Wolf & I Co. Blog | Adventures Of The Wolf Pack

Duke the kelpie is his name and sheep herding is his game! We came across Duke's Instagram and just had to know more about daily farm life so we asked him to tell us a bit about what he gets up to as a working dog...

I am a 16 month old pure bred Australian Kelpie. My fur parents are from a well renowned Kelpie stud in Australia which means I'm a very capable and intelligent working dog. 

Firstly, let me tell you a bit about my hoomans. My Mums name is Brooke and my Dads name is Josh, we live in a small country town called Gnowangerup located in Western Australia. My hoomans are both Kiwis or as Aussies love to say “Sheep Shaggers”. They have lived in Australia for six years now and both work full time on different farms which are both a mixed sheep and cropping enterprise. 

My hoomans decided to get a dog (me!) because they both do so much sheep work on the farm and having a dog on the farm is like having another worker. They also wanted a dog to take on adventures off the farm as they have no family living in Australia. It goes without saying they also crave the unconditional love, comfort and happiness a dog gives when times are testing.

I went on my first road trip when I was 8 weeks old, that was to my new home. My Mum began training me obedience commands eg. sit, down, come, stay when I was just a puppy. I was very excited to start puppy school and learn all about these creatures called “sheep”. Once I passed obedience class and my mum completely trusted me, I got introduced to a small mob of sheep that were confined in the yards. I was a tiny chubby pupper yet they didn’t scare me at all, my working dog insist kicked in straight away and I had a lot of fun barking and being the boss!

I go to work everyday with either Mum or Dad which is typically around 10 hours of sheep work. I can be helping with anything from shearing, drenching, tailing or weaning and can be physically working for up to 6 hours in the day. My hoomans make sure I have plenty of breaks where I can rest properly, I slurp down lots of water which is available 24/7 and at lunch I love my high protein meal.

The simple commands I had to learn as a pup seem like ancient history as I quickly learned my new working commands. I now confidently round sheep up in the paddock, manoeuvre sheep in the yards, jump on their backs and recognise what sheep is holding up the process my hoomans are trying to achieve.

The latest skill I got taught is to sniff out and bring the sheep that smells funny to the ground so it can get fly spray on its bum. Everyone says I’m naturally gifted and very smart around sheep but to be honest I just want to make my hoomans proud and I would do anything for them.

When it is busy on the farm I get to work with four other dogs, I have to be on my best behaviour as one of them is my fur mother...

Farm life for me isn’t just hanging out with my woolly lady friends. I love spending time being the best companion, passenger and floor cleaner in all the machines used on the farm, I get to go cruising around on the ute checking crops and I definitely think I’m the coolest dude riding shotgun on the motorbike.

Even though I am considered a “working dog” I am part of the family and my hoomans believe a work/life balance is very important. I live by the motto “Work hard, Play hard” and when the working day comes to an end I have a basket full of toys I play with, lots of delicious treats to eat and plenty of cuddle time.

I get to go on many adventures off the farm too, my favourite being camping trips to the beach. I do zoomies on the sand, fetch my tennis ball for hours on end and the best part - I get a hooman BBQ dinner!

My hoomans top 5 things they love about farm life:

1. Every day is different

2. Fresh air & beautiful views

3. We get to take our dog to work everyday

4. We're part of getting food from the paddock to the plate

5. We have met some amazing, genuine and true blue Australian farmers who have incredible stories to tell 

Best advise for dog owners from my hoomans:

• General obedience commands are so important to train and enforce. Having your dog competent with these commands will make public situations less stressful and also reinforces that you are the master.
• Quality pet products are worth paying extra for.
• Your dog will always love you more than you love yourself, they won’t be around forever so don’t sweat the small stuff.

Maybe I'll see you out in WA sometime if not you can always follow me and stay up to date with my farm life adventures @duke_thekelpie1 and subscribe for more epic adventures sent direct to your inbox!