Get down to the Sapphire Nutrition Yard Dog Competition at the Showgrounds
This year the Festival of the Fleeces’ presents the Sapphire Nutrition Yard Dog Competition at the Festival of the Fleeces. In this fast-paced competition you’ll see working dogs put through their paces in yard work.
Yard work is different to the mustering that’s done out in the paddock. Once the sheep are mustered and in the yard the dogs have to keep the sheep moving along races, push them up onto trucks or utes, or into smaller pens. Whether you’re drafting sheep, loading stock, drenching, shearing or just doing general health checks, the yard dog is a priceless asset.
It’s the dog’s role to keep the sheep moving and avoid stalling in the races or on the ramps when loading. It’s about speed, flexibility and not taking “no” for an answer when the sheep have other ideas. It’s often said that the yard dog can do the work of three workers. They keep things moving.
Our competition is for working dogs from nearby properties testing themselves and their handlers. The yard dog feeds off their owner so if “the owner is having a bad day, the dogs won’t play”.
Want to enter your working yard dog?
Entry forms will be available soon.