By Olivia Condous
A Myrniong farmer is set to have a barking good time at the first Cobber Challenge Relay competition, which will be an event that will have tails wagging for all four-legged friends involved.
Parwan Prime farmer Dane Simmonds will represent Victoria at the competition with two of his farm dogs, Ruby and Tully, in a bid to win as the hardest working farm dogs in Australia and New Zealand.
The competition’s team challenge will have 12 teams compete over three weeks by tracking their dogs with a GPS collar device while they’re herding, to record their distance, speed and endurance.
Mr Simmonds, who has 12 working dogs on his farm, said he was looking forward to competing against other dogs across Australia and New Zealand and showing his dogs’ hard work.
“They’re fantastic working dogs, very highly intelligent and very, very loyal,” he said.
“I honestly could not do my job without the dogs… they work really hard,
“But what’s really good about them… is the companionship that they provide as well.”
Mr Simmonds has a soft spot for his dogs, who live inside the house in a special “mud room” where they can rest and keep out of the cold.
At their home in Myrniong, Mr Simmonds and his wife have a menagerie of animals including goats, cattle, ducks, guinea fowl and chickens that coexist with the dogs.
“[The dogs] know which animals that they’re allowed to chase and they know the ones that they’re not allowed to chase,” he said.
The 2022 Cobber Challenge Relay will run from August 22 to September 11, with fans able to follow along on the website.
