Taking stock: working dogs are worth every penny

The dog's name was Ben and he had an uncanny ability of bringing in the exact amount of sheep you were after.

All you needed to do was tell him how many you wanted and sure enough he would "fetch-em".

It got me to thinking about how valuable our canine friends can be on-farm, regardless of what type of operation you're running.

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It seems other people have been thinking about it lately too, with record prices being paid for working dogs across the globe recently.

Earlier this month, a new world record was set at the 25th annual Casterton Working Dog Auction in Victoria, when a dog called Hoover, offered by David Lee at Edenhope, Victoria, sold for $35,200 to a North East Victorian sheep and cattle grazier.

The annual sale, which had to be conducted online due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria, saw a total of 51 dogs sold to an average of $7753. This month's record result comes after nine-week-old Pentir Lassie broke a world record in the UK for the most expensive unbroken pup, selling for £7,600 or $13,877 AUD.

That puppy's price tag broke the previous record, which was set in January this year, also in the UK, when an 11-week-old untrained black and white Border Collie puppy called Bet sold at the Skipton Auction Mart for $11,000 AUD. To give you some context on how high prices for puppies have risen in recent years, both international sales comfortably surpassed the 2018 benchmark set in Casterton of $5800, which was considered "staggering" at the time.

As for more mature working dogs, this month's new record was more than $10,000 more expensive than Getitdun Working Dogs near Yass' Eveready Possum, which brought $25,000 at the Jerilderie Working Dog Auction in 2019. So why are working dogs becoming so much more expensive?

I think there are a number of factors at play.

The first being the fact producers have always valued the talents and usefulness of their working dogs to the point where everyone has heard someone say "that dog is worth at least three people".

Another is the fact producers are always happy to pay what is needed to ensure they are buying something that's fit for purpose for their operation.

There is also the fact that a dog rarely takes a sick day, never answers back, is much cheaper to feed than a human and doesn't need money put into their super fund.

A more serious reason might be due to the workforce shortage induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With less and less overseas and local workers on offer to those in the ag sector, a working dog is not so much a valuable addition as it is a vital cog in your operation.

However, I think ultimately the main reason producers are willing to pay big bucks for working dogs is because they know they won't just get a solid worker, but also a friend for life.

Whether they are for counting sheep, herding cattle or sitting by your feet on a harvester, producers will always go out and "fetch em".

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