Station a training ground for dog trialist
Stuart Millar’s hill country station is a great training ground for dogs, writes Heather Chalmers.
Multiple New Zealand dog trialing champion Stuart Millar says dogs have to prove themselves on the farm with stock work before making the cut for competition.
Millar’s Central Canterbury hill country property is the perfect training ground. Together with his wife Kate and their children Rosa, Ben and Johnny, they farm sheep and beef cattle on Peak Hill Station in the upper Rakaia Gorge.
Since his 20s, Millar has been a regular national dog trialing representative, including captaining the New Zealand team twice in its annual trans-Tasman competition.
While modest at the kitchen table, it only takes a walk outside to a nearby paddock to show the skill-set that has earned so many titles.
To watch man and dog perform in tandem to manipulate hapless sheep is sporting artistry. Heading dog Jack, 2, moves with a graceful fluidity of purpose, at one point eyeing the ewes for at least 30 seconds to hold them in a stationary position, before getting the allclear from his master.
That’s when everything goes well. Things can also go haywire on the day, when stroppy sheep don’t want to co-operate and the dog loses control.
Millar’s achievements have not been by chance, deliberately deciding at a young age to learn about dog trialing from the best. While his parents were both dog trialists, long days at events did not initially spark his enthusiasm. ‘‘My sister and I used to go to dog trials with our parents when we were young. We used to hate it.’’
At 16, he left school, got a dog and went shepherding. He then worked on the farm of Ginger Anderson, at Omarama, one of New Zealand’s best dog trialists. ‘‘He gave me a pup which I called Hope and he had the littermate called Ben. Ginger won the New Zealand championship in 1995 with Ben and I won with Hope in 1996.’’
After Anderson, Millar went to the North Island to another renowned dog trialist, Bob Bryson, of Tautane Station in southern Hawke’s Bay to further his stock and dog skills.
‘‘If you listen, they will show you what to do.’’ All Millar’s breeding and dog trialling is with black and white heading dogs, though he has one huntaway on the farm for stock work and to provide bark. ‘‘Dogs are the same as sheep. You’ve got to have good genetics.
‘‘Now all my dogs have started to work sheep at four months old, as the genetics are getting so good. I don’t have any dogs that haven’t worked sheep by six months. I am always looking for that better one.
‘‘After five or six months of age, they don’t change a massive amount in terms of working ability. They either have it or they don’t. By starting training early, it also prevents bad habits developing. I keep about 10 dogs and usually have about three pups. I like to always have pups coming on and am training young dogs all the time and I may keep one or sell one.’’
Millar now has a strong heading dog genetic base for breeding.
Not surprisingly given his reputation, any surplus dogs are keenly sought.
‘‘There is big demand for dogs, so we sell the surplus, or older dogs. We don’t intentionally breed them to sell. I often sell one at the Ashburton dog sale, or may swap dogs with another dog trialist.
‘‘Out of those three pups, I will give them all a go with sheep and keep one and let the other two go. If you just keep one pup for 12 months and it is no good, then you are a long way behind.’’
He is a regular on the Canterbury dog trial circuit in autumn to qualify towards the island and New Zealand championships. ‘‘It’s a great way to see the country and learn about farming. I’ve been all over New Zealand as well as several trips to Australia.’’
He has made the New Zealand team of four to compete in the trans-Tasman Wayleggo Cup seven times, including as captain in 2001 and 2013.
The first time he represented New Zealand in Australia, it was in 1997, aged 27, along with the dog trialing legends of Ginger Anderson, Merv Utting, of Gisborne and Geoff Allison, of Fairlie. Millar has won four New Zealand titles and two island titles.
He has qualified for the New Zealand national championships every year since 1988, only missing one year in 1999 when his first child, daughter Rosa was born.
Millar competes in the two heading dog categories of long head and short head and yard. The long head involves the dog heading three sheep on a hill 300 to 600 metres away before holding them stationary. In the short head and yard, three sheep are headed along a pegged lane, through hurdles and a second driveway, before being yarded into a pen.
He tries to spend an hour a day training his dogs, apart from busy times on the farm such as weaning and tailing. Three merinos in a small paddock by the yards seem quite compliant to be rounded up on a regular basis to earn their keep. Command is by whistle and voice.
‘‘A lot of people don’t spend enough time with their dogs, or put enough time into training. With a young dog you can ruin their confidence, so you need patience. Once a dog is fully broken in and two-years-old, they only need a brush up before going to a dog trialing event.
A lot of the dog trialing skills are what we do on the farm every day – going up a big hill and putting stock in a pen.
‘‘I try and breed big, strong black and white dogs that can run hard up a hill. I like a strong dog that combines power with a light touch to work sheep – rather than going in like a bulldozer.’’
Millar’s dogs may be top athletes, but they don’t get any special treatment. They sleep in standard kennels and are fed a diet of Tux dog biscuits and mutton.
Dogs are run to nine years old, then retired. Only about four special dogs have made it to full retirement, with the others sold. These were Mitch and two bitches Hope and Rose, who were all New Zealand champions, as well as Ned, who was placed second.
Peak Hill Station borders Lake Coleridge on one side and the Rakaia River on the other, with majestic views to the upper Rakaia Gorge. The 1100 hectare property carries 6000 stock units, made up of perendale ewes and angus cattle.
With no other staff, farm work is a family affair. ‘‘We all get out and muster. Kate has two dogs and Ben has one.’’ Peak Hill was bought by his parents Michael and Annette Millar in 1988. ‘‘Dad was a shearer and they bought bigger blocks and mum looked after the sheep until they were able to buy this place.’’ Now at Darfield, they still help out regularly.
One of the most important dates on the farming calendar is the annual Rakaia Gorge on-farm lamb sale, when Peak Hill is one of several stations to sell their surplus lambs. This year on January 18, Millar was hopeful summer rain would boost demand and prices when about 3000 suffolkperendale cross and perendale lambs from Peak Hill went under the hammer.
‘‘We had 90mm of rain in the second week of January and 24mm the week before. It’s turned dry hills green virtually overnight.’’
Kate: ‘‘Every year, Stuart says this will be the year of the sheep.’’
Both prime and store lambs are sold, says Millar. ‘‘We work to that date and try and feed them as much as we can to get them as big as we can for sale.’’ All lambs are sold apart from replacements and a small tail end.
Peak Hill has taken part in the Rakaia Gorge lamb sale for the past 10 years. ‘‘Having that onfarm sale has been great for production. By getting rid of the lambs we can feed our ewes and calves better, rather than keeping them all and trying to finish them.’’ Weaner calves are sold in early April at the Canterbury Agricultural Park saleyards.
At an altitude of 460 metres at the house and up to 1100 on the hill, the property has cold winters and snow, with swedes and kale fed over winter.
An additional 600ha of higher altitude country has been made a conservation area as part of the tenure review process, carried out about 20 years ago. Native tussock has been retained on the higher hill, with lower paddocks cultivated and developed.
They prefer big-framed perendales, using rams sourced from nearby Snowdon Station, while angus bulls are from Meadowslea stud, Fairlie.
‘‘We pick rams more on meat and a good fleece and don’t worry if it is a stronger micron. Even though wool is not worth much, the more we can get the better.’’