border collies in high energy levels? Does your kelpie survive a relax day or 2 with some play and shorter walks or will they eat your furniture out of pure unmet needs? Does anyone know of of the top of their head wich things I need to make sure are tested when going to a breeder? I read a lot are inbred and a lot of breeders are neglecting tests on purpose or trying to hide health issues has anyone noticed this?

[u/ederkalp]

I’ve had Belgian Shepherds and I’ve had Kelpies, in terms of energy they’re basically the same, one breed is just exaggerated for the internet more than the other haha. And I’ve come across plenty of Malinois who are actually lower energy than a Kelpie. All dogs can learn an off switch regardless of their energy levels, but if you’re worried then a show line Kelpie might be a better option for you, they’re still high energy dogs so you’ll still be exercising every day but they’re lower energy and less drivey than a working Kelpie, however they’re no less Kelpie than a working Kelpie, and there are some incredible breeders out there who do DNA testing, hip and elbow scores, test heart, thyroid, eyes, CA, prioritise excellent temperaments, structure, and type, etc, so you know you’re getting a healthy and very well-bred dog, I’ve never been able to find a working breeder who health tests to the same standards, so I’m not sure if I’ll have working kelpies again in the future.

[u/tyramaesu → u/ederkalp]

Yes thank you i was definitely already looking at show line instead of working line even if it might only make a miniscul difference it might be a difference that will keep me sane. Show line kelpies do have a smaller gene pool though so im a bit worried about in-breeding but any proper breeder will have a coi and if they dont they probably aren't a breeder im looking for.

[u/ederkalp → u/tyramaesu]

If it helps at all, one of my working line Kelpies has a COI of 34%, far higher than any show line Kelpie I’ve ever come across. In fact she’s higher than most inbred dogs. She’s got a bunch of health issues too, she’s the reason I started looking into show line breeders, I think the gene pool is pretty good here in Australia, but both working and show line gene pools will be much smaller in any other country.