The Australian Kelpie is an extremely smart dog and a fast learner. The downside to this is they are just as quick to pick up bad habits as they are the good. As such, their training has to begin early and it has to be consistent and always fair throughout a dog’s life so they understand what's expected of them. Kelpies are never happier than when they are given something to do which is why they are so amenable to learning new things and if left to their own devices for too long, boredom sets in which can lead to dogs becoming unruly and destructive around the home.
They excel at many canine sports which includes activities like flyball, agility and obedience because they thrive on the attention they are given during their training and the one-to-one contact with handlers when taking part in an event. The key to successfully training a Kelpie is to make things as interesting as possible and to avoid too much repetition. It's also a good idea to keep training sessions short which helps dogs stay more focussed on what it’s being asked of them, bearing in mind that the more intelligent a dog is, the faster they get bored and as previously mentioned, Kelpies are extremely intelligent and boast having an extremely low boredom threshold.
They do not answer well to harsh correction or any sort of heavy handed training methods, but they do respond extremely well to positive reinforcement which always brings the best out of these intelligent and quick witted dogs, especially when there are high value rewards involved.
