Dogs take up a lot of Ben Coster’s time, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ben depends on his team of dogs to work the livestock for Carwoola Pastoral Company, where he is the general manager. With three other people, and the dogs of course, they run sheep, cattle and a cropping program across about 12,000 acres in the Yass and Bungendore regions.
“You just couldn’t do my job without dogs – they do it all from working cattle through to mustering sheep in the paddock and getting them through the race for drenching.”
With his wife Jess, Ben also owns and runs Wandabar Stockdogs where they breed, train and trial kelpies. Ben loves to share what he knows about working dogs, so he runs working dog schools and regularly posts about them on social media. Currently they have 15 dogs ranging from young pups right through to older, fully trained adults. The important role dogs play in his life, both on the farm and in his downtime, was highlighted recently, when he lost his top dog, Lokabe Fred, to a snake bite. Ben bought Fred from Catherine and Fred Rains’ Lokabe Working Dogs at Cootamundra. Like Ben, they breed and train practical working dogs. Fred was an exceptional dog as a pup. “He was one of the best dogs I’ve ever had,” Ben said, adding he had great instincts and work ethic. Fred’s bloodline continues in Ben’s working dog team, with a young dog and bitch by Fred that are already showing great potential.
Fred’s passing has left a gap in the working dog team – both for the day-to-day farm tasks but also in the trial ring, so now Ben and Jess are in a phase of rebuilding. This means that they are attending fewer trials. In the past year Ben estimates the family went 10 to 15 trials, but in previous years they’ve been to up to 30 throughout NSW and interstate.
Ben says competing in trials is a great way to get off the farm and catch up with friends, while improving your dogs. “And we like the competition, a bit a friendly rivalry. Your dog versus my dog, and we’ll see who’s the best.” Ben does different types of working dog trials including yard trials and cattle trials, reflecting the varied work he and his dogs do. He is particularly excited by the Cobber Supreme Stock Dog Challenge (SSD) held in Mansfield, Victoria, and the Ultimate Stock Dog held in Cowra, NSW. These events see a dog compete in a paddock sheepdog trial, a yard sheepdog trial and a cattle trial. They need to achieve high scores across all three disciplines to win the title.
“We want our dogs to be well-rounded, because we do all that stuff at work.”
For Ben, it’s important to give back to the sport so he runs working dog schools. His key tip is to start them young and be consistent with your training. This drive to give back is also on show when they have donated pups to be auctioned off for different charities over the years.
These pups are always in demand and despite always having orders from repeat customers, Ben and Jess have scaled back the number of pups they’re offering. Ben says that they’re busy with work and family life but still want to ensure that the quality of each pup is there.
This commitment to quality extends to what they feed their dogs. Ben is so impressed by how his dogs perform on Cobber Working Dog that he has been an ambassador of the brand for five years.
The seasoned working dog handler has two tips coming into winter:
1. Feed your dogs more because they burn off more energy in the cold weather
2. Ensure they have adequate shelter (they find putting old tyres in the dogs’ pens works well). Anytime you speak with Ben, his love for his dogs shines through.
“They sort of become your mates because you’re out there working by yourself most of the time and you know, it’s just you and the dog doing the job together. So, you’ve got to get on with your dog and like I said, I couldn’t do my job without them.”
