- 6 hours ago
Episode 01
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Short filmTranscript
00:13Across our diverse country, graziers work with the land, shifting stock across thousands of
00:22kilometres. And always at their side are their trusted mustard dog companions.
00:31Over three series, we've demonstrated the skills and prowess of these quality working
00:37dogs, and even explored how to pick the best breed for your working style.
00:42Have a bit of fun, roll with the punches to set your pup up for success.
00:46Good boy.
00:48Now, it's time to really shape things up.
00:52Righto, let's get going.
00:58For the first time ever, we're using these two gorgeous litters of Kelpie and Collie pups to
01:04train the trainer. Our six eager participants are all beginners with limited dog training
01:13experience, but all are thirsty to learn.
01:18No, not there.
01:20My training experience is small.
01:22Yeah.
01:23I'm a bit worried about that.
01:25Don't you run away.
01:26Yeah.
01:27It's actually going to be pretty tough now that I think about it.
01:30Yeah!
01:31I don't know what to do.
01:33Quick, quickly.
01:34Get out of control.
01:38Mate, how are you?
01:39Mentored by expert breeders and trainers, Joe Spicer and Mick Hudson.
01:44Good to see you smiling, Shady.
01:46Oh, thank you.
01:47It's going to be different.
01:48We put people there that don't fully understand dogs.
01:51Their job is to get these pups mustering in just 12 months.
01:56Yeah, it's going to be hard, but we've got this, don't we, buddy?
02:01Yeah.
02:05And hopefully improve their stock handling skills along the way.
02:10Whoa!
02:11Good boy.
02:11Yeah, so hopefully they're gentle with me because I'm a novice.
02:16No.
02:18But it won't be easy because in 12 months time, only one will be named Champion Mustard Dog.
02:27Puppy, puppy.
02:28Hey?
02:29Come on.
02:30Yeah.
02:31Good boy.
02:35Oh, yeah.
02:36What are we going to do?
02:40Yeah.
02:47Good.
02:48Yeah.
02:51What are you doing?
02:53You're working hard, don't you?
02:54Good boy.
02:55Woo!
02:56Woo!
02:57Woo!
02:58Woo!
02:58Woo!
02:58Woo!
03:01Woo!
03:14Good boy!
03:16Good boy, man.
03:22Woo!
03:22western districts of rural Victoria.
03:25Good boy.
03:26It's home to renowned dog breeder, trainer and trialler Joe Spicer.
03:32Right, quick.
03:34And we've been here before.
03:35Good boy. Good boy.
03:37Joe bred the litter of Kelpie Pups for our first ever Mustardogs experiment.
03:44The lush, expansive acreage is an ideal place to raise a litter of working dogs.
03:50But for Joe, it's also the culmination of a very long journey.
03:55Well, I've been doing this for about 30 years now, but a lot of people, they don't know that
04:01I was born in the city and always felt that I was a farm boy trapped in the city.
04:08I grew up in Melbourne and we begged and cried and finally got mum and dad to weaken and let
04:15us get a puppy, which was a Kelpie Collie Cross. And we loved each other and we went through all
04:21the things that all the other city people go through, the jumping, the fences, the barking,
04:25the digging, etc. And that just slowly developed my love of the Kelpie. And I wanted to breed the
04:32best ones that I could. So I went and actually sourced the best genetics that I could find and
04:37then slowly developed my own line over the long period. So there he wanted to go and get them out.
04:44So he's learning to bring the stock to me. And now I'm breeding really unique Kelpie bloodlines that
04:50still have the drive and the tenacity, but also I want to please and be with you more than some
04:58other
04:59lines of Kelpie. And that's why I'm so happy and honoured to have developed the litter of puppies
05:05that we've got for this next generation of dog trainers. And it's going to be really exciting.
05:11Oh wow. Hey little man, how are you doing?
05:15Good girl, it's alright. Litter sizes can be anywhere from two to a whopping 14 puppies.
05:22And this time, Jo's experienced and gentle mother dog, TV, has safely delivered three Kelpie pups.
05:33So here we've only got three pups, which is not such a bad thing. They'll get a lot more milk
05:38and
05:39they'll be a lot more even in their size. Quite often with the bigger litter there's more competition
05:43obviously and you've got to be really careful that they're not getting separated from mum,
05:48that they're sucking properly and kept nice and warm. Beautiful little pups.
05:53So they're nice big fat round pups, so we're really excited.
05:59The father that we've chosen for the litter, his name is Merck and he's just a big lovable puppy
06:06and just a lovely type of dog and he just gets in there and gets the job done.
06:17So we've got our three Kelpies, now to round up a few collies.
06:29And where else to look but Dubbo, central New South Wales.
06:35The home of champion Australian border collies and expert puppy rearers and dog educators,
06:43Carolyn and Mick Hudson.
06:46My boy, I'm a third generation stockman, born and bred on a large hundred thousand acre station
06:52in western New South Wales. Me and my wife, Carolyn, we run three farms, cattle, sheep and goats.
07:00Look at that, beautiful. We breed, educate and train Australian border collies.
07:08Boy, growing up one of seven children, I didn't have a lot. It was pretty tough.
07:17But I suppose I've been fortunate that my father and my grandfather were very good with working dogs
07:22and that stockmanship knowledge, handling livestock and learning to educate dogs to a high standard was
07:28passed on. They just make the livestock so calm and easy to handle and you drive past them in the
07:34paddock and they look at you, they don't run away. We really don't have to employ anyone to get the
07:38livestock to and from the yards. Good working dogs can do that for you. So I've taken some of the
07:45best
07:45dogs that I've got and we've bred some more quality pups for the new participants.
07:55You're a good mum, Deb. I think you're going well, aren't you?
08:00So we've had a busy couple of days. There's been a little bit of anticipation.
08:06Good girl, Deb. Good girl.
08:07And that's because we have our next litter of muster puppies.
08:13A little more, Deb, or is that it? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
08:19We have seven beautiful little puppies that Debbie gave birth to and no dramas. Beautiful.
08:26The father of this litter is Gus. He's a tri-coloured dog so we get a mixture of colours again
08:32and
08:33Debbie's a really beautiful mother. How are you going? So she's experienced, had a couple of births
08:38before and the pups are all good. Plenty of milk and they're all on drinking madly and seem to be
08:44growing at a massive rate. I mean, yeah, who doesn't love puppies? They're, yeah, they're so cute. You
08:51can just, yeah, can just keep watching them for hours. Beautiful. I like them at that stage,
08:56especially when mum's still looking after them. We never get sick of looking at them, do we, hey?
09:04We love looking at the little puppies.
09:08Oh, really?
09:12In just a few short months, three of these collies, along with Jo's three kelpies, will be matched up
09:19with a new handler. All six of our participants have little to no working dog training experience.
09:26So our expert mentors will be training the trainers, kicking off with an intensive puppy boot camp,
09:34focusing on stock handling skills, training fundamentals and the safety and wellbeing of the pups.
09:41Yeah, it's going to be difficult for these people because they haven't got the experience of previous
09:47participants. So we will select the kelpie or a collie based on what we see at the school. We'll assess
09:54people's personalities and we'll try and select a pup that suits each individual.
10:02But before all that can happen, the pups still have a bit of growing to do.
10:16Hello there, Luna. What are you doing?
10:19Within a few weeks, both collie and kelpie pups are weaned from mum.
10:24Bye-bye. Come on, bubbies. Come on.
10:27But continually provided with lots of food.
10:30Shouldn't have probably given you that brekkie this morning.
10:32Should I?
10:35Stimulation.
10:36What are you doing, you little ferrules?
10:38Playtime.
10:40And eventually, rest.
10:44You're a bit of a rat bag, aren't you?
10:45You're a rat bag, yes.
10:52Back in Glen Thompson, by seven weeks, Joe's trio of Aussie kelpies have more than doubled in size.
11:05So the pups are just getting bigger and bigger and more headstrong and exuberant.
11:11And this is the real crunch time, if you like, when we've got to make sure that everything's
11:15going according to plan. So we're keeping a really close eye on them and making sure that
11:20they're all safe, they're all looking good.
11:25Good boy, Sue. It's not so bad.
11:28We've got a black and tan girl, a red and tan boy and a red and tan girl. So yeah,
11:33I think if they're anything like their mum and their dad, they'll have a bit to them.
11:38How good is life when you're a little puppy, eh?
11:43Oh yeah, you're into it.
11:46With their personalities starting to emerge,
11:49What are you doing?
11:50Joe needs a better way to identify each of them.
11:54Rightio, so this guy here, we call him Snack because he's a sensitive new-aged kelpie.
11:59So we've decided we'll give him a aqua crawler. Come here, mate.
12:04Come here. Good boy.
12:06Okay, so this is probably the most outgoing of the three pups. She's a very different personality.
12:12So we've given her the orange collar and she's loving life.
12:16So now we have the little black and tan female. She's the sweetie and quite intelligent. So we're
12:23really loving her and watching her develop and what she does. So we're going to fire her up and make
12:28her go a bit faster with the red collar and see how she likes that. So we'll just put that
12:34on.
12:36For the kelpies, we've got three participants and we've got three pups and they're all like sponges.
12:43They're all sucking it up and we're going to learn and, hey, what are you doing?
12:47Get up.
12:47You get out.
12:49So it's all about making sure they really suit the people that they're going to.
12:55Tim Kilmar, short concentration span.
13:06Over in Dubbo, Carolyn and Mick's Aussie collies have also undergone a massive growth spurt.
13:15And at eight weeks, their herding instincts are already kicking in.
13:22Today, we had all of them taking it all in and very happy to see our livestock. And they've all
13:27really enjoyed it and I've enjoyed it. And the young pups all look very good. And so I think
13:32we'll just see if they switched on. Unlike Joe, Mick will have a lot more pups to choose from when
13:38selecting his top three picks of the litter. And it seems like one little pup is eager to make an
13:47impression. Stop. Hey, stop being naughty. Well, he's definitely switched on. Hey, hey. Puppy, puppy.
14:02Puppy, puppy. But he might need to work on the switching off part. Come on, puppy.
14:10Puppy, puppy. It was a good fun chasing the sheep, wasn't it?
14:13Hey. He actually escaped out of the pen. But we are dealing with little pups. And I'm pretty
14:20confident we can settle that and get going in the right direction. So I think it's all good, yeah.
14:26Yeah. Another few weeks, you'll be starting to be muster dogs. Got to become work dogs.
14:35With all the pups safely back in place, it's time for Mick and Carolyn to figure out
14:40which will be the lucky three. Hello. You've got them beautiful and fat.
14:45In beautiful condition. Shining. It's a little black and white female. Yellow collar. She's fairly
14:51settled. Good girl. I really like her. Sign of a healthy pup is how much skin you can get hold
15:00of.
15:00And they've just got miles of it. Beautiful. Welcome to muster dogs, big girl.
15:05She's a little cracker. Where's the purple collar? He's a big fella. Dry collars boy.
15:13Yes. They're pretty good on the tucker. Yeah, we'll pick him. I reckon you'll be a champ.
15:19There's one last pup to pick. And I think I know who it's going to be.
15:25This is the escape artist from today. He wants to work sheep bad. Seems to have a lot of go
15:30in him.
15:30He's a little bit full on compared to the last pup. It's a beautiful tri-coloured pup. I'm pretty
15:37confident there's a fair bit of dog here. I just hope he's not too feral for you.
15:49Yeah, I know your tricks. I know your tricks.
15:56With both litters full of mischief and curiosity, it's time to introduce them to livestock.
16:02Well, we know one of them's going to work because it got out of the pen.
16:04I should have known it'd be you. To make sure they're ready to start training.
16:10You're a handsome fella, aren't you? Good boy. Yeah, you want to go back to the sheep,
16:16don't you? Hey? Hey, you're pretty cunning, aren't you? Good boy. Aren't them sheep fun?
16:22Oh, nice bit of cover there. Good boy. He's broke out to the head. Nice. He's a bit boisterous.
16:29No surprises that that blue-collared escape artist is ready for action.
16:34Good boy. Plenty of instinct. Plenty of desire. Just need a pretty fair trainer to handle him.
16:41He's a lot of dog in here. Whoa. Joe prefers to work his Kelpie pups together on a small flock
16:46of ducks
16:47who are comfortable being in a yard with enthusiastic puppies. So we're using ducks just so that little bit
16:55of movement that they provide just clicks the instinct in. So you can see little aqua collar
17:01is now starting to show a little bit of eye and interest, not forgetting that he's still learning
17:07and he's still working this out and he's got all these instincts coming out and he's not sure what
17:12to do with them. With all that raw instinct bubbling up inside them, the Kelpies are winging it.
17:20So do I come in and do I jump on them? Do I try and get around them and block
17:26them? Oh, here we go.
17:27So now the black and tan female is starting to show a little bit of interest. Lovely. So at the
17:34moment,
17:34this isn't reasoning or thinking or working out where to be next. This is instincts and that's why
17:41breeding is so important. Mick's purple-collared collie is also showing a lot of desire to work.
17:47Tell around that way. Oh, a nice bit of pull up and eye. Beautiful bit of cover. Plenty of strength.
17:53Work cattle this pup. But I tell you what, he weighs like lead. I think he's going to grow into
17:58a big boy.
18:01But the yellow collar is taking a more considered approach. Puppy, puppy. Yeah. She's having a little
18:10look. I'm sure she'll go in the near future. She'll show the great instinct. Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy.
18:19But it's not going today. Sometimes the slower starting one could be the better dog because it'll
18:25be softer and kinder. The quick starting one can be boisterous and fast. But at this stage,
18:31she's only showing slight interest. Good girl. What are you doing? Jo's orange-collared kelpie also
18:37wants to take her time. But this may actually suit an inexperienced handler. Okay, so we've got the
18:44little girl here who's thinking about what's going on. Yeah, what are you doing? So at first,
18:50her focus will be on me. Then she'll go and scan her surrounds. In every dog,
18:55the instinct starts in a different way and it will develop in a different way. So I'm just creating
19:02a little bit of movement there. She's not interested. But sooner or later, work instinct will switch on.
19:07She will start showing a little bit more force and a bit more eye in time. Good girl.
19:16With the pups keen to become loyal companions, it's time to put our participants through their paces
19:22at puppy boot camp. Taking place on a remote sheep station just outside Dubbo,
19:39Mick and Jo's working dog school will bring together the pups and our new participants for the first time.
19:46Hello everyone. Hello. Hi. How are you going? How are you Sam? I'm Ian. Nice to meet you Sam and
19:52Courtney.
19:53Most have brought their own dogs along so the coaches can watch them in action
19:58and assess where everyone's school levels are at. Makes perfect sense.
20:02This will give a better insight into which handler will best suit which pup. Welcome to a new series
20:08of muster dogs. You people have limited experience with working dogs and livestock? Yeah. Yeah.
20:15So we're going to teach you how to read and handle livestock and to train working dogs to a higher
20:19standard.
20:20Yeah. So basically what we're trying to do is to set you up for success. So how can we help
20:27you
20:27to in every working situation make sure it can go as well as possible. So how do you feel about
20:34that?
20:35I'm shitting myself.
20:43Okay, a quick get to know you before things really kick off. Starting with proud Queensland
20:50cowgirl Shady Jane from Taroor. I am Shady Jane Campbell. I love all things chocolate. A good old
21:01western film and I just absolutely love dogs as well. I love spending time with my dogs.
21:06I think that hard stuff. I'll stop it. I think it's bloody sick, aren't you?
21:17Holly. That'll do.
21:21The bubbly 29 year old worked as a nanny when she left school. Stop.
21:26But returned home to spend time with her family before her mum's eventual passing
21:31from cancer. I was always a happy-go-lucky kind of person. Down days and sad days were
21:41very new to me, very foreign. And so I lost myself a little bit there.
21:51But I went to the Northern Territory contract mustering just to get away from everything and
21:58really throw myself into a sink or swim sort of situation.
22:03And I had the absolute time of my life. It was what my soul needed.
22:12Having rediscovered herself in the Northern Territory, Shady Jane returned to her dad's
22:171,500 acre cattle farm with a new lease on life and a new collie pup named Tully.
22:26My training experience is very limited. I've only been training a dog for the past
22:32eight months. So I'm very fresh off the block.
22:36Oh, that was cool. But to see how other people can work their dogs is pretty spectacular. So I'm
22:43very excited to step outside my comfort zone and see how we go. Where is Tully? But what type of
22:50dog
22:51is she hoping for from our experts? Dutch! If I had to pick just one, I am secretly hoping for
23:01a collie or a collie cross. Yeah, I'm a collie girl through and through. Absolutely.
23:15Stay. Good girl. Put them in.
23:21Good girl. Rube, come to me. Here, Ruby. Next is 50-year-old Ian from Nundle, New South Wales,
23:28who thinks there's a lot of parallels between his job teaching in the classroom and rounding up sheep
23:35on his dad's farm. Look, I think there actually is, because reading a room full of teenagers and
23:41a paddock full of sheep can be quite a daunting thing. Do you want to get them into a fight
23:48or flight
23:48mode where the brain's really not about to be focusing on what's going on? Or do you want to
23:54keep everything calm and relaxed? And that's the aim in both of those situations, because you want
24:00kids to learn and progress. They're not going to do that if they're worried and fearful of what's
24:05coming next. It's the same with stock. As a part-time farmer, Ian has used working dogs for many years.
24:14Good girl. Good girl. Rube. But with no formal training,
24:18he's pretty sure there's a lot he's not getting right.
24:23There's going to be a lot I need to learn from the mentors. Casting, stopping. I know at the moment
24:29I potentially give too many commands too often to the dog, so they might tell me to throw out
24:36everything I know, and I'm okay with that. That's part and parcel of learning and taking on feedback.
24:44Very hard to insult in that manner.
24:47Go back, Rube. And does Ian have a preferred breed to tackle this learning curve?
24:54Difficult question to answer. Good girl. Put them up, Rube. Go back.
24:59I suppose the Kelpie, but that's probably more of an emotive thing, because my favourite dog
25:03I've had so far was a black and tan Kelpie. So any dog that will work will be fine, but
25:09yeah,
25:10it'd be nice to get another Kelpie.
25:16Over. Around. Stop. Stop. Sorry. Stop. I meant around. Around. Stop there.
25:21A lot has changed for former bank teller Courtney, since she married a sixth generation sheep farmer.
25:29Yeah, definitely. It's like, here we go.
25:34A month before she was due to give birth to their first child, the 32-year-old moved from the
25:40city
25:40to his remote 5,000-acre property on the southern coastline of Western Australia.
25:46Yeah, so we're at the bottom of WA, right at the tip. The property is pretty old. I think it
25:52was around
25:52the 1860s, and we're completely surrounded by water. So we've got like the river and then beaches.
26:04It's a beautiful place to live, but being isolated and lonely, it took a lot, you know, to get used
26:13to.
26:15Yet I realised something else was missing, you know. I was trying to be the perfect mother and wife,
26:21but ended up not happy and not whole as a person. And grieving a previous version of myself,
26:32so it's one of the reasons that I'm working dogs now is because I need something for me. I need
26:38something that will fulfil my needs and give me an individuality. Yeah, sorry, I get a bit emotional.
26:48Courtney began competing in sheep trials about a year ago and would now like to expand her training
26:54skills to develop her own mustering team. My goal is to add value to the six generations
27:00that have been farming and just to be part of the daily life. Like, I want to have that value.
27:07I want
27:07to add value to it. Like, stop, stop. Forming a close bond with her dogs is where Courtney feels
27:13her strengths lie. So long as she gets the right dog. I'm really hoping for a Border Collie, very much.
27:21That's my sole dog. Like, it's the breed. I know it's for me. I know it works. Yeah, I'm really
27:27fingers crossed hoping for a Border Collie. A little worried about getting a Kelpie.
27:38How are you going? Hard work, isn't it? Just hanging there?
27:45Former electrician and 28-year-old family man, Sam, is happy to be back home on his parents' farm
27:52in Wolka, New South Wales. The property's been in our family for 27 years.
27:59Look, Mum. David. It's 2,800 and a bit acres and a beautiful part of the world to raise my
28:07kids.
28:09Sam will eventually take over running the cattle grazing business
28:13and hopes to expand the solid foundations his father has built.
28:17Yeah, I love working with my dad. He's taught me a lot, like, common sense and just the way he
28:23looks at the world. Always talks about doing the best you can do and just be nice to people.
28:30So we have run a good operation here for a long time, but there are definitely things that I
28:34would like to explore. And one of those things is to look at how they use their working dogs to
28:40muster stock. I want to be improving my land and improving my stock and working with dogs to reduce
28:49the stress on the cattle. But yeah, I've only been training dogs for the last two years and I've got
28:55a lot to learn.
28:58While leaning a little towards the collies, Sam feels he can be competitive with either breed
29:04in the final muster dog challenge. Yeah, I'm quietly confident that I'll be able to do a good job and
29:11get through it. Even if I don't know what's going on or things get really hard,
29:16I just try to be good at what I do and keep racing ahead.
29:23I'm patient and I try to just be happy and enjoy things, look on the broader side of things.
29:29I don't want to get bogged down in things that upset or frustrate me. Just got to get back up
29:36and keep going.
29:4129-year-old Max is a think-outside-the-box kind of guy. The former plasterer recently completed an
29:50agricultural degree and landed his first station hand job on a huge cattle property on King Island,
29:58Tasmania. I always had this feeling that I was meant to do something with my life. I felt like I
30:04was
30:05special in a way, but I just didn't know how to direct that energy into anything. Everything's going
30:09wrong. So I just kind of felt like I needed something to follow and living off the land
30:14and producing food was something that really kind of resonated with me and yeah. Hey, mate.
30:24It's been a bumpy ride for Max to find his happy place.
30:29In high school, I got bullied from having red hair, had to change schools and then like three years later,
30:34I got dreadlocks and all of a sudden people just stopped me in the street saying,
30:37I love your hair. So it kind of seemed like just by the way you look, people judge you.
30:41That experience taught me just to not care what other people think of you. It's only what you think
30:46of yourself is what really matters at the end of the day. And now Max's reinvented life on the land
30:53will soon include a new working dog puppy, preferably a Kelpie. I've never trained a working
31:00dog with my Kelpie. I just done the basic stuff, you know, sit, stay, come here, go. And yeah,
31:07that was about as far as I went with my dog. But it's time to just kind of get some
31:11guidance and
31:12and yeah, show the show the world my kind of experience and hopefully I could inspire someone
31:17else as well. And starting from scratch, doesn't phase Max at all.
31:24Yeah, I'm ready for the challenge and my passion just for learning and wanting to be a better
31:29person and a good dog trainer, I think that's what's going to kind of make us a good team.
31:32And so, yeah, we'll figure it out. Beautiful Barnhill Station on the Western Australian
31:44North Coast is a bucket list destination for many. And 24 year old pastoralist Rex knows
31:51how lucky he is to call this part of the world home.
31:56My family have managed language stations since the 60s. We have about 1500 breeders there. We also
32:03have a family owned caravan park called Barnhill, which my mum started in the 80s.
32:09Apart from being a handyman around the caravan park, Rex is responsible for moving cattle around
32:16their grazing property and recently had a big rethink about the way he goes about it.
32:23Low stress stock handling to me is the way you handle the cattle, but we haven't been as good
32:28as we can be in terms of handling the wieners. So this year that has been my major focus for
32:33the dogs.
32:33Now we got them.
32:34Working on wiener education, moving them through the yards. Genuinely, I've only been doing this six
32:39months, but I can't imagine not using the dogs to move the wieners now.
32:44She's fine on this side. And it's mum Janice who's shown Rex that anything is possible if you work
32:52hard enough at it. The things that my mum has done are genuinely incredible, like starting this caravan
32:59park from nothing, just from scrub and a beach. She bulldozed the road, she built every building,
33:06she built our house out of the dirt that we stand on, she battled through cancer twice,
33:14and she came out the other side, and we had a lot of tough days, but
33:33I knew that was going to happen. She's my biggest idol in the fact that I want to be like
33:40her.
33:42Hopefully one day I can be.
33:54So the first thing me and Joe would like to talk about is the welfare and the handling and the
33:59care
33:59and maintenance of your pup that you're going to pick up.
34:01Yep. I've got a saying about Murphy's Law is like Kelpie's Law. If it can go wrong it will.
34:06So we've always got to be one step ahead in making sure that the dogs are being cared for and
34:12supervised.
34:13Yep.
34:16With a lot of ground to cover in the all-important puppy boot camp, experts Joe and Mick have to
34:22condense years of experience into just a few days of schooling.
34:27Where do you reckon I'll go? You'll be right mate.
34:32Righty-o. One thing we're going to teach you to do is actually talk to your dog, not at them.
34:38Okay, so not giving commands but requests. I'm not going to lie, I am so nervous. There is so much
34:47to learn.
34:50We want him walking on a loose lead. The moment that lead goes tight we give it a tug. Loose
34:55lead, walk,
34:57good boy, and we just teach him like that.
35:00I'm feeling so privileged to learn from a couple of very experienced, very knowledgeable individuals but
35:08as a principal of a school to have to be a student again. It's a little bit daunting. I don't
35:15know exactly what's happening but I can hopefully make progress.
35:19Okay, so when bonding with the dogs, be careful not to over bond. A good bond is a dog that's
35:27just your mate and you can pat and you can call him and he comes every time. It's not picking
35:31him up and kissing him and licking him.
35:35It's important to understand that these skills don't just come naturally. And for people with limited experience, it's pretty tough.
35:43But we're going to be with them every step of the way. It's up to you as a trainer to
35:47make them a good dog. They don't make themselves good dogs. And let's hope it's not a disaster.
35:57Can't put that on here.
36:01With the quality of working pups they're about to be given, the participants will have a much higher chance of
36:08success if they can understand and execute these training fundamentals.
36:13That means stay, do not move a muscle until I recommend you.
36:17Starting with harnessing instincts.
36:19So yeah, how do we leave as much instinct and dog in the dog but still have that working for
36:25and with us?
36:26Well, by giving the dog a responsibility. So whether it's on the lead or the tail, once it understands its
36:34responsibility, it understands what its purpose is.
36:38Building the desire to work.
36:40We need to teach the dogs a noise. I use ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch. And every time a
36:45dog hears that noise, it means sheep or cattle or whatever. So when your dog switches off, use that association
36:52ch-ch-ch-ch-ch to switch him back on.
36:55The use of training aids. I'll use Joes.
36:58Which work as an arm extension for the handler so the dog can more easily see their instructions.
37:04I've just been training him with my pipe and blocking him and then I'm going to walk up to him
37:08going like this. No.
37:09I always tell people to get rid of their training tool at the end of a lesson when they're catching
37:13their pup.
37:14Setting up the ideal training yard.
37:17We've built this yard, took us 10 minutes to foot up.
37:1910 minutes, yeah. Yep.
37:21So basically what I want you to look at is, can I stand in the middle and with my body
37:27extension, step one side and then have a metre or so out the other side.
37:33So really, you're in control when you're in the middle. Okay? Good.
37:39It doesn't matter what you use.
37:41But with so much information to digest, only time will tell how much of it is sinking in.
37:48Questions on any of that?
37:54Yeah. Righty-up. We'll keep working on it.
38:01While the lessons continue...
38:03Puppies!
38:05Come on.
38:07..our three collie and three kelpie pups are being watched over by Carolyn nearby.
38:13Hello, you lot.
38:14This one, she's a bit of a dag, this one.
38:16She's a little bit of a whinger, aren't you, eh?
38:20Soon, our novice trainers will be matched up with this lot.
38:24Oh!
38:26You and I are going to come to grips in a minute, Missy.
38:30Just settle down.
38:32But if they're going to have any chance of success...
38:35Okay, big lesson.
38:37..the participants will have to learn that it's not just the pups they'll need to keep an eye on.
38:44Look, if you can't read livestock, you can't train a dog.
38:48Okay?
38:50You've got to know if your dog's too close or if your dog's too far.
38:52Yeah.
38:53You've got to understand timing.
38:54You've got to understand balance and you've got to understand distance.
38:58Yeah, yeah.
38:59You need to be looking at the livestock at all times
39:02because if you don't know what the stock are doing,
39:04there's no way you can command or direct the dog or help the dog...
39:08Yeah.
39:08..to be in the right position and give it guidance.
39:11Okay.
39:12I'm going to be looking at the cat.
39:13Steady.
39:14Poor dog steady.
39:15In past series, our participants have come to the paddock
39:19with more of an understanding of livestock behaviour and handling.
39:24Our trainers don't really know much about working stocks,
39:27so in this series we're going to look for the development of people
39:31to start learning and listening and watching and observing the stock
39:35and start learning from them.
39:37Good dog.
39:38Good sheep.
39:39To be a good stock handler, it's really, really, really simple.
39:42All you need to do is understand stock and care for stock.
39:46Nothing more, nothing less.
39:49A suitable trainer mob is very important to set young dogs up for success.
39:54These sheep I brought in from the station country only three weeks ago.
39:57They've been fed a bit of hay, they've been looked after,
39:59they've been trained with proper broken-in dogs,
40:01and have a look at them.
40:02There's quite a church mouse.
40:04So what I'm saying is if your sheep aren't right,
40:07you're going to have trouble.
40:09Everyone wants to see the bubbly little pup
40:11and we all want to pat him and we want to bond with him,
40:13and that is great, but I assure you that's the easy part.
40:16The hard part for these participants is going to be
40:19to learn how to read livestock.
40:21Your dog becomes secondary, he's in your proliferal vision.
40:25Because to learn to read livestock properly,
40:27you must be watching for their next move.
40:33So are you all clear on what we want you to do when you go in there?
40:37I think so.
40:37Good man, right answer. Good man.
40:39Before the participants can meet their new puppies,
40:43their stock skills are going to be assessed
40:45using older working dogs.
40:47So who's going to be the first victim?
40:50I mean, who's going to be the brave hero?
40:54Come on.
40:56Who's going first?
40:57I was pretty nervous coming in.
40:59Joe and Mick, I think they're two of the best trainers
41:02probably in Australia, and I think I'm very low-skilled
41:06and I don't know, just worried my dog's going to embarrass me.
41:09I'll embarrass myself.
41:11Hopefully everything calms down and I can get on with things
41:14and it works out.
41:16Good luck, Sam.
41:17You can do it.
41:18Soon to be farm owner, Sam draws the short straw
41:22and is first to be assessed with his border collie cross kelpie, Willow.
41:27Okay, so forget about the dog.
41:29You're the party animal and they're the girls
41:32that you're going to the party with.
41:33Yep.
41:34Make that the place where the dog wants to be.
41:36Right.
41:37Don't look at the dog.
41:38Look at the sheep.
41:39Look at the girls.
41:40Willow.
41:42Sam needs to get into the right position in the training yard,
41:45then use his body to instruct his dog.
41:48Come with me, Sam.
41:49You come with me.
41:50If we step in towards the sheep,
41:52that brings the dog around behind us.
41:54If we step away, that propels the dog forward.
41:58Okay, so...
41:59In turn, the Grazier needs to understand
42:02what his dog is thinking.
42:03What I'm looking for is the three signs
42:05that this dog is being receptive and ready to stop.
42:09There's the glimpse.
42:10There we saw a lick of the lips.
42:11Just gave us two then.
42:13What would the other one be?
42:15Uh, um...
42:16Come on.
42:17You're out.
42:18Righty-o.
42:19Okay.
42:21Go away.
42:22Yep, I'm happy.
42:23Alright.
42:24Yeah, so Sam, lovely, big, fit fellow.
42:27Gentle giant.
42:28Quite switched on.
42:29Quite driven.
42:30Looking to better himself and challenge himself.
42:33And we're gonna take him along on that journey.
42:36So, yeah, he's a fantastic one.
42:37That's fantastic.
42:38I think we'll quit while we're ahead.
42:48Well done, Sam.
42:49Very good.
42:50Very good.
42:51Oh, I think I just get in my head about things
42:53and once I'm there and doing it, I'm right.
42:55She's a very fizzy dog.
42:57She tries to can race.
42:59She can't.
43:02Bubbly Queensland Station hand Shady Jane
43:05is next into the ring with her border collie Tully.
43:09Good girl.
43:11So Shady, you've got to drop this voice.
43:14Yeah.
43:15Because what you're doing is you're controlling the dog.
43:18Yeah.
43:18You're not letting the dog work.
43:21Instead of a verbal command, Mick wants Shady Jane to use a training aid.
43:26Let it make a mistake.
43:28We're just gonna use the rake.
43:30Shady Jane, yeah, she might have a few preconceived ideas,
43:33but she's never worked with sheep.
43:35She's only ever worked with cattle
43:36and she's probably only ever worked in a hurry.
43:38We just body position ourself.
43:40We teach her to pull up.
43:42But I'm hoping I can steer her through that.
43:44My body position will pull her up.
43:47Pull up.
43:49Oh, nice.
43:50All without yelling and screaming.
43:53Yeah.
43:53Just to get through that was really, was really hard.
43:56I don't have much experience behind me to put into my dog.
44:01Yes, yeah, we're out of school, but I'm just worried
44:04that I didn't get the best out of my dog.
44:07So, do I think that I'm a good trainer?
44:10Can this not make it on camera, please?
44:13No, that's okay.
44:14Well, I personally don't think so, not yet, no.
44:17I'm sorry.
44:21So, how are we going to make sure we set ourselves up for success?
44:25Get myself in the middle.
44:27Yep, beautiful.
44:27Send him around the back.
44:28Yep, lovely.
44:28Go for it.
44:30Despite having attended other working dog schools in the past.
44:34Yep, very good.
44:35So, it's fantastic.
44:37Rex, the determined young grazier from Broome, Western Australia,
44:41is looking a bit tentative as he works with Joe's dog, Rehab.
44:46So, one thing I want you all to learn is we're not making the dog go around the stock.
44:53We're letting it go around the stock.
44:55So, it's a very different vibe.
44:57You saw that dog look away.
44:59That's our first warning signal that we've applied too much pressure.
45:02It's going to give us three before it shuts down or it leaves us.
45:07Go back that way.
45:08No, no, no.
45:08Left and right half circle.
45:10Going into the yard with Joe and Mick watching.
45:13That was definitely, yeah, up there was the most nervous I felt.
45:15And then it was like, okay, now it's real.
45:18Now I actually have to get into it.
45:20Did you see how it lost interest there?
45:21Because you were pushing it.
45:22So, let's not push it.
45:24I think I might have to work a little bit harder.
45:27It kind of feels like I'm at a level now where I can get a lot better.
45:31I just need the coaching, I need the guidance.
45:34Lovely.
45:35Beautiful.
45:35I need someone to tell me what to do.
45:39Your turn to shine, Ian.
45:41School is now in session for New South Wales principal, Ian.
45:46Righty-o.
45:47And his dog, Ruby.
45:49Yep.
45:49It's all you've got to do.
45:50And it looks like there's still a few lessons to be learned.
45:54So, we don't want the dog taking the sheep away from us.
45:57So, how do we stop that from happening?
45:59I would normally call her back.
46:01Yep, okay, call her back.
46:02Heel.
46:03Good girl.
46:03Stay.
46:04So, one thing we're going to teach you all too.
46:07Stay.
46:07Is say it once, make it happen.
46:10So, how many times did you say stay?
46:12Twice.
46:12Three times.
46:13Three times, there we go.
46:14So, back here.
46:15Yeah, so that was hard to be put in that position and to have to feel, you know, slightly uncomfortable
46:21and get into that space of am I going to be able to learn or is everything I'm actually doing
46:27wrong?
46:28Ahh.
46:29How do you not get in his way?
46:31Back here a bit further.
46:33Nah, you're in his way.
46:34Let's do it again.
46:36Yeah, so Ian, is the teacher going to be a good student?
46:41Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
46:43Stay there.
46:43Stay still.
46:44Do not move your feet.
46:46No.
46:49Touch him up a bit, Ian.
46:51His heart's in it.
46:52He really wants to learn to train dogs, but...
46:54Good girl.
46:54...it's very difficult.
46:55When you've got people that have had some experience with dogs, it mightn't be the right experience,
47:00so then you've got to fix that.
47:01No, let her go, let her go.
47:02No, let her go.
47:03Right on.
47:03Yeah, let her have control, because if we make her stay, she's going to say, Ian, the sheep
47:08are getting away.
47:09The headmaster is going to be a real challenge for us, but he's a very genuine guy.
47:15Really enthused, really driven.
47:17So I think we'll quit there, Ian.
47:18That's fantastic.
47:19So, yep, yep, yep.
47:20We're here for a good time, not a long time.
47:23So we're going to look at his weaknesses and work on them.
47:30Mum of two and dog trailer, Courtney, gets a bit of a boost by working with one of Mick's colleagues.
47:37The dog's name is Bandit, and he's a little brother to series three.
47:42So if you want a busy dog, you teach it to be busy.
47:45If you want a settled dog that pulls up, you teach him to pull up and stay pulled up.
47:48Because there's no need for him to move if the sheep aren't moving.
47:51Block him until he stands, take the pressure off and let him go.
47:54So he still is a natural dog.
47:56She's actually looking pretty good for a rookie.
47:59Nice work, Courtney.
48:01Yeah, when I saw the dog run out, I was, yeah, stoked and relieved.
48:05I think it's definitely a lot easier with such a natural and responsive dog as Bandit.
48:10Get him to pull up at 12 o'clock. Make him pull up.
48:13Yeah, when I get my new puppy, it will probably get harder, I have no doubt.
48:17But, yeah, at the moment.
48:19Put him, put a bit of pressure on him.
48:20You know, just trying to kind of allow myself to enjoy the moment and, you know, just be there.
48:30Stop. Stop. That'll do, Bandit. That'll do. Good boy.
48:34You know, Courtney seems very switched on.
48:36She is one of the few that's got a bit of experience with a dog.
48:39It's not a lot. I'm led to believe she's only been going a year.
48:41Well done, Courtney. You're well done.
48:43I think she's even competing in Western Australia in the dog trial game that I compete in.
48:48So, sometimes people can have beginner's luck.
48:52Pretty good, Courtney. Looking pretty good.
48:56Go, Max. Southwester. Southwester. Rightio.
48:59The last to have a turn on the sheep is Max, with one of Joe's kelpies called Gru.
49:06So, are you in the right position?
49:09I don't know.
49:10Well, you've got to know. If you don't know, the dog doesn't know.
49:13The new station hand from King Island, Tasmania, has plenty of enthusiasm.
49:19Rightio. So, block him now. That's it.
49:23I love your style, mate. You're going well.
49:26And as the least experienced dog trainer in the group, he's going to need it.
49:30There, block him. Don't let him get around. He's about to meet you.
49:33He's about to meet you. Hey! Off we go.
49:37Yeah, Max looks like he's proper green. Very little experience at all.
49:41Yeah, he's going to have a bit of work in front of him, Max, yeah.
49:44We've reduced the size of our area that we're working in by 50% by going where?
49:50To the fence. Rightio. Beautiful.
49:52Yeah, I had my first go in the round yard today and it went alright, I guess.
49:56I seemed to do okay.
49:58Starting this with a dog training school is probably the best thing that I could have.
50:02I guess with my lack of experience, having a bit of guidance to start off is going to be a
50:07great benefit
50:08and it should put me on the right path. So, I'm looking forward to it greatly.
50:13Get the dog to go clockwise. So, how would we do that?
50:17Cut off the other side.
50:18Yep, just step across here. Bang. Easy, easy.
50:22Yeah, Max is a ripper. I'm loving Max. Just down to earth, salt of the earth type of guy.
50:27Here to learn. Here to embrace it all. Say his name.
50:31Edgar.
50:32High tone of voice.
50:33Edgar, yeah.
50:33Bang. Very good. Awesome.
50:35And a really honest, straight up type of guy. And that's all Mick and I are looking for,
50:40is people that really just want to learn and get better.
50:44You're a natural, Max. Look at you go. Okay? Awesome. We're doing our job, Mick, aren't we?
50:50We are, mate. We've got six good students as well.
50:53Yeah, ripping.
50:54The one pearl of wisdom both our experts agree on.
50:59Well, you've heard practice makes perfect. I think perfection is a fallacy and doesn't exist.
51:05So, if you're trying to reach for perfection, you're always going to be disappointed. Okay?
51:09Yeah. Ever know me and Joe have done our best to breed you well-bred dogs?
51:14There's no perfect dog out there.
51:17Just be happy with progress and everything will fall into place.
51:22Well, there may be no such thing as the perfect dog.
51:27I know what this one's going to do. It is full noise. Thanks, Joe.
51:33It's now up to Joe and Mick to come up with the perfect match
51:37between puppy and participant. Good puppy. Oh, yeah.
51:41With a better understanding of everyone's skill levels,
51:45it's time to work out which breed, temperament and work style
51:49will best suit each of our new handlers.
51:52Yeah, so he's showing the instinct.
51:54First up is the tricoloured male collie pup,
51:58a.k.a. the escape artist.
52:00He looks to want to come forward to the sheep's head,
52:02which tells me he would naturally have plenty of power.
52:04And he's going to be paired with 29-year-old station hand,
52:10Shady Jane from Taroom, Queensland.
52:13The reason we've selected the big tricoloured male with the blue collar
52:17is because Shady Jane wants to work cattle.
52:20And he's a big pup.
52:22I think he'll work cattle, but because these collie dogs are so focused on the stock,
52:26he could become harder to control than with her other dog.
52:28So Shady Jane really needs to step up.
52:31He's a nice pup, Joe.
52:33Yeah, he's lovely, mate.
52:35Helpy breeder Joe has decided his first match will be the feisty red and tan male pup
52:40with the aqua-coloured collar and 50-year-old schoolteacher Ian
52:45from Nundel, New South Wales.
52:49Choosing for Ian, the schoolteacher or headmaster,
52:53it was actually really interesting because he's going to need to push through
52:57all of that previous experience and preconceived ideas on how it should go.
53:02So the red and tan male is a calmer, steadier, thinking-type pup.
53:07And that will give him time to adjust.
53:09Good girl.
53:10Good girl.
53:11This sweet-natured black and white female is not as switched on as the first collie.
53:16Just try and get those sheep to go away from her a bit.
53:19Try and get some movement.
53:22Which means she won't overwhelm the stock on 32-year-old Courtney's large sheep property
53:27in Wallstead, Western Australia.
53:30I thought the little female would suit Courtney.
53:32She was a bit slower starting and she was a softish little dog.
53:36You know what you're bred for, you're just not totally switched on yet.
53:39So it'll be interesting to watch Courtney's journey.
53:43Righty-o, let's have a look at this one.
53:45Next up is the confident red and tan female Kelpie.
53:49Bit fizzy but they'll settle down.
53:53Who's destined for a new life with Max,
53:56the first time dog trainer from King Island, Tasmania.
54:00So the red and tan female with the orange collar.
54:03You can see she's a lovely looking pup, full of life, full of action,
54:07really bold and outgoing.
54:09And I thought that would really suit Max's temperament.
54:12You'll notice that he's a little bit quieter and a little bit more reserved.
54:15A lot of people think a more reserved nature needs a more reserved dog.
54:20Why often it's the other way around?
54:23Sometimes you need a bolder dog to bring out more of your personality, I guess.
54:28Good pup.
54:30He's got plenty of strength and he's actually working around his sheep.
54:33The last energetic black and white male border collie has been matched with 28-year-old
54:39New South Wales cattle farmer, Sam.
54:42The big white and black tri-coloured border collie with the purple collar.
54:46I thought he would suit Sam for cattle.
54:48He's even taken blocks and he's had very little training, but he's a good pup.
54:52Very good pup.
54:52He was showing a lot of good work and natural desire and he was a big dog and he had
54:57presence.
54:57That's him mate.
54:58So it's very important that Sam's working correctly and that the instinct doesn't get switched off
55:04through poor handling or mollycoddling or too much overwork.
55:10So you can see she's all bark at the moment.
55:13Showing a bit of interest, that's good.
55:15Last but not least, another female kelpie.
55:18The intelligent black and tan pup with the red collar and its 24-year-old Western Australian
55:24grazier Rex, who's going to be taking her home.
55:29Yeah, so the little red collar, you can just see her brain ticking over all the time.
55:34You can see that she was really determined in the way she went around her stock and quite
55:38assertive, which is what you need for cattle.
55:40So she's suited Rex beautifully.
55:43But Rex is going to have to be really careful there with the intelligence of the dog,
55:48because if the dog's too smart for the person, then the person's in a lot of trouble.
55:54Go on then.
55:56Good girl.
55:57Oh yeah, beautiful.
55:58Good girl.
55:59I think she wants an orange collar.
56:01Yeah, she's jealous.
56:03That's the problem.
56:05The sister's got an orange collar and she's the only good one.
56:07That's the red one.
56:08Hmm?
56:16With the matchmaking all done, the participants will soon get to meet their new puppy partners.
56:23But will the dog's quality breeding be enough to get them across the finish line?
56:29At the end of this season, I'd really like to see success with these new participants.
56:35It's a new structure.
56:37All the people in the past have had some previous knowledge or experience, so there is no guarantees.
56:44So are you going with this one, Chris?
56:45Yeah, I'll go with this one.
56:45Probably the greatest obstacle they're going to have to overcome is their ego.
56:51Understanding how we'll fall over and get back up again, and that there's just so much
56:56to learn on a much, much higher level.
56:59Two different breeds, six inexperienced trainers, and only 12 months to reach the goal of training
57:08the champion mustador.
57:12Next time, our excited and eager muster pups are finally introduced to their new handlers.
57:23And as our novice Collie and Kelpie teams return home, the experiment officially gets underway.
57:33But as training begins, the inexperience really starts to show.
57:40Hey, I'm leading you.
57:41Me first.
57:42As things quickly go off the rails.
57:46Definitely.
57:47There went a lot of screaming and yelling and throwing things.
57:49Underneath.
57:50Not the camera.
57:51I was that, no!
57:51Oh.
57:53Oh!
57:53Oh.
57:53Oh!
57:54Yeah!
58:10Okay.
58:11Oh!
58:12What kind of galaxies?
58:16Oh, oh!
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