Dog days through the years

North Canterbury farmer Dick Carmichael began dog trialling when he was just 15.

09-11-2009 | Sandra Taylor

Many working dogs have passed through North Canterbury farmer Dick Carmichael's hands in the past 60-plus years as he has worked, trialled, bred and trained dogs for himself and others.

Based on his experience, he believes it is possible retrain older dogs; obviously he applies the same philosophy to himself because he is now coming to grips with computers and emails.

This technology will enable him to keep in touch more easily with his many friends and contacts in the working dog world, a world Dick has been part of since he began dog trialling at 15.

Dog-trial awards cover the walls in his Motunau farm house, but the one that has eluded him is a win at the Nationals. He has been in several run-offs for the top prize, but has never secured a win and he still has his sights firmly fixed on that title.

Dick says he does have a dog or two capable of winning a national title. He has several dogs in residence on Coringa, his 325ha steep hill-country farm, but dog numbers vary from day to day as dogs are lent, sold, bought or sent away to stud.

He describes himself as being ambidextrous when it comes to working-dog preferences.

"I like Huntaways but they are always harder to train simply because Huntaways are going away from you while heading dogs are coming towards you."

As would be expected he has strong opinions about the "dos" and "don'ts" of dog training; not being too hard on dogs too early would be top of his list.

A lot of damage can be done by putting too much pressure on dogs when they are between 12 and 15 months old, he says, a time when dogs can possibly become a bit sharper and more difficult to handle.

Expecting too much too early can create a lot of faults. In the past shepherds would not even start working their dogs until they were 12 months old.

The best years in a work dog's life are typically between the ages of five and eight, but heading dogs in particular can still work well into old age.

Dick farms his young pups out to local families with children for three to four months, and the children can do whatever they like with them.

This interaction with children helps the pups grow in confidence and any children interested are encouraged and taught to begin rudimentary dog training.

He does not like to see pups being kept in cages and believes they should be only tied up. In this way they can see and interact with what is going on around them.

"Otherwise they are like a prisoner."

Dick will start training pups from when they are three months old but it is a case of little and often to make allowances for their short attention span.

He says this early foundation work sets a dog up for the rest of its life.

"Anyone can train a dog at that stage; five minutes a day is not a big deal."

Once the dog has some basic training Dick believes there is no substitute for practical work for properly breaking in a dog and getting it to think for itself.

He admits there is not enough work on his farm for all his dogs because he now runs easy care trading stock and dairy grazers, but he lends several dogs out to shepherds and farmers who are short of a dog.

Over the years Dick has seen a huge improvement in the quality of Huntaways and what is even more gratifying is the number of young people with well-trained Huntaways competing on the dog-trial circuit.

Dick travels throughout the South Island competing in dog trials. He starts at local A&P shows and moves on to the dog-trial circuit from the end of February through to June.

As well as the social aspect of dog trials - "getting together to talk a lot of nonsense" - for Dick it is about the challenge of getting the best out of a dog that he has spent many hours breaking in and training.

He says it's a terrific sport in that anyone can do it at any age and there is a lot of camaraderie.

"We have a rule; you can skite for five minutes and sulk for two."

Outside of the standard dog trials, Dick does some demonstration dog trials using ducks instead of sheep for local events, something he has been unable to totally give up due to popular demand.

Dick and his dogs have been filmed by Japanese film crews on several occasions; he and his children have featured in a Japanese film which won several Japanese film industry awards and last year a Welsh film crew filmed the annual Coringa working dog sale.

The sale, which Dick initiated 15 years ago, attracts vendors and buyers from throughout New Zealand and anyone is welcome.

The dogs are put through their paces on a hill or in the yards and as Dick says, there is no point bringing a dog to the sale that won't be able to put on a good demonstration.

Typically 40 to 50 dogs change hands, but just as importantly it is social day out for working dog enthusiasts, shepherds and the local community.

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