KINNLEY
KINNLEY
SHETLAND SHEEPDOGS
"Alert, gentle, intelligent, strong and active"
"Small, long haired, working dog of great beauty, free from cloddiness and coarseness, action lithe and graceful"
ANKC Shetland Sheepdog Breed Standard
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We are based on the Surf Coast in Victoria, Australia and can be seen most days walking our dogs at the beach or along the local bush tracks.
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I love to train my dogs, to take them everywhere I go and generally have them as part of my life and family. I chose to become a breeder (with the help of my husband) because I love the opportunity it gives me to mould and shape puppies that will one day become a much loved member of mine or someone else's family. I believe that dogs have the ability to have a profound impact on our lives. I also value the relationships and connections I make with my puppy families along the way which extends our little family even more.
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Our name 'Kinnley' is derived from the old english/germanic word 'Kin', meaning family. This name emphasises how important it is to me that any dog I own or breed is raised as part of the family and are included in everday life.
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Breeding is a new endeavour for me and I am currently establishing myself with the two girls I have (from Hillswick and Sheltoah), having had one litter in 2021. However, I am approaching this venture like I do with everything I set my heart and mind on, with due care, consideration and a bucket load or research!
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We are based on the Surf Coast in Victoria, Australia and can be seen most days walking our dogs at the beach or along the local bush tracks.
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Following are my objectives and goals that I am ultimately aiming for in the type of Sheltie that I breed. I may not be able to achieve this straight away or with every puppy but this is the intention I put behind any possible breeding plan. I have friends within the dog community who have been there to guide me and continue to impart their knowledge and wisdom to help me make good decisions. I am always so grateful for this.
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Our objectives as breeders are:
Health
We test for these genetic diseases (CEA, MDR1, DM, PRA VWDIII and DMS) and hip and elbow scoring is completed prior to breeding.
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​This list is not exhaustive and there are many things that pop up in the breed that we cannot test, and a lot of issues are polygenic or can be influenced by environmental factors, but we do our best to make sensible decisions with the tools we have on hand.
Temperament
We aim for dogs that are resilient, athletic and with a predisposition to work. Ideally, we would like this paired with a good off switch and a propensity for night time couch cuddles! No guarantees on the perfect combo but generally Shelties are like this in various levels of snuggle, working drive and resilience, and it is what we consider the ideal.
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We look for the qualities we like in a stud dog that compliments the temperament of our girl, as well as focusing on how we we raise our puppies and the early training given to them whilst they are with us. A lot of time and effort is put into a litter with the intention to bring out the best side of their personalities.
Conformation
Dogs cannot play and work all day without sound conformation.
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We prioritise and select for athletic builds, refering to the ANKC breed standard, to look at the strengths of each dog and make selections based on what we think will combine well and meet the standard.
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Sometimes you cannot get everything you want in one dog, it is a process of deciding on what you want to improve on in that particular breeding... what is the most important thing and then going from there.
We love and will love every puppy that we raise and we believe that they will bring their own unique and special personality to their forever family.
Our priority is to raise every litter by focusing on each puppy individually every day, working with them to ensure they have environmental stimulation, socialisation, play time and personal bonding.
