|
|
|
|
 Hannah is a 3 month old Kelpie growing up on a farm near Cootamundra, New South Wales, which is about 1 1/2 hours south west of Canberra . When she grows up she will be a working dog, and her jobs will include mustering sheep and cattle.
|
|
|
What is mustering?
Top
Mustering means rounding up the sheep or cattle in the paddock and bringing them to the yards. Once in the yards, Hannah will help the farmer to move the sheep or cattle around the yards or into sheds depending on the job being done. For example, sheep may need to be put into the shearing shed so they can be shorn, or cattle put into a crush to be given a drench to kill any worms in their intestines.
|
Hannah's friend Reba
Top
 Hannah is lucky to have a good friend called Reba, who puts up with Hannah jumping all over her! Reba will also help to teach Hannah the commands that she will need to learn to be a good working dog.
At the moment Hannah is practising with a few sheep in the yards. As she gets bigger she can go out into the paddock but at the moment she can't run fast enough to round up the sheep if they are in the paddock, as her legs aren't long enough yet!
|
Hannah and her poddy calf
Top
 Just like any puppy, Hannah needs her vaccinations, worm tablets, and flea control. She eats a good quality puppy food and gets big, fresh bones every few days. Exercise isn't a problem on a large farm, but she loves going for walks with her owner and Reba. At the moment she has another friend living in the garden called 'Calvin Calf'.
Calvin is a poddy calf, which means that he has lost his mother. Calvin eats grass, but also drinks milk from a bottle three times a day. Hannah thinks her job is to keep a close eye on Calvin!
|
Other working dogs
Top
There are a few different breeds of dog that are used as working dogs in Australia, including the Australian Cattle Dog, the Australian Kelpie, the Border Collie and the Koolie. These dogs are highly intelligent, agile dogs with a natural instinct for working with stock. They work hard, enjoy swimming in the water troughs and dams and playing with the other dogs and their owners. They also enjoy a well-earned rest at the end of the day.
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr Rebecca Bragg graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Veterinary Science in 1989, and worked in mixed animal practice in Canberra before moving to Sydney. She worked at Mosman Veterinary Clinic on the Lower North Shore for nine years, being a partner from 1996-2002, and now enjoys country life and locum veterinary work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
