Auction Toppers - David & Sarah Lee

Article by Sarah Lee | Photography by Nicole Cleary

Dave grew up in Queensland and left school at the age of 14 to go droving, before venturing into working in various stock camps around Australia. After his stint in the stock camps, he became a horse breaker and rough stock rider. He went on to become a contract musterer, travelling all over QLD with a team of horses and dogs. He has always had a passion for working livestock and it is something that has come naturally to him. He has tried his hand at many other things, but his path has always led him back to working with his canine friends. His fond love for his horses and dogs has led us to where we are today.

I met Dave on the second day of my holiday in Australia, arriving from my little family farm in England at the young age of 20. Dave was contract mustering on a very large cattle property in northern Queensland at the time and we soon worked out we had a lot in common. My two-month holiday soon turned into 12 years and counting! Eight years from when we met, we decided to make the move from Queensland to the cooler climate regions to pursue our passion for dogs and open our minds to different methods of dog training.

We had spoken for a while about selling our dogs at auction instead of privately because we were unsure of how to value our dogs. The value we saw in them and what others were willing to pay differed a lot. We felt we were underselling our dogs, considering the time and effort that goes into training them and the capabilities of the dogs. By selling our dogs through an auction, we could let the bidders tell us what they thought our dogs were worth and could also safeguard them with a reserve. We knew there was a market for quality, fully trained dogs with experience, after seeing the results from working dog auctions over the last three years. After much thought, we decided to put a quality, well trained Border Collie through Jerilderie Working Dog Auction in early 2021. We knew it was risky, as it is predominantly a Kelpie event but were pleasantly surprised. Not only was he the highest priced Border Collie sold through an auction in Australia, but more importantly for us he went to the most fantastic home with Rowena and Gus Munro in Northern New South Wales. They use him as an everyday farm dog, as well as a sire for their breeding programme.

The great feedback we got from Roe and Gus gave us the confidence to then offer Hoover at the Casterton Working Dog Auction. We knew he was a quality all round dog - Dave was using him as one of his main workers and he had the experience and attributes that would make him stand out. It is always hard selling our dogs, but it is wonderful to know they have gone to great homes where they will be loved and appreciated. Hoover sold for an amazing price of $35,200, making him the highest priced working dog sold in Australia. We have had great feedback from Hoover’s new owners in Northeast Victoria. They are absolutely amazed with his all-round ability and have placed an order for another fully trained dog.

Our training programme varies with each dog’s ability and personality. We like to take time to get to know our dogs and establish a training regime tailored to the needs of that specific

dog. We have found this is the best way for us to understand how they think and to help the dog fathom what we are asking them to do. A lot of dedication goes into training dogs, and you only get out what you put in. Our dogs are like our kids, and we like to take them from Kindergarten to PhD standard, making sure they pass each level and have a full understanding before they can progress. This approach allows us to quickly identify faults or misunderstandings and then try a different approach so that the dog is not confused or developing bad habits. We think timing is crucial and giving dogs plenty of time, and not rushing, allows them the opportunity to just think and read the livestock for themselves. They understand and feel a lot more than we give them credit for! We feel a solid foundation along with effective timing and quality stockmanship has been the key to our auction successes.