The Australian Kelpie is a working dog through and through. As modern descendants of the original Australian Kelpie, herding dogs remain as intelligent, skilled, and active as their ancestors.
Bred for controlling unruly sheep, Australian Kelpies had to be fast and muscular to do their job well. They also had to be a good size for agility purposes – but what size do Australian Kelpies grow to today?
In this guide, we’ll examine what size and weight you can expect from a fully grown Kelpie.
Kelpies are medium-sized dogs. The Kelpie’s ancestors include farm Collies and even wild Dingoes, both of which are medium in size. Being used primarily to herd livestock, the Kelpie’s medium build was perfect for picking up speed on the farm, making sharp turns, and keeping sheep under control. The Australian Kelpie can reach a top speed of 72km per hour!
Longer than it is tall, a fully-grown male Australian Kelpie will reach a height of between 46 and 51 cm.
A fully-grown female Australian Kelpie dog, on the other hand, will reach a height of 43-48cm.
An Australian Kelpie may technically be a medium-sized dog, but it packs a lot of muscle mass in its lithe build – as much as some large dog breeds.
An Australian Kelpie will reach its maximum size around the time of its first birthday. That means that during your Kelpie dog’s twelfth month, you should check to see if it’s at the recommended healthy height and weight of an adult.
Once a year old, both male and female Kelpies should weigh around 14 to 21kg. Being a highly active dog by nature, you shouldn’t have to worry about your Kelpie dog gaining weight – as long as you’re committing to walking them daily and engaging in some dog sport with them.
This is why these tough dogs do better in big houses with gardens than in apartments. They simply cannot burn enough energy when apartment living like some other pets and will likely pile on the pounds.
The Kelpie’s appearance gives a lot away regarding their weight gain, particularly the ribs. If you cannot clearly feel a Kelpie’s ribs through its chest, then it’s likely that a layer of fat has developed underneath. This would suggest that your Kelpie dog is overweight, as you should be able to make out each individual rib.
Although they have a double coat, Kelpies are short-haired dogs, so they cannot hide excess fat with their dog hair. The physicality of your Kelpie should give you a big clue about the dog’s weight.
If you can no longer distinguish between your Kelpie’s stomach and chest or are unable to make out the chest or abdominal tuck, then your Kelpie is most likely overweight.
If you’re worried about your dog’s weight, reducing their meal intake by 10% daily is a good place to start helping them slim down.
You can make sure that your Kelpie reaches a healthy weight and height by adulthood by feeding them gradually bigger portions (as recommended by a vet) and by taking them out for increasingly longer exercise sessions.
From two months onwards, this dog breed should be on a steady diet of solid foods, and by nine months old, they should have switched to adult food. Two cups twice a day should suffice.
At 3 months of age, a Kelpie should weigh around 3kg. Like other dogs, a Kelpie’s weight steadily grows as these herding dogs get used to solid foods. By six months of age, these friendly dogs should weigh around 11kg.
Kelpies are not considered small as they are classed as medium-sized. Like other breeds that were originally bred for herding, Kelpies come with a muscular build that makes them appear bigger than they are.
Like other dogs, your Kelpie family pet will require plenty of exercise to stay at an appropriate weight. Between walking and exercise, active Australian Kelpies need around 2 hours in total of exercise.
A Kelpie may be medium in size, but they have just as much stamina and muscle as bigger dogs. The health of the dog depends on how much space they’re given to run around in and burn off energy. Give a Kelpie pup enough exercise and food, and by the age of one, they’ll be of a healthy, fully grown weight and size.
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