MORE EUROPEAN EXPORTED NOONBARRA KELPIES #4
Noonbarra Mate (Germany)
(Noonbarra Dusty III X
Capree Dyna)
Black & Tan Male
Born: 12th Sept. 2001
Owned by Kirsten Wosnitza in Germany. She bought two Kelpies together, the other is Noonbarra Scott. He can also be seen on this web site. The owner has had experience with Border Collies but these are the first Working Kelpies and the beginning of the new Stud.
"Thank you for all the support you gave to us and the two wonderful dogs."
NOONBARRA MATE
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Just watched TV tonight and the great thing was that Mate and I were on it. Went to a trial yesterday and the little dog won it! And as they had the camera team there the whole day we got taped and broadcasted! |
Kirsten has been in constant contact with us since buying her two Noonbarra Kelpies in 2001. She has worked hard and done a lot of training on them and they have blossomed. This page is only a fraction of the feedback and photos we have received from Kirsten. She has even sent us calendars made up of photos of her dogs as a present. We are very lucky to have a customer like Kirsten who clearly appreciates her Kelpies and has developed them into excellent working dogs on her farm in Germany.
I had the pleasure of doing the basic training on Noonbarra Mate before he left for Germany and he was a very similar dog to his sire, Noonbarra Dusty III.
"On the farm the cows are out for 10 days now. Mate started to work them after the break of about 5 months even better than last year. I think it is his age and the sheep training. He got far calmer and knows exactly what to do and where to be. The cows do not question a lot."
Kirsten and her dogs
"They travel very well and stay in the back of the car without trouble. .... Mate still loves everybody and shows he is a little pup. On the other side he wants to tell the big cows that he is boss when they are looking out of their stalls. I stop him from biting noses and chasing calves."
"We also started with sheep. Have not done very much. First I put my five sheep in a pen and sent the dog around. They both balanced well and stopped at 12 o'clock. We then trained control so that they would lay down, come to me and leave the sheep without a leash. No problem. Then sheep were released, dogs were both quite fast. I have a long stick to wave so they stopped coming in too sharp. My own five sheep are due to lamb. But they are quiet and move easy. So we train just a bit. ...People are impressed how good they behave and like the look of them. I reckon Scotts body conformation is more like his mums and Mates like his dads."
"Just had a little lessons on sheep with a friend border collie trainer again. He was really impressed how keen they are and how well they are working and even 7 months now!"
They cover very well and spot every sheep wanting to escape. I am only a bit insecure because of there might be a different way of training them from BC do not want to mess the dogs up or confuse them. Maybe you have some tips for me."
"They are really keen and love to work! What I saw in their style of working should be exactly what we want for our cows. But will not start on cows until they are good trained on sheep."
"They really got part of our little family and I think I would not like to miss one of them. I try to take them a lot with me, this week we might even have to go on a train. In Summer we will take them with us on holidays to Denmark."
NOONBARRA MATE WORKING SHEEP IN THE SNOW
NOONBARRA MATE
SUMMER HOLIDAY
"As you can see we took a few days off and went to Denmark. Weather was not too good which was good for me because there were not too many people at the beach so the dogs had a good time. They met a lot of people and dogs, had to go to restaurants and do a lot of new things and there were no problem at all."
HOLIDAY ON THE BEACH
"Mate is developing very nice style and balancing well (much more than Scott does). I am still not really in control of him when he is excited or concentrated but I think this will come while he is getting older."
"I really enjoy working with the two guys."
Noonbarra Mate with some of his charges
TRAINING SCHOOL IN DENMARK
"Just wanted to let you know how we were doing on our clinic in Denmark. This was really exciting for the three of us and I was quite nervous about it. But everyone was really understanding even there were the BC top handlers from Germany and Denmark."
" Mr Mosse from Ireland has been a lot around the world and knew a lot about different breeds of sheep dogs. He took Mate and showed me what to do (and what not to do...) So the result I think it was about the same you explained to me before. All I tried to work on was to control myself ( made some mistakes) and to make the dogs to control themselves without many commands."
"After a while they showed the behaviour you were already forecasting. I had to get after Mate a few times and then he started to keep distance by himself and got much slower even on his flanks. He also balanced much better and was not just following the sheep but also watching the handler."
In between we took the dogs off the sheep a few times and then restarted again to get more control. I was very satisfied even if it will take me a long time to get it all right I think I got a good idea what to do."
"So even from a BC trainer I got to hear that they are still pups but I got some real good working dogs which have everything they need to be good workers and also a very good character and temperament."
"It was a very good experience because I heard from some Kelpie people over here that they had trouble with working with BC trainers on their Kelpies. On the other hand there seem to be quite a lot of prejudices against Kelpies because most of the dogs people saw seemed to be Show Kelpies. I hope this will change by the time."
NOONBARRA MATE AND SCOTT
Noonbarra Mate moving the cattle along
SHEEPDOG TRIAL NOVEMBER 2004
We went to a trial/clinic on an island close by. Our ISDS classes are divided from 1-3, one is the very beginner. Mate has to start in 2 now.
We had very strong Texel sheep, not much used to dogs. The course was set up on their house paddock, so the sheep new the way out.
Most dogs got disqualified by biting or loosing sheep (just running on top of the dogs) or retired. Mate did a great job, was in good control on outrun, lift and fetch. While driving he got a bit stuck because of eye. I have to work on this.
Next day at the clinic the judge said that a lot of the 35 dogs had problems with their balance. But the dog with an outstanding balance and an immense feeling for the sheep was the Kelpie. A lot of people told me that it was great to watch the dog running.
While training he said there is not anything to be corrected in the dog, he was always doing right while balancing and driving and that it is only the handler who has to improve.
I was very proud of my little dog.
Best wishes, Kirsten
NOONBARRA MATE
NOONBARRA MATE
NOONBARRA MATE WORKING SHEEP IN THE SNOW. CHRISTMAS 2002
NOONBARRA MATE AND SCOTT ON ICE
NOONBARRA MATE IN SNOW
SCOTT AND MATE IN HOUSE
Kirsten and Gerd and dog family in Germany
NOONBARRA MATE IN TRIAL
There has not been much training lately due to our farm work. Spring is always the busiest time... But Mate did so well , even with so less training. He did a beautiful outrun....Mate lifted his sheep just perfectly calm and straight. Without any commands of course, because the sheep were on 200 metres and the wind was blowing from against me. I was very proud of this little dog! Also the "trial community" starts to ask different questions to me...
NOONBARRA MATE WINS ANOTHER TRIAL
NOONBARRA MATE IN TRIAL
Kirsten wrote this about Noonbarra Mate on a internet Herding discussion group
"I have started my Kelpie in ISDS trials on very low/novice
level. He has won twice in the lowest class and placed third in the next one up.
After the last trial the judge said that my Kelpie was the dog with the best
balance of all dogs of this trial and that he has an immense feeling for his
stock. I have been to several clinics with British handlers.
In both, trials and clinics I have not felt any
disadvantage in being judged or treated.
Of course, one Scottish judge told me that he would take a point off, if the dog
(also a BC) carries his tail up. But that is all.
I do not have any problems in Germany in the BC scene as long as my dog performs
well.
"I have a lot of work for Mate to do, he is such a big help. When I get around I take Scott to the cows too. The cows have a lot of respect of him. The more work he gets the better it works. If he had some time off he is still quite fast and tight. I still take him to agility if there is spare time and everyone is impressed about his jumping ability and speed."
Noonbarra Mate
NOONBARRA MATE AND SHEEPDOG TRIALS
"He has won twice in the lowest class and placed third in the next one up. After the last trial the judge said that my Kelpie was the dog with the best balance of all dogs of this trial and that he has an immense feeling for his stock. "
___________________
NOONBARRA MATE IN TRIAL
Jan 2005
"Just a
short note to let you know that Mate has won his first trial in the "medium"
class. This is an open course with shorter distances and no single or double
gather but with drive, pen and shed. I
had a lot of fun and I guess he too. The judge is originally from NZ and he said
he cannot help it but every time he was judging us (3x) he had to place us
first....
May 2005
Last weekend I took my Noonbarra cap out for the first time! I was proud to wear it because it gave me so much luck that Mate won a trial again. It was the same poor Danish judge from NZ again who said then - Kirsten, I am tired judging you...
Okay, I got that, so we really have to start open now. But this means a lot of training over far distances (400m or more) and whistling of course.
Mate did so well , even with so less training. He did a beautiful outrun....Mate lifted his sheep just perfectly calm and straight. Without any commands of course, because the sheep were on 200 metres and the wind was blowing from against me. I was very proud of this little dog! Also the "trial community" starts to ask different questions to me...
_________________________
2nd August 2005
The picture was taken at the last trial in May where Mate won. This meant we have to start open now. I signed in for the end of August and I am a bit excited about it because we are still working on our whistle commands. Mate also needs a bit of finetuning after all that farm-cow-work... But it is just a start and we have a goal to work to! He also just loves to go to trials!
________________________________
August 2005
Just watched TV tonight and the great thing was that Mate and I were on it. Went to a trial yesterday and the little dog won it! And as they had the camera team there the whole day we got taped and broadcasted!
It was a different type, not British. More like a utility type with 15 sheep - under German herding conditions. But to me very simple. But still, there were other dogs, even open class, there and I only lost 7 points so we made it!
NOONBARRA MATE IN TRIAL
"On the trials everyone comes up watching when he is running (they might be all looking for the disaster, hehehe) and it looks like people think it's great when he is doing well. He is also friendly to everyone. He is also very friendly to other dogs. But what he really dislikes is to be stared at by some male BCs"
Noonbarra Mate waiting at a Sheepdog Trial
Noonbarra Mate & Noonbarra Scott at Christmas
April 2007
Hi you two, here some pics of the best dog in the world!
best wishes, Kirsten
This latest edition is a great book for beginners or experienced Kelpie owners. It is designed for good solid foundation training to ensure you get a well balanced, socialised and obedient Australian Working Kelpie.
Over 100 pages.
More information on Kelpie history can be found
in the latest edition of our popular book
THE ROCKYBAR KELPIES
A GUIDE TO ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN KELPIE STUDS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
We
think this book would be an enjoyable read for anyone with even a passing
interest in the Kelpie. It would be a great guide for breeders and trainers with
information that is impossible to get anywhere else!
The Rockybar Stud, owned by Les Tarrant, was one of the most famous in Australia for half a century and their influence can be seen in Kelpies all over the world today.
Les Tarrant started with Kelpies in the 1930's. He led a life of droving, mustering and working with horses and livestock. In 1950, he set up the Rockybar Kelpie Stud in the far north-western districts of NSW.
We look at some bush characters and old dog men such as the remarkable priest of Goondiwindi, Father McCormack, Stanley McMaster, Frank Scanlon, Stan Collins, and more. We look at the individual dogs in the old Rockybar lines and the more modern lines (after 1980). We have a huge section on Les Tarrant in his own words explaining how to breed Kelpies and the problems and pitfalls to avoid. There is a good chapter of the book dedicated to how to train Kelpies the Rockybar way. Another chapter is on yard work and yard trials.
There are plenty of photographs and some were very hard to obtain. Many (probably most) would never have been seen by the general public before.
Large A4 format. B/W photos throughout. 166 pages.