Welcome to the home of The British Association of True Working Kelpies
We are in the process of moving our site and contents to a new host, please bear with us while we do this.
Established in 2018 by a group of likeminded individuals, BATWK are a not for profit, impartial organisation aiming to protect the quality of working Kelpies here in the UK. We wish to promote the breed for the exceptional, versatile stock working dogs that they are and preserve the true stock working lines.
Our site has a wide range of information, curated to help you get information about the breed in the UK, including:
- UK venue locations and dates
- Training and trailing advice
- Health information
- Pup registration and pedigree database
We are always happy to assist if you require further information or you have details that can be added to our site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The Kelpie currently has a huge amount of natural talent, which with the right exposure will thrive in any working environment; we aim to ensure these natural abilities are not lost in future generations by encouraging responsibly selective breeding of dogs true to the heritage of the breed.
Hosting demonstrations and training days, we can showcase the breed and offer expert advice on fulfilling the potential of these truly talented dogs. Added to this the social side of these gatherings, we want to bring the kelpie community together in the UK and work together to keep the strength and depth we currently have in our lines.
We offer a registration facility for livestock working dogs bred here (and imports if required), aiming to make the current process of registering dogs elsewhere more straightforward. All members may enter dogs on the database for record purposes, and for a small additional fee working dogs and puppies can be issued a BATWK pedigree certificate.
With a pedigree database of UK dogs available online; research into lines, health and workability becomes easier. A list of registered breeders will be maintained, along with details of their main breeding dogs and their work situations, allowing informed choices about sourcing the right dog for you and your requirements.
Promoting the health aspect and having a facility to record results of tests alongside pedigree details aims to keep the health and longevity of the breed at the forefront of decisions.
From the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, the extremes of the Welsh hills, the rugged Yorkshire dales, down through the lowland livestock farms of the midlands and the southern counties, Kelpies are a valued team member throughout Britain.
Our members prove on a daily basis how the Kelpie will adapt to any working environment, working small or large numbers independently and competently. If you would like to see working kelpies in action in the UK, have a look at our Facebook group or YouTube channel.
Kelpies work predominantly on sheep and cattle, however they have been used to also work alpacas and pigs, and as gun dogs. We now have a gene pool in the UK who have proved their worth and are producing quality working dogs. Our registry focuses on these dogs and offers validation of their working ability, giving confidence to buyers that their pup will do the job required of it.
Thinking about getting a working Kelpie?
Think about what type of dog you would like. There are many different styles of Kelpie, and it is important you get one which suits you. Will you be mainly doing paddock or pen work, or would you require a mix? Any good breeder should be able to tell you the working styles of their genetic lines and sell you a dog which suits your situation, not just sell you a puppy from the litter.
Ask to see the parents working. The importance of this is not to be underestimated. It is easy to make a dog look good on a photo or video! Purchasing from someone who does not work their dogs regularly, can sometimes mean that health issues are hidden and not as obvious as they would be if the dog was worked regularly. BATWK breeders listed on our directory are required to show videos of parents regularly working stock, and we encourage that you request to see those dogs working..
Use the BATWK dog registry and database to see if the parents are registered, and if they have been health tested or any other breeding history.
Check to see what health tests the dogs being bred from have had done. We recommend that all dogs bred from are hip scored by the BVA and are of known CA status. More information can be found about both of these important diseases can be found on the health page
Not all good dogs are historically registered, many of the best dogs are not! Get in touch with BATWK to find out more about the history of the breeding lines of the dog. We here at BATWK are encouraging UK breeders who may not have historically registered dogs do so now, so that we don’t lose records of breeding lines.
Price does not necessarily determine the quality of a dog. Many of those who breed good dogs, breed for their own needs and for the working line and abilities and not necessarily for profit!
Always make sure you are aware of the above points when considering the price being discussed.
Make sure you are committed to the dog. A dog is only as good as their owner, or more importantly as good as their owners understanding of the dog. Please see below a series of videos from Beloka Kelpies which we strongly recommend you watch if you are thinking about or have just purchased/adopted a kelpie pup.
James Beattie
Scotland - North
Contact: 07703 599942
Jacqueline Strathdee
Scotland - Central and South
Contact: 07778 675949
About: Jacqueline farms beef cattle and sheep in North East Aberdeenshire with her son. Her kelpies work the hills on both the sheep and cattle. Jacqueline’s motto is ‘The kelpie is perfect as it is, don’t dare change it!’ She travelled around Australia in 2019 visiting sheep stations and kelpie studs and watched the kelpies work out there.
Lewis Ward
North East & West
Contact: 07413 224019
About: Lewis farms beef cattle and sheep in the North Pennines. His three kelpies work the hills on both the sheep and cattle. Between the farms he manages, Lewis is responsible for 3000 breeding ewes, a herd of Longhorns and a herd of Stabilisers.
Iain Muirhead
North - Central
Contact: 07740 402389
About: Iain resides in Richmond, North Yorkshire and is a shepherd with an impressive team of five kelpies and two spaniels. His dogs work both sheep and cattle. He owns the infamous cream Kelpie, Kai, regularly found blending in with the yellow labs on shoots.
Mike Jones
North Wales
Contact: 07789 818186
About: Mike is in North Wales, and farms sheep and cattle on a mix of terrain including mountain grazing. He has a team of kelpies to manage his stock. Mike is passionate about the versatility of kelpies, and maintaining the quality of working dogs being bred in the UK.
Peter James
South Wales
Contact: 07792 453183
About: Peter farms in South Wales and has had kelpies for many years.
Nina Griffiths
Midlands - East and West
Contact: 07866 595913
About: Nina is a shepherdess from Warwickshire. Working with her two kelpies on several mixed farms, her dogs work with up to 2000 sheep and 200 cattle. A variety of field and yard work, her dogs must be true allrounders.
Steve Yalland
South East and West
Contact: 07813 394291
About: Steve farms a mixed farm in Wiltshire
Emma Moulds
Northern Ireland
Contact: 07593636361 or emmamoulds1992@gmail.com
About: Emma farms a small flock of sheep, alongside her partner Paul in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. They got involved with BATWK in 2021 when they travelled across to a Clinic in the North Pennines with their Kelpie X Collie pup. Since having found this friendly & passionate group of people they purchased a working Kelpie pup the following year. They train their dogs themselves and are more than happy to help any people in Northern Ireland or Ireland with any enquiries about the Kelpie breed, and how they can work on your farm.