Lily and Snow shine on the big screen, but still chase 'old legends'

Lily Davies Etheridge stars on the latest Muster Dogs show.

With five graziers each given 12 months to train an Australian Border Collie pup by champion dog educator from the Central West, Mick Hudson, the 22-year-old contract musterer was paired up with Snow.

"Some dogs aren't bothered if [the trainer is] feeling off and don't care at all, but then you'll get some that are quite sensitive to moods, in my opinion," Miss Davies Etheridge told ACM.

"Snow, he's more on the sensitive side, but he's got the gift of being pretty cruisy with a strong working instinct at the same time.

"He definitely hasn't earned 'top dog' title yet though; he's still got a fair bit of work to do."

But mustering dogs wasn't the big dare for Miss Davies Etheridge. It was mustering the courage to be filmed - day in, day out.

Not used to any kind of spotlight or targeted attention, she says getting through production was a personal hurdle in itself.

Training the dog bit was the easy part, because the cameras were pretty 'how ya goin' being around all the time," she said.

"I don't think I thought that one through," she laughed, "but training a working dog is still a challenge though and I'm still young, so I'm not going to say I'm one good trainer or anything like that.

"There are some old legends out there that no one will ever learn about."

Depending on the dog and its temperament, Miss Davies Etheridge says "all the good ones" are bred to have a great working ability with a natural instinct for the job.

Some of those organic traits include "reading livestock" - with talented dogs able to predict cattle movement and intent better than humans ever can, according to the young dog, stock, and horse handler.

"A good dog is like having another body out there instead of bringing more and more people in, they can just fill gaps those so well," she said.

"Some don't make life any easier at all and can be a bloody headache," she laughed, "but a handy dog makes life a lot easier; and they'll put a lot less miles on your motorbike."

Which the Wilcannia-born girl knows all about, having zipped around on bikes and in utes the majority of her life.

Country kids creating top dogs

Training dogs with her parents on their dorper sheep farm since the age of seven, controlling livestock with canines and riding horses has always been a part of her life.

"I did what most kids out in the country do and got involved with work from pretty early on," she said.

"Now, I'm usually contract mustering, so I'm away a lot with travelling for that, but I'm pretty into my horses, camp drafting and showing them when I get the time."

With her "pretty young team" of four dogs, Miss Davies Etheridge's pack includes two collies and two kelpies.

The oldest one nearly four years old, the contractor broke down the responsibilities of the 'top dog'.

"They're the one you automatically reach for if you've got a bit of a trickier job to do, and each job calls for a slightly different dog sometimes," she said.

"But your best dog is the one you've got the most trust and control with, because they'll use their brain a lot more but can also take directions at the same time."

Since the end of filming with the ABC Muster Dogs program, the young grazier admits she's "been hiding" from the media as best she can.

"It was weird being in front of so many cameras and I've kept it all pretty quiet to be honest," the 2019 Kinross graduate said.

"My friends have given me a bit of shit about the show, but that's what mates do. But it really was a different experience that I've learned from."