It's very disappointing to find that your dog doesn't seem to want to work sheep or cattle, but it doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to change its mind. As with most aspects of training dogs to work stock, if you understand what's happening and why, there's a much better chance of putting things right.
In this tutorial, we look closely at why some dogs want to work and others don't. Then we look at several proven ways of triggering the dog's work instinct.
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Looking at the footage of the kelpies that you have, I was noticing that they all seem to have a very bouncy approach to sheep and work at a fast pace. Have you ever had one that tended to show “eye” instead of being aggressive when it approached sheep? Would that make it easier to train.
It may make a difference, Anna, but our difficulty with Kelpies is the length of time it takes for them to learn. In our limited experience, collies are far quicker to “get the idea”.