ELIDYR CYMRU
A
UK Kelpie in Germany
the tough get going ….
This old saying seems to be designed for working dogs like Cymru
.
His parents are Lyndhurst(UK)Shep x Brownslade(UK)Amroth . Cymru is a
black & tan , good-looking and very athletically-built Kelpie .
At that time , we had a litter of Kelpie pups – the first registered in Germany – and we were very intersted in getting in touch with other kelpie breeders. After reading an advert for kelpie pups in the “Farmers Weekly“ we contacted Robert and Margaret Davies from the Elidyr stud and the idea of swapping pups arose. It was no problem for us to keep a bitch pup in quarantine on the farm for the six months required after the rabies jabs.
In November we travelled with young Letnetti(GY)Baghira in the back of
the car to GB . We felt very conspicuous on the way to the channel tunnel
boarding ….a dog from the continent – it was like having a
VIP person in the car ! It
was the time of the flooding and the fuel strike, so we were prepared
for tough conditions ! After a night in very friendly company at Amroth
farm we loaded in our new Kelpie pup , Cymru and travelled back home .
After crossing the border we tried to give Cymru a short walk - no way
- he was staying put in his travelling-box! We arrived back home in the
middle of the night and a very self confident young boy jumped out of
the car , sniffed around and said “hello“ to the pack .
This is some years ago now and Cymru has
developed into a very strong working dog . His favorite job is flock work
because he has impressive stamina and can travel long distances without
tiring. Give him an 8 hour job and he will offer to work a night shift
,too ! As he matured he started to develop a wide cast, out of sight and
as he would never harm a sheep he is a trustworthy driving dog , too .
Cymru has good holding ability in the yard , backs and bark on command
and works independently in drenching or crutching situations . Some weeks
ago he stood for hours in the yard as we worked with a shearing trailer
and a new shearing team and Cymru had to fill up the race to keep the
3 shearers busy .
But he is not only used for tough work. As you can see on the pictures
, he can be very stylish and soft on ducks ….He works a few sheep
with the right distance and eye but uses a medium amount of eye and free
movements on aflock . Cymru has the advantage of being a mentally strong
dog, so he does not need to fight with stock . The sheep can tell the
real working dogs from the others , they have no fear of the former but
a lot of respect .
Although he is a very keen worker he still has a sense of humour and likes
to play around
after work . He has a very friendly temperament but is not overly-soppy!
Two years
ago, Cymru finished seventh in the Westphalian Sheepdog Championships
- an event
similar to a Utility trial, with paddock and yard work . The sheep were
so impressed by him that they followed Alfred around the course far more
easily than Cymru would have liked! It must have been a shock for him
though, being told to lie down more than once in the day!
He is a very easy dog to train and a good example of an all-round farm
working dog for professional stock owners .
Antje & Alfred Roettgers-Schulte
Letnetti Working Kelpie Stud
Germany