History of DeHaro' Kelpies: The Story Of Ti (High Tide)

DEHARO’S HIGH TIDE

As Rick’s reputation as a breeder, trainer, trialer and judge grew, he was in demand as a person who could help other people train their dogs, and he did clinics and seminars all over the country. Ti always went with him and was amazingly adaptive as a clinic helper. He would hang back and let the other dog work, then step in without a word from Rick if things started to go bad. He could work all day, pacing himself as need be, and in this venue he made a lot of friends for the Kelpie breed. I remember one clinic in California in particular. Rick was talking to the group of about 20 handlers and sent Ti to gather the cattle at the far end of a 40 acre pasture. After Ti ran out, Rick turned his back on the scene, and continued his rap. (The man can talk.) The class was distracted and nervous, and couldn’t really listen to what he was saying because of the scene going on behind his back. Finally one fellow spoke up and said, “Aren’t you going to give him any commands?” Just at that moment Ti arrived on the scene with all the cows in a tidy bunch, stopped them at Rick’s backside, and lay down to wait for what would come next. Rick looked over his shoulder and said, “What for?” Only one cow had a little dribble of blood on his nose. That cow proved to be the jerk in the group for all the dogs that day.

There are so many stories like that one. Examples of how the dog could work by himself, figure stuff out, be as tough as need be, but gentle as a nursemaid with lambs. Ti was a proud and dignified dog with a steady mind who never lost his cool. I remain convinced that he never, in all those years, deliberately disobeyed a command. I’m sure there were times when he was confused, and times when he was pretty sure that Rick was out of his mind, but he always tried his hardest to get the job done right. Rick always says that Ti taught him patience. I observe that although Ti SHOWED him patience, he still has a lot to learn in that particular department. Loading a bunch of ewes with lambs into the stock trailer, Ti would be working at it, sort of easing things along, not wanting to upset the apple cart - letting the momma’s find their babies - and get used to the idea of hopping up into the trailer, till Rick ran out of that patience I mentioned, and asked Ti to “push up” in no uncertain terms. So with a look on his face like, “OK, if that’s what you want,” he pushes hard, and the whole bunch freaks out and went running down the driveway. Ti goes after them, with a glance over his shoulder, “Are you happy now?”

When Ti was bred, we had only rudimentary knowledge of Kelpie bloodlines and breeding stock. We leased his dam, Range Rider’s W. W. Gabby, because we liked how she handled livestock. The Karrawarra prefix was a name only; we had no first hand acquaintance with the line. Then I happened to see a video of some dogs working at a Kelpie event I attended in Iowa. The dogs were so like Ti that it was amazing. The man was Tony Parsons, the owner of the Karrawarra stud, and author of, The Australian Kelpie. that started a correspondence with him and with Jack Woolsey in California, the gentleman who was among the first to import working Kelpies into the US. One of these dogs was Karrawarra Caesar. Caesar was an outstanding representative of the breed, and was bred quite extensively in his years with Jack.Jack gave Caesar to Joe Simpson, a well-known trainer and Border Collie trialer, to train and trial.