All language subtitles for Muster.Dogs.S01E03.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

NARRATOR: A litter of five
cute pedigree puppies,

bred for their herding instinct,

have been split up
and sent across the country

to five skilled stock handlers -

all passionate about mustering
with dogs rather than machines.

Stop. Sit, sit, sit. All dogs sit.

They're part of an experiment

to see if a working dog can be
trained to join an adult muster pack

in 12 months, rather than the usual
three-year training cycle.

Here! Come in here. (WHISTLES)

Our trainers and pups are facing
a huge few weeks

as the experiment ramps up,
with rapid progress expected...

Stop! Ah!

..before the brother and sister pups
meet again at one year of age

for the ultimate
muster dog challenge,

as they all strive to become
champion muster dogs.

(LAUGHTER)

MAN: And up! (WHISTLES)
Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy!

Lovely dog.

WOMAN: Here.

CJ: Good dog. Hey?

(WHISTLES)

JONI: Good boy!

Good dog!

ROB: Pup, pup, pup!

Take a look at how much
our puppies have grown.

Good boy. Good boy.

Good girl.

At six months of age,
they're maturing beautifully...

Don't let me interrupt your nap.

..as they're about to be put through
their second milestone assessment.

Lovely dog.

And our Queensland duo,
Frank and Annie, are raring to go.

FRANK: Annie has
just turned six months.

No major problems,

just a few little ones earlier on,
but I think we're going good.

Real good.

JONI: Chet, back here.

It seems Joni and Chet
could do with some more time.

Hey.

That didn't go to plan.

I probably haven't spent
that much time preparing Chet

for the six-month assessment,
to be honest with you.

It was Christmas, it was end
of year, and I was buggered.

In WA, Aticia and Gossip
have had an interesting time.

Hop up!

The conditions at the moment
are probably not ideal,

mainly due to not having stock,
and the drought.

Also, there's a little bit of timid
coming through every now and again.

It's just a little bit
of uncertainty.

You can hop in here.

She's sort of headed into that age

where she can be
a little bit more unsure.

Probably more than
when she was younger.

Spice!

Finding time to train Spice
hasn't been easy for CJ,

with the demands of family and
life on the land getting in the way.

The conditions we're training in

were a bit hectic.

I could have gone better, but
Spice is where she is at six months

because I believe she's just
a very intelligent, well-bred pup.

All five brother and sister pups

come from award-winning breeder
Joe Spicer,

who also trains kelpies.

So the herding instincts are there,
they just need to be honed.

And at six months, Rob is still
struggling with Lucifer.

ROB: Luce, Lucie!

They're great mates,

but they really need
to start working together.

So I just let him go
completely rogue,

so now he's 100% focused
on the livestock,

but I've got no control of him.

So you've got to find a sweet spot
where I can control him

and he's still got all his instinct.

Up, up.

I want him to know I'm the boss.

That biting, that's got to stop.

At the moment he's thinking,
"Man, this person's hard to train."

That's what I think he was thinking.
(LAUGHS)

Yeah.

Sit down.

Expert trainer Neil
has listed four skills

he feels should be achievable
at six months of age.

Sit down.

We're going to be looking to see
the development of their bond,

their agility, the focus,

and see some of
their early mustering skills

starting to develop.

The owner-dog bond is a key element
to challenge number 1 -

walking off lead.

And the pup's agility is tested
in the second task -

jumping on the bike on command.

Neil's wife, Helen,
who also trains pups,

explains why this second skill
is important.

The best way to expose them
to learning

is to have them with you on the back
of a ute or a buggy or a bike,

and you let them off for
a toilet break, and put 'em back on,

and that's the call.

You've got to call 'em
back to you to put 'em on the bike.

They learn how to jump on
a bike or a buggy.

And they're all skills that are
great for their development

at that age.

The next two skills

are about how well they've taken
to working livestock -

a demonstration of basic herding,

and ability
to hold stock calmly on a fence.

If you've been able
to put the time in,

the dog's natural instincts to herd
should have come out.

And so what's needed now is just
clear and concise body language

and instructions,
so they can move forward with you.

This is nice work. See that?

The basic herding skills
needed for task number three,

Neil teaches in
his mustering classes.

Just lean forward and sway back.

Go sideways in, doing that,
into your cattle.

If that dog is going,
just hold them there for a bit.

Without too much work. Just hold.
Pull up, pull up, pull up.

Lovely dog. Sit down.

In the six-month challenge,

each handler can choose
to have their dog attempt

what's called a quarter bubble,

where stock are held in a corner,
with a fence on two sides.

You don't want your dog
too close in there,

'cause it's holding them
in the corner.

Doesn't give you room to get in
and get your gate.

That's good work.

Or a half bubble,

where stock are held
in one spot along a flat fence line

when there are no corners
to hold them in.

Pretty tidy.

Good girl.

For our pups,
playtime is officially over...

Good boy.

..and the working dog
needs to be emerging.

Taking a break from teaching,

the first progress video for Neil
to view is Frank and Annie.

FRANK: Alright, Annie, we're off.
Cameras are rolling.

Right to come?

Their first challenge -

a morning walk,
but now done off the lead.

It's not as easy as it looks.

At this age,
a working dog's instinct to run off

and find stock is overwhelming.

So staying by the handler's side is
a real test of focus and discipline.

With Frank's finger now acting
as their Bluetooth signal,

looks like a pass for Annie.

Next, Annie needs to demonstrate
her agility

with a leap onto the back of
Frank's quad bike.

Annie, up.

Annie, up. (WHISTLES) Annie, up.

Oh, dear.

Annie, up. (WHISTLES)
Annie, up.

Lovely dog.

Annie will stay there.

Phew! She eventually gets it right.

Now the serious stuff -

a look at Annie's
early herding skills.

As the handler, Frank needs to first
identify where Annie is needed.

Then, using her natural desire
to circle the mob,

he uses both body language and rake

to send the pup
to the right position.

When Frank blocks
Annie from circling the goats,

he knows that her instinct will
send her back the opposite way.

So if he needs her to run
in a clockwise direction,

he simply blocks her
from going anticlockwise.

Not only is Annie gliding around
the stock on verbal command...

Over. Over. And sit there.

..but this little star
holds them in place.

I feel Annie is advanced
for six months,

because she's been easy to train.

Her instincts,
and then her memory is so good.

It's been a charmed run, really.

For Annie's final challenge,

young cattle have been moved
next to a fence,

and Annie needs to show
she can hold them there.

Frank is attempting the half bubble.

Lovely dog. Here, here.

With the fence acting as a barrier
on one side,

Frank uses the rake
to send Annie back and forth,

from one end of the mob to
the other.

Annie, over.

An invisible line is drawn that the
cattle are not permitted to cross.

Figuring out how much pressure
to apply on the cattle

normally takes years
for a working dog to perfect.

But Annie is making it all
look easy.

Giddy, giddy, giddy. (WHISTLES)

That's four out of four
for Annie and Frank.

Excellent result.

We've just got on,
right from the start,

and she comes with me in the ute, on
the back of the ute or on the bike.

We've spent a lot of time together,
so we've bonded well.

Annie, to me.

After a performance like that, Annie
is going to be a hard act to follow.

Let's see how her four
brothers and sisters go.

First up,

walking off lead -
our problem pup, Lucifer.

ROB: Over. Hey, over. Stop!

Stop! Luce! (LAUGHS)

Luce! You little bastard. (LAUGHS)

And handler Rob
has an admission to make.

He's gonna fail.

He's so keen to work the sheep

that I just can't let him
off the lead.

Hey, buddy.

So this is the first time Rob
has walked Lucifer off his lead.

This should be interesting.

So, yeah, we'll just have to see
what happens,

but, yeah, he might run off
and work the livestock.

Yeah.

Hey, buddy.

So far, so good...

Luce. Stop! Stop! Luce!

..until Lucifer's natural
herding instincts

sends him
headlong into trouble.

Hey. That's not the rule.

Luce.

Hey.
(BARKS)

The dogs have to be respectful,
100% respectful of the livestock.

If you've got dogs that are biting
an animal on the heel, for example,

it wrecks the minds of the livestock

faster than even running them in
with motorbikes.

Stop there, matey. Stop.

HELEN: It's gonna make
your livestock fearful of a dog,

and also you, know, that creates
injury to the livestock

and puts your pup in jeopardy
of getting injured itself.

Stop there! Stop! Luce!

Rob might have to do a lot of extra
homework to get on top of his pup.

Just... Lucie.

Luce, mate. Lucie.

Rob has managed to call Lucifer
back, but...

Yeah, there's more work to be done
there, that is for sure.

Next up, Aticia with Gossip.

With me.

Looks like a pass.

Good girl. You a good dog?

CJ and Spice.

And even with the lack of training
time, it's no problem for Chet.

Good boy.

Next challenge, jumping onto
the back of the bike.

Or, in Joni's case, her truck.

I read the assessment that
he had to do, and I'm like, eh,

he doesn't do any of them,

but I think Chet's got
jumping on the truck nailed.

Here, Chet. Here.

Here, hop up. Here. Hop up.
Good boy.

Oh, nearly.

Well, maybe... (LAUGHS)

Hop up, hop up.

Good boy!

Good boy.

It's just so high.

You can jump up on a motorbike
easy enough, hey, mate?

(LAUGHS)

Oh.

Good girl, Goss. Hop up.

Look at you go. Look at you go.
Well done.

Very good girl.

Gossip looks like a natural.

Good dog. Spice, up.

Spice is eager to please.

Good dog.

Focus on me.

Yes. Yes.

Just... Just... Dog.

Good boy.

So, the way I've trained him
to get on the buggy...

(LAUGHS) There you go, matey.

So he would have no trouble
jumping onto this buggy

and no trouble
training him to do it,

but it's not even on my radar

to teach a six-month-old
to jump on the back of this,

'cause once they can jump this high,
they can jump out of the yards.

If I teach the dog to jump up
on the back of the buggy,

they'll be pissing off out
of the sheep yards, so, yeah,

he needs to not realise
that's an escape option for him.

Oh, holy moly.

You've got to be really quick
to stop some problems occurring,

or some bad habits developing,
because they want to work so much,

so you really need a good sit,
and a good stop, and a good call,

so that they can pull up
any unnecessary work.

So Lucifer stays in the back

while Rob's older dogs
Winter and Jumpy

show him what he'll be doing
when he can be trusted.

Stop.

On the car. Jumpy, car.

The basic herding demo is up next.

The pups are not expected to be
pros at this stage,

but have hopefully learned to keep
a safe distance from the stock.

Alright, go round this another way.

It's a delicate balance.

The dogs need to stay close enough
to keep the stock under control,

but too close,
they'll cause them to scatter.

Or worse,
get trampled on themselves.

The area I'm probably
most concerned with

would be her distance on her stock.

So it's going to look
pretty average, I think.

That is probably where we're going
to need to work on.

I think that'll be interesting.

Alright.

Lovely.

See that?

This is nice work.
Good girl.

Absolutely beautiful.

They've got to be brave enough
to stand their ground,

work in a way
that the sheep and cattle

choose to go where we need them,

whether it be to a water point,
or a new paddock, or into the yard.

Gossip's sister Spice
starts off a bit hesitant.

But Neil can see her instinct
kick in

as Spice helps CJ guide
the young cattle

across the paddock without fuss.

That was quite acceptable.

Quite acceptable. You got a pass.

OK, time to shine, Lucifer.

Time to show what you've been
busting to do.

Good boy. That's good work, buddy.
Good boy.

Lucifer is gathering the sheep well
and pushing them forward.

He may be rough around the edges,
but finally, a pass.

Last, but no means least,
Joni with Chet.

JONI: Good boy.

Look at this talented little pup go,
shepherding the cattle from behind,

pushing them along in a controlled
and calm manner.

Good boy.

He's really, really doing
quite well for his age.

He was very confident, he put in
a bark, he moved very freely,

he was responsive to me.

I think he did really, really well.

And it looks like Neil agrees.

It's a great result,

with four passes at
the six-month assessment for Chet.

Now it's CJ's turn,

putting Spice to the test
on the final challenge -

holding stock along a fence.

Good dog. Good dog.

CJ's trying Spice
with a half bubble.

These cattle
weigh around 300kg each,

so for a six-month-old pup, holding
them back is kind of a big deal.

(MOOS)

Oops. Lost one.

(MOOS)

Push, push, push, push.

Get him. Get him.

She probably needs a bit more
cattle skills, yeah.

Yeah! Whoo-hoo-hoo!
Yeah! Push, push, push.

Not full marks on the final task,

but enough for a pass
for fiery little Spice.

Steady, Goss.

Gossip too holds the stock
on the fence, cutting off the exits,

and preventing the herd
from escaping the quarter bubble.

Well done, Goss. That's good.

Don't get distracted.

That was a bit cheeky, hmm?

Excellent result.

ROB: Good boy.

Lucifer is lucky last,

with Rob working a quarter bubble
with our little devil.

So I can send him that way
and then intercept him

and send him the other way.

It's a pass,

even though Rob eventually
had to hold Lucifer back.

Stop, Luce! Stop.

He's got a nasty bite,
which is an issue.

I'm still not confident that he's
not going to cause too much trouble.

Yeah.

He's just gotta pull his head in.
He can't be biting the sheep.

He can't be doing
what he's doing now.

It's not...
it's not acceptable behaviour.

Just gotta strip that out of him
and he should be a good dog.

It's two passes and two fails
for Lucifer,

but enough to keep him
in the experiment

and, with his brothers and sisters,

heading towards the next milestone
assessment in three months' time.

NEIL: At six months of age,

you can see that these pups
are actually starting to work.

They've got the desire out
and they're sort of poised,

ready for more training,
more development,

and you can see which of
the trainers have got them going,

which is Frank and Joni.

Good boy.

Their pups have actually started
and applied themselves earlier,

whereas Aticia, CJ and Rob,

their dogs have been
slower to start.

Goss, good girl.

In part due to
the nature of those pups,

and in part due to
the training conditions

they've been dealing with
over the past month.

So they're just gonna have to
get the balance

of encouraging the dog to work

and being able to
call them off quickly,

so that then they can,
I would imagine,

catch up to where
Frank and Joni are.

HELEN: Good puppies.

Watching there.

One of our training experts, Helen,

believes the six- to nine-month
growth spurt

is when bad habits
need to be brought under control.

Coming into nine months,

the biggest mistake
they could be making

is becoming a bit busy
on their properties,

and I totally understand that.

You sort of think, "Oh, well, we've
got to get going and get a job done.

"We might
leave the pup behind today,"

and you might get down the week

and realise that you haven't done
too much with it,

and then all of a sudden,
your progress might start to slip.

There's a lot of skills to hone
for the nine-month assessment.

Being able to stay focused on
the handler and resist distraction,

demonstrate the sit, stop
and hold commands,

work stock from the sides,

and perform a 50-metre cast,
where dogs are sent out in a big arc

to round up cattle that have
strayed from the mob.

Constantly travelling WA's back
roads as an in-demand weaner tailer,

Joni is always busy, but it's been
even more chaotic than usual.

Since the six-month assessment,
Chet and I have travelled -

we've probably moved,
located eight times,

and probably more intensively
in the last month, for sure.

With just herself to transport
20 dogs across such vast distances,

Joni has packing and unpacking
down to a fine art.

Hey, buddy.

It's a crucial time
in Chet's training,

and he's getting lots of
opportunities

to work with the older dogs
on some of the easier jobs.

But even then, things can go wrong.

We did have a little accident.

With, uh... He was penning one day
and he got himself out of position.

This big cow run back out.

Chet went in for a bit of
a dirty attack on it.

He bit it.

That forced the beast
between Chet and the gate.

Chet fell down on the side,

and the beast jumped right on his...
between his hips and his ribs.

It really, really hurt him.

Like, he was all tucked up,
all hunched up.

I just knew he wasn't right.

I thought he was busted,
so he got a race to the vet.

He sort of got jumped on in here.

On that side.

All of our pedigree pups
have to be exposed to livestock,

but this lucky escape shows

why the quicker a dog
can be trained, the better.

He's OK?
He's fine.

Chet is lucky to walk away

with little more than
bruising around his ribs.

Because of where he got jumped on,

I just wanted to make sure
it wasn't his bladder.

You know, big cow, little dog, pew.

Could have busted his hip, could
have done quite a lot of damage.

He would have been quite bruised,
but he was fine.

I think he's not fazed by pain.

(LAUGHS)

Chet was quickly up and about,
earning a big spot in Joni's heart.

Chet, stop causing trouble.

Chet!

One thing I have noticed about Chet
is his manners.

He's got to be one of the easiest,
pliable pups I've ever had.

Chet, hop up.

He does what you say,
he hops in when you tell him to,

he eats when he's supposed to.

Yeah, really quite impressed

about his commitment
to doing the right thing.

Like, he's out to help you,
not to make your day worse,

if that makes sense.

Bad weather has meant
a work break for Joni,

so she can spend
even more time on Chet's training

for the nine-month assessment.

So, yeah, we have actually had

a little bit of more intensive
training in,

'cause it was too wet
to travel anywhere.

And he's lost his little pup
side of things.

He's quite a good student,
he's fully committed to his job,

he's fully committed to me,
so that's good.

It's just after sunrise
at Glenflorrie station

in WA's Pilbara region.

The temperature's already
starting to climb

in this heavily drought-stricken
part of the state.

Alright. Hey, hey.

When it comes to training dogs,

you have to be really conscious
of your body language.

I try and understand how things are
appearing from pup's perspective.

Their eyes are down below
your knee level.

They're going to be seeing
your feet first.

Very good.

We wave our arms, but that's
way up above their eye line,

especially
if they're concentrating on stock.

So we incorporate the rake.

It's just an arm extension,

but it allows us to put the rake
down at the dog's eye level

and you can manoeuvre them around.

So there's a few things
to go with that,

but Gossip is going really well.

She's a different style
to my other pups,

but she's definitely up there
with any of my best.

Good girl, hey?

Good dog. Well done.

Come on. Goss, Goss! (WHISTLES)

Even though Aticia has no cattle
to manage,

there's still plenty
to keep her busy.

And a Gossip. Goss, Goss.

Including this new
litter of puppies.

(LAUGHS) We'll call it three, hey?

Hey, Gossie.

And being the only property
for hundreds of kilometres,

Aticia will be feeding
around a dozen tradies and miners

when they arrive for dinner.

When you actually de-stock
is not the financial hard time.

It's the years after,

because you don't have the income
that you would have before

as you have to build up
your numbers again.

So outside income like this
is a blessing,

but it does add a little bit
to the workload.

You've got a few extra mouths
to feed and look after.

(DOG BARKS)

Gossip, no-one has forgotten
that you're there.

Swinging over to
the other side of the country...

..with experienced grazier Frank
and his already beloved pup Annie...

..as Frank too reflects on the ebbs
and flows of his chosen profession.

Life on the land
can definitely be difficult.

Drought is the worst,
not knowing when it's going to rain.

Tolerance of uncertainty
is the biggest burden to bear,

and that's what drought does to you.

And it's had a toll on rural people.

Starts with a war in the brain where
you think everything's against you,

and it gets hard.

We've just got to try
to get through that,

and the way to do that
is to be healthy,

stay close to your friends,
listen to plenty of music,

and have some dogs.

Dogs are a great outlet
for emotions.

But nothing pushes the blues away
more than the sound of rain.

The best music a farmer can have
is rain on a tin roof.

Just absolutely beautiful.
I can sing to it.

And Frank has had good reason
to sing lately.

The last couple of months were...

..things were getting
a little bit dry,

but the signs were there in the bush
that it was going to rain,

so we had 140ml
since the six-month assessment,

and the country's transformed,

the grass is growing,
trees are in flower,

and it's one less thing
to think about,

worrying about the dry
and feeding cattle.

So I can focus more now

on training Annie up for
the nine-month assessment.

At nearly nine months old,

Annie has grown into a sleek,
wiry and graceful little kelpie.

She's a calm and thoughtful dog,
but also playful.

Coat's a bit rough.

Annie's training sessions,
I do early in the morning.

It might only be 10 minutes.

Following on now from the six-month
assessment, we've got to move on,

move out of the yard,
and move to more cattle,

so I've got five head,

and what I'm going to do is put
another five into that mob a week,

until she's driving 100,

and then we'll put 20 in at a time
until she's driving 200,

which is probably ahead of
the time, but that's where she is.

She can't help it if she's smart.

The training changes a little bit
when you get out,

because I'm on the bike as a lead,
and not on foot,

and she's got to learn to come off
and jump onto the bike.

And she's got them sorted
more than I have,

so I'm not worried about that.

Frank thinks Annie will be ready
soon to join his adult pack.

All dogs to me.

Watch him, watch him.

Stop! All dogs, stop!

The stamina that she's showing
is what we need.

We need in our rough country
for the big days,

and I just don't see her
getting puffed,

and when has a drink,
it's short and quick

and she's happy to get back to work.

I think Joe's done a wonderful job
breeding them

and he can send me one of them up
every year if he wants.

I'd be very happy. Love it.

From the A-plus student,
to the one who could do better -

or maybe his trainer
who could do better -

Rob with Lucifer
at Lazy Acres in Victoria.

Luce.

How come when the camera's on ya,
you think it's time to play up?

Lucifer has grown into
a sharp-witted teenager,

but his attempts to
dominate the sheep and ignore Rob

are becoming a bit of a problem.

(BARKS)
Stop. Ah!

Lucifer's bite is quite random.

Like, you won't pick it
and he'll just nail something.

He's got a bit of a thug in him,

and that's a worry,
'cause it just comes out.

Like, you don't know it's coming,

and then he'll just
crunch something.

You've been a good dog.
I'm surprised.

Usually you do something bad.

None of Rob's training approaches
have been working.

I'm going to need a new one.

So guru Neil has arrived

to see if he can help
get things back on track.

Dog! Bad dog.

Good dog. Good dog.
That's way better.

(BARKS, SNARLS)

That's not.

Sometimes you've got to be nice
and sweet and encouraging,

and another time,
you've got to roar like a lion

to discourage your dog from doing
something that's not desirable.

They pick up on not so much
the words you say,

but your tone of voice,
and your demeanour.

So bring him round like that,
just letting him see the rake,

and using that as a bit of a stop,
take the dog around the sheep.

And if he's gonna
charge after them - argh!

Put a bit of grr and roar. Let him
see two different sides of you.

(BARKS)

Stop him from roaring in.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

So he goes around them
nice and clean.

And then hit the ground when
he's about to do something wild,

so the rake makes
a bit of a noise...

..so that it stops him from just
indiscriminately chasing sheep.

Ha! Ha!

Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Hey, hey, hey. That's what we've
got to try to discourage.

So, poke the rake at him,
and when he gets around there...

Ha! Ha!

That's a lovely dog.

Ha!

Oh, hell.

If only he'd work like that
more of the time.

(LAUGHS)
Holy moly.

That's a lot better dog.

After Neil's intervention,
it's now a matter of repetition,

and Rob being consistent
with instructions.

Ah! Just pull up.

There's been a giant leap forward,
because now he's working properly.

I've been able to
train him properly,

'cause you can take him out
and he'll stay on the job.

He'll stay working the sheep.

And he does accept his training
very well.

I think he'd wear me out
training him,

rather than the other way around.

I think I could stay out all day
with him, and he'd be fine with it.

Good dog.

Up north on Garibaldi station,
another of our pups, Spice,

is growing into
quite the young lady.

And now, at nearly nine months,
kelpie perfection.

Oh, except for a little nick
out of the ear.

It was just a casual, you know, walk
down the road, just a morning walk,

and the barbed wire fence was one
and she come naught,

and there's a bit of a nick
out of her top ear now, yeah.

Despite the barbed wire encounter,
CJ is happy with Spice's progress,

and today will take her out with
a bigger herd of cattle.

I did put Spice on the stock,

and she showed a few
good lead dog instincts.

Right-o, get behind.

She found herself
in the lead with us,

and I just thought,
"Well, let's see what she does,"

but she found herself
surrounded by stock,

and she drew the cattle to her, and
they were very inquisitive of her,

and she just sat,
let them come to her,

and then she'd give them
a little nip,

just to tell them that
no, this is a barrier and, you know,

you can't go past this barrier
unless I give you that bit of space.

Watching, watching.

She would block the beast,

and then she would move backwards
to where we were,

giving them ground to move.

Spice, to me.
Pup, pup, pup, pup, pup!

Which was really great,

'cause that just showed
great instincts for a lead dog.

Good girl, eh? Clever. Very clever.

It's been a confidence booster,

but there won't be time
for similar training sessions

with Spice for a while.

Hay baling season is here, which
means many hours on the tractor.

So, we're at the start of
the dry season now.

We've had a really good wet,
it's been a really good hay season.

We're currently cutting hay
and baling,

and that's what we've been
concentrating on at the moment.

There's also a daily 40km round trip
dropping Lindsay to school.

My daughter, Lindsay, I find her
very confident at what she does,

and I suppose my aim
is to try and grow that,

and just to mould her into probably
a strong woman

that wants to have a go

and try and achieve
what she wants to in life.

(BELL RINGS)

CJ's trying to spend as much time
as she can with her daughter

before she goes to boarding school.

It's important to build confidence,

so that when she does
go out into the world,

she can stand up for herself, she
does know what's right and wrong,

and she does know how to walk away
from something that's not right.

It's a lesson CJ's learned
from her own lived experience.

I can understand why it's hard
for Indigenous women

to break out of their environment
that keeps them safe,

because in this industry,

I've heard comments that, to me,
aren't politically correct.

But these prejudiced remarks,
they can either grow a person,

or block people from growing.

What are you doing?

We want people to grow themselves.

I would love to see more Indigenous
women in the agricultural industry.

I've seen some girls
with some really good skills

and just natural instincts.

Yeah, it'd be great
to see them grow.

Hay baling will continue right up
to the nine-month assessment,

so CJ's hoping Gossip's natural
herding instincts

will get her over the line.

So, yeah, during these last four
weeks, I have been a bit time-poor.

I know consistency is the key
to training any animal.

Time to start listening,
and working hard.

And that just wasn't there
and, um...

So that's why I'm not sure how this
next assessment's gonna go.

Near the dam at Kununurra,

it's been a welcome respite
from being constantly on the road

for Joni and her working dog team.

The team and I love coming to
Kununurra, you know.

It's very... It's very pretty.

We get to camp on the side
of the dam, not the river side,

'cause there's crocs in the river.

Chet's bruising is gone. He's been
getting lots of attention from Joni.

Hard life, mate?

And he's loving it.

We go for a little bit of a fish
in the afternoon, and, yeah.

So it's a really nice spot to be.

And probably more so in the winter,

'cause it's pretty hot
here in the summer.

Hey, Chet, good boy.

The nine-month assessment
is a tough one,

and Joni's not sure if the break

and Chet's accident will affect
his performance with the cattle.

But he's quite happy to sit here
beside me and not work.

And especially
with these poddies too,

because they're going to be
really fast

and I don't even know if
he's fast enough to get round 'em.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.

Right-o, here. (WHISTLES)

Get him.

Back at Glenflorrie station,

there's another obstacle
to Gossip's training.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

But this is a good one!

After four years of
very little rain...

ATICIA: Holy dooley!

We have had some rain on and off,
which has been brilliant.

We still haven't had
as much as what we need.

Go and have a swim.

It was a very severe drought,

so we're gonna feel
the effects of that for a while.

Good girl.

Oh, yeah, you think you're cute.

But we'll get there, though.

We'll get there.

After having to de-stock due to lack
of food and water for her cattle,

Aticia is super excited
she can now bring them back.

It's fabulous for business,

but doesn't leave much time
to train Gossip.

(HORN HONKS)

So the timing, in some ways,
was a little bit unfortunate.

It's been pretty full-on

just trying to coordinate
the cattle coming back.

But at least Gossip
will get a few sessions

with a larger herd
out in the paddock.

Hey, Goss,
how do you feel about that?

Just wait.

It's fun, isn't it? Hm?

But now that we've got cattle back,
she's probably going to accelerate

a lot more
than what she has leading up to it.

Which is fine,
because she's just had time

to mentally mature
a little bit more in the meantime.

Good job, kid.

But I am pretty nervous
about the assessment

because we haven't
prepared for it at all.

So, yeah.

I don't know how
that one's going to go.

Goss, Goss, Goss. Ah-ah! Gossip!

No. There you go.

Steady, steady.

Looks like
there's a bit of work ahead.

It's the day before the assessment
at Lazy Acres in Victoria,

and Rob is relieved by the progress
Lucifer has been making

since Neil's intervention.

There's been a huge change.

Like, he's...he's starting to
look like a real working dog.

He's getting a bit heavy
to do this with.

You getting a bit fat.

Yeah, he's got a lot of style,
so hopefully...

..fingers crossed that he'll...
yeah, find his way.

What a dog. Luce!
Good boy, buddy.

Good boy.

But the joy of the training
breakthrough

has been marred by
a devastating loss.

(SOMBRE MUSIC PLAYS)

Yeah, so it's not really a fun
story, but I lost Jumping Bean.

Like, so, that dog,
she died about a week ago.

Yeah, she was a good dog.

Watching. Jumpy! Jumpy! Over.

Jumpy!

Hey, buddy.

She was sleeping inside,
'cause she'd retired.

So, yeah, my missus just got up,

and she went down
the kitchen with her

and collapsed on the floor,
and that was it.

It's just...
the only thing dogs do wrong

is they don't live long enough,
you know.

I don't think I'll get
another dog like her.

Like, you just... You know.

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

The owner-dog bond
is a special gift.

Good girl.

You ready?

Good girl.

And today, our new furry companions
are hoping to do their owners proud

in the nine-month assessment.

Aticia and Gossip are first up,
as Neil watches them on his iPad.

There we go. Good girl.

By now, our pups should only have
eyes for the boss,

which is why task number one
is resisting distraction.

I'm just heading down
to do that now.

Can you please pass me my hat?

That's a big tick right there.

Ready to go do some work?

Hey. Hey, that's a good dog.

But the next challenge is a big one
in Gossip's progression -

demonstrating she can follow
sit, stop and hold commands.

Here's what it looks like
when expert Neil does it.

All dogs stop.

Sit down, sit down.

Sit there.

Lovely dogs.

So we haven't started a sit
or a stop at all.

Good girl.

It's not something that
I usually put on my pups early,

so that one will be interesting.

(LAUGHS)

Good girl.

Remember, Gossip has only just
started to work on cattle properly.

Not surprisingly, she's showing
her inexperience

and isn't reacting to Aticia's
commands to stop and hold.

Right-o, Goss. Stop.

Ah-ah-ah-ah!

Gossip! Stop.

(SIGHS)

It's going to be a fail this time.

The sit and stop, it has been tricky
because her dirty bite isn't ideal,

especially on cattle.

It's just going to open her up
to a lot more injuries.

So it's gonna be
interesting just to see

whether we can clean that up
a little bit.

Here goes nothing.

The next challenge is about working
the stock from the side.

Very good.

She needs to control
a small group of cattle

and bring them back to Aticia,

so that none of the herd
can wander off or stray over.

Back, back.

She may be a rookie,
but Gossip is all over it,

expertly moving from side to side
at Aticia's command,

keeping the mob intact and earning
herself a big fat pass as well.

Well done, Goss. Good job.

In the final challenge, Gossip
needs to demonstrate a 50m cast.

The mustering cast is a technique
used by graziers

to send a dog across a long distance

without the handler physically
making the journey themselves.

That's something that's normally
not aimed to be perfected

till later in a dog's life,
till they're much older,

but this is really going to put 'em
to the test today

to see if they can do that.

If done correctly,
the dog will cast out wide,

and arc around the cattle,
round up a mob, and bring them back.

Probably the task I'm most nervous
about is the 50m cast,

just because we haven't
had opportunity

to really play with that one.

And it'll be interesting just to see

whether she will actually
kick out around them.

Right back. Ps-ps-ps-ps.

Unlike her experienced partner dog,
Gossip runs straight for the herd,

which could cause them
to panic and scatter.

Watching.

Do it nicely, Gossip.

It is a fail,

but Aticia is pleased with Gossip's
strong desire to round up stock.

She's a close worker,

so she doesn't really want to
kick out wide on a cast.

She does a bit of a bushman's cast,
where they run straight to the mob

and then do this last little
kick around at the end, so.

It's on me now
to be able to learn it better.

Which way you gonna go? Over.

Because it is something that
I've always relied on my dogs

knowing it instinctually.

Gossip! Gossip! To me, to me.

Hey. Well done.

With two passes and two fails,

Neil is still happy to move Gossip
through to the next stage.

Gossip's got the right work traits,
so that's a win in my book, yep.

Did good.

It's time to find out
who will be joining these two

in the final stage
of the experiment.

Annie, Chet and Lucifer are up next.

First up, sitting calmly with the
handler and resisting distraction.

FRANK: Lovely dog. Lovely dog.

All stay dutifully attentive

to their handlers.

Passes all round.

JONI: Good boy.

Next, a demonstration of
the sit, stop and hold commands.

And sit, sit, sit.

Annie does it easily.

ROB: Stop. Stop!

The newly reformed Lucifer
also is obedient.

But Chet is a bit nervy around
the cattle since his accident.

What you doing, buddy?

Got stage fright?

Get up, get up. Get him.

He eventually gets into the groove,
but it's a worrying sign for Joni.

Chet, sit. Good boy.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.

Challenge number three
is the mustering demonstration,

working a small mob from the sides
and bringing them to the handler.

FRANK: Sit. Sit, sit.

Frank and Annie are up first.

Sit, sit.

Annie is working a mob much larger
than most dogs her age.

Annie, over.

But she's handling them

with the smooth precision
of a seasoned champion.

Annie, get.

Frank effortlessly commands her
from side to side.

Over.

Back.

And she's working them
with both restraint and control.

Annie, over.

NEIL: Nice bringing back in.
Look at this!

Lovely dog.
Good skills.

Good dog, Annie.
(WHISTLES) Watchy-watch.

I'm very happy with Annie as to
where she is at nine months.

She's an exceptional pup.

It's another stellar
performance from these two,

but they're not the team with
something to prove.

ROB: Stop.

Stop. Back.

Back, buddy. Back, back, back.

Over.

For the first time ever, Lucifer is
showing his full potential...

Over. Good boy.

And stop there. Stop.

..skilfully working the sheep as Rob
sends him and forth around the mob.

Stop.

Back. Back, back, back.

Holy moly.

That's what we've been missing.
(LAUGHS)

Oh, dear.

So that's the start of
the side commands.

She's starting to get that
clockwise, anticlockwise movement.

It's a real win for the Victorians,

as even Lucifer's biting
and aggression

seems far more controlled.

Good dog.

Much to Rob's surprise.
That's good work, matey.

The nine-month assessment,
I think he did really well.

He was sensible.

They're on track there.
That's brilliant.

Yep.

Right, Chet. (WHISTLES)

Chet and Joni are next.

Chet. (WHISTLES)
Chet. (WHISTLES)

These guys have handled much bigger
herds in recent weeks,

but today, something is off.

Hey, hey. Push, push, push.

Chet seems hesitant around the cattle

and he's reluctant
to get behind them.

Hey, hey, hey, not me.

Don't bark at me. Bark at them.

(WHISTLES) Hey.

Sorry, team, we got nothing.
That's it.

With Chet's safety
her first concern,

Joni has little option
but to abandon the assessment.

I'm not really sure why
he didn't really perform today.

He's usually so full-on.

Yeah, he was just very unsure
and lacked a lot of confidence.

I could give him one more shot,
but he's...he's not... He's fried.

Here, Chet.

Chet may be hesitant
from his injury,

but Joni thinks something else
is contributing.

Chet's developing into a dog
at the moment,

so he's going through puberty
up until about four, five days ago.

So he's been a little bit...
quite uncomfortable.

He's a little bit nervous,
he's a bit confused, I would say.

Um, let's just say the nine-month
assessment has been put on hold.

(LAUGHS)

Retiring early, it's two passes
and two fails for Chet...

Chet. (WHISTLES)

Wait.

Now hop up.

..leaving Annie and Lucifer to test
their skills on the 50m cast.

Annie, over.

Annie sprints out wide
into the yard.

Annie, over. Over. Lovely dog.

She's a little slow
to get around the cattle.

Lovely dog.

But she's soon got them
heading back towards Frank.

Lovely dog.

(WHISTLES)

And Annie, sit.

Absolutely beautiful. The dog looks
like it's got good natural skill.

Quick. (WHISTLES) Annie, up.

So that was a long cast for Annie,

and I think that she went
really well.

Unsurprisingly, Annie has earned
a perfect score in the assessment.

(WHISTLES) Annie, up.

She's excelling at everything
the experiment has thrown at her.

I think the basic training's
finished.

She has been so easy to train
and easy to bond with,

and, yeah, she's just part of
the family now, yeah.

Lucifer's turn to perform
a 50m cast.

Lucie, who's a good doggy, mate?

Rob decides to try the cast
in a contained yard,

and Lucifer barrels past
the stock at full tilt.

(LAUGHS)

No, that's alright.
They're only learning.

He's not going to be known
for his grace,

but Lucifer works with
the other experienced dogs

to bring the sheep back to Rob.

Stop. Good boy.

Steady. Steady.

Lucifer could definitely use
a bit of fine tuning,

but it's still a brilliant result.

Luce! Good doggy.

If Rob can continue to rein in some
of Lucifer's less desirable traits,

then these two look
all set for a strong finish.

One more pair to be assessed,

as we head back to the Territory
for CJ and Spice.

Hello.

Where are you going?

Supposed to be right here.

On a short break
from all the hay baling,

CJ has enlisted daughter Lindsay
to act as chief distractor...

Leave her alone.
Don't get her in trouble.

..as Spice takes on
the first challenge.

Good dog.

Passed that test.

The second challenge is
whether Spice will follow

the sit, stop and hold commands.

To me. Sit.

Good girl. Over. Over. Over.

Bit tough in this long grass.

Spice. Sit.

(WHISTLES) Sit.

Sit.

But CJ's commands are simple enough.

Stop.

And Spice decides instead
to do her own thing.

(WHISTLES) Sit.

Spice is different than
any other pup I've trained,

'cause she's wanting to be
in the lead with me.

Yeah, it just means that I have to
think a bit more outside the square,

and probably be
a bit more dominating,

so that she understands that
I have control of the situation

and she doesn't need to take over.

CJ's more confident that with her
other adult dogs as support crew,

Spice will do well
in task number three -

working stock from the side.

With CJ directing where to go,
she's doing well.

Go over.

Over.

Then a surprise breakaway
from a few head of cattle

gives Spice a chance to show off
her innate herding skills.

Spice, to me. Good dog. Good dog.

Get him. Get him.

Good dog. Good dog.

Hey. She's got some good moves.

The hardest thing to get her to do
is the 50m cast.

I haven't even ventured there yet.

Spice, to me. Sit.

Sit. Over.

Teaching a dog to cast out wide

and scoop up the cattle
from behind...

Push them up. Over.

..is one of the most difficult
aspects of a working dog's training.

Push, push, push. (WHISTLES)

Get over. Push 'em.
Push, push, push, push. Push 'em.

Push, push, push, push, push.
Good dog. Push.

(LAUGHS)

I think there is definitely
room for improvement, yeah,

going by this nine-month assessment.

Yeah, there's definitely stuff
we can work on.

Two passes and two fails
and some flashy moments

means CJ and Spice
can definitely move on

to the next and final stage
of the experiment.

Hey? Good girl.

Good girl.

Yeah, you're a good dog.

There's only three months to go in
this accelerated learning program,

so these pups are going to
have to take on bigger mobs

and step up and start showing

what they're going to have to be
able to do later on in their life.

There's no turning back
for our puppies and trainers.

They're moments away from
the final assessment,

where the pups will reunite

to find out which of our five
will be named Champion Muster Dog.

I don't know that
Gossip and I are ready,

but it was really cool
seeing all the litter together.

ALL: # Happy birthday to you... #
(LAUGHTER)

I'm feeling pretty nervous
about the 12-month assessment.

NEIL: The cattle are uncooperative,
the terrain is tough.

Might be some stumbles.

FRANK: Annie, Annie, stop.

JONI: Ooh! Whoa.

That was out there.

Over. Get over.

Well, it could have gone better.
(LAUGHS)

Spice, come.

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation