Dog trainer says ABC's Muster Dogs is driving demand for working dogs

Internationally renowned working dog trainer Gary White is in the business of training humans.He travels Australia and the world, hosting workshops designed to help handlers get the most out of their working dog.Participants bring their pup and test them in the yard, while White coaches them through training drills."It's more about teaching the handler where they've got to be and what they've got to do," White said."And when they know, they can actually teach their dog."Gary White hosts working dog schools across Australia and overseas. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)White has lived on the land all of his life, and throughout that time he's always had a dog by his side.While mustering increasingly involves the use of autogyros and drones, White is adamant that a good working dog will always have a place on a station.In fact, he believes the ABC's hit series Muster Dogs is playing a part in a surge of demand for these canine employees.It's a partnershipWhite grew up on a property between Nyngan and Cobar, in western New South Wales.He spent most of that time working the land alone."My whole life I was virtually working by myself, with just me and the dogs. That's the way I loved it," White said."My dogs were my right-hand man."A working dog can save a lot of physical work when mustering animals. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)His father, John White, started White's Kelpie Stud in the 1950s, a business which the younger White has continued.Dog enthusiasts visiting the stud from America gave him the connection that eventually led to his first opportunity to host a training workshop in Iowa in 1999."It just all blossomed from there," White said."It's my life now, actually."I've been over to America and Canada eight times, all through Scandinavia and Europe."Gary White has grown up with dogs all his life. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)The main focus of his lessons is the partnership between human and dog."I can pretty well pick straight away whether a dog suits an owner," White said."If we've got a dog that's very strong-headed, and doesn't want the partnership to blossom with the human, and doesn't work so much with the human, it can be hard work."Worth every pennyA report released by ANZ last year found that the demand for working dogs had increased over the past decade, particularly given the strain on the agricultural workforce.It's a story White is not unfamiliar with."When I was contracting, they'd employ me with my team of working dogs instead of employing another two people," White said."They're very cost-effective."The highest price paid at a recent dog auction was almost $30,000. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)White said while they're worth the money, the average price for working dogs has been steadily rising.At a dog auction in Forbes in mid-July, the highest price paid for a dog was $28,500."There's a lot of dogs being sold from between $20,000 and $30,000 these days," White said."[Some] dogs are selling up to $50,000."While there were many factors contributing to the high price, White said goats had something to do with it."It has traditionally been the goat market that has pushed the price of dogs," he said.Gary White says high prices for goats have pushed up the price for working dogs. (ABC Landline: Tony Hill)"The price of dogs [has jumped] over the years by people catching goats because people could see … the dollar value."If [someone] pays $10,000 for a dog, and they go out and muster in that first week $10,000 worth of goats, that's a cheap dog."While they may be hardy workers, White believes the value of a dog goes beyond rounding up sheep and cattle.For many working in agriculture, they're also a companion during arduous, long days and trying times.A working dog is more than just an employee, for many they're also a much-loved mate. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)"Some people just love their dogs to bits, and they're widely called their best mate," White said."Their dogs [have] helped them get through sticky situations."I know people that [say] their dogs actually helped them through the drought."Always a place for a working dogFor more than six decades, John Lawrence of Nine Mile Station has had at least a couple of working dogs."You must have dogs," Lawrence said."We've got pretty hard country, like hilly country, and it's pretty difficult to get around sheep at times."The dog jumps off, and he's got them together in no time flat and saves you trying to bounce away up and down over rocks and hills."John Lawrence has never gone without working dogs on the station. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)Over the years, Lawrence has seen technology evolve to the point where motorbikes, autogyros and drones have become a necessity to cover the vast lands of the outback."From horses to planes and drones," Lawrence said."The motorbikes are so much better now than what they used to be when we first started."But despite the vast improvements, Lawrence said there will always be a place for dogs in mustering."I think young people are realising how important it is to have dogs," he said."That's why I see so many turn up to these schools, because people are using dogs a lot more than what they did."Ruger and Cash are never far away from their owner, Peter Leigo, on Netley Station. (ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren)Peter Leigo is a station hand at Netley Station, south of Broken Hill.He's attended three of White's workshops and says while there are plenty of challenges with a working dog, he wouldn't go without them."Having one or two dogs on the bike, you are able to handle a larger mob of animals," Leigo said."It saves yourself a lot of running around [and] a lot of physical work."I think the working dog community is actually growing in comparison to the last 20 years."Muster Dogs behind a surge in demandThe ABC's reality series Muster Dogs has led a resurgence in interest and demand for a reliable working dog, according to White.Gary White says the ABC's hit series Muster Dogs has helped drive demand for working dogs. (ABC)The series, which sees contestants compete against each other in a series of challenges with their puppy, has garnered significant domestic and international attention."Everywhere I go, even overseas, all they want to talk about is Muster Dogs," White said."Even with the running of training schools, the demand is definitely there a lot because of that Muster Dog series."