Working dogs make life far easier for Whanganui River Rd farmer Cody Wickham. Photo / Mark Lourie
In the second of a short monthly series, Iain Hyndman and Mark Lourie celebrate the humble Kiwi working dog, this month eyeing the invaluable hill country hound - the huntaway.
It would be totally unimaginable farming New Zealand's rugged hill country without the farmer's best friend - the huntaway.
Nationally, there are 31,301 huntaway's and 18,551 heading dogs (eye dogs) registered and statistics from district councils that are in close proximity to Whanganui there are 1666 registered working dogs in Whanganui, 2480 in Rangitikei, 1697 in Manawatu and the Ruapehu District (including Raetihi) has 2658.
These figures undeniably underline the importance of having working dogs on our farms in New Zealand.
To get an idea of what life might be like out on the farm without our faithful working dogs, Mark Lourie travelled to the heart of New Zealand's hill country to see first-hand what happens on a typical day on a busy sheep station.
However, he already had far more than an inkling given he grew up on hill country blocks near Hunterville and at Okirae east of Whanganui.
"Properties like this require good men with even better dogs in order to manage the demands of the day to day stock work," Mr Lourie said.
Musters usually start at the crack of dawn and they can take an entire day. Moving the sheep from the further most paddocks to the woolshed generally requires two or three shepherds and 15-20 reliable dogs.
Unsurprisingly, spring and summer are the busiest times and these are compounded by the heat, which requires earlier starts and more dog power to move the mobs of ewes and their lambs.
The muster starts by saddling up a horse and riding out to the paddock to be mustered. The stock are then mustered by starting at the back and working forward while gathering the sheep or cattle together.
"Stock have a tendency to follow natural pathways, either along a face or up or down ridgelines, and they generally like to avoid hazardous areas such as swamps, steep areas or broken contours.
"As the mobs get larger, the chance of something going wrong increases - smothering in tight or blind areas is always a risk, so controlling the front and sides of the mob is just as important as controlling the back.
"Good men and dogs will move stock in a controlled manner, at a steady walking pace without worrying or chasing the stock, while following the easiest route and ensuring stock have ample time to rest along the way."
With this in mind Mr Lourie gives a brief overview of the roles of the dogs.
"The huntaway initially 'barks up' to get everything moving in the right direction, then both the huntaways and heading dogs are sent out on runs to move the sheep from gullies and ridges, which drives the stock in the right direction.
"Once the stock is gathered, the role of the huntaway is to hunt or push the mob from the back, with the heading dogs controlling the sides of the mob standing in the right spot to turn them in the right direction or hold up the front so the slower ones at the back can keep up.
"Once at the destination, the mustering dogs are tied up and then it is the role of the yard or mob dogs to take over. Usually a huntaway with plenty of noise is used to move the sheep around the yards.
"The closer you get to the destination the harder the push becomes. The final push requires the most pressure and a good dog will back the sheep (running across the back of the sheep to get to the front of the mob), which moves the sheep around rather than just pushing them forward from the back of the mob."
Now that the job is complete, it's time to return the stock to their paddocks.
"This is usually the most satisfying part of the muster as the job is done and the stock tend to naturally drift back in to their paddocks rather than having to be driven," Mr Lourie said.
"This typically happens in the cool and calm of the evening, which is a nice change from the blistering heat of the sun."
The demise of the shepherd has been caused by a number of factors, such as more mobile sheep, smaller paddocks, more fencing and longer acting animal products which reduce the need for frequent visits to the yard.
"Laneways have reduced the need to control the mob once in the laneway, and hunting from the back of the mob is much less stressful, with satellite yards reducing the need to take all mobs to the woolshed for particular jobs.
"Life without man's best friend would certainly require a lot more manpower in the hills, probably one man for every dog currently needed. Although, there has been talk of using drones in the future to muster, so we will have to wait and see how the future pans out for our faithful working dogs."