The Dungog Working Dog Trials saw favorable weather last weekend, held at the Dungog Showground on 19 and 20 October. The annual event welcomed around 50 participants from across New South Wales, drawing both local and visiting competitors eager to showcase their dogs’ skills.
The event continues to hold special significance for the local community, with many trainers from the Dungog Shire participating alongside their dogs. Norma Pearce, who has been instrumental in organizing the trials since their inception, remains a key figure. Remarkably, Pearce still uses the same notebook she started with during the first trials in 1988, meticulously documenting each entry in her elegant handwriting.
Originally, the trials featured dogs herding sheep, but rising costs to source sheep from the Upper Hunter prompted a shift. Given Dungog’s status as a cattle farming region, the decision was made to work with cattle instead, an adjustment that has since become a defining feature of the event.
This year’s competition included Maiden, Novice, and Open divisions, all running simultaneously. The atmosphere at the showground was charged with quiet anticipation, as spectators and supporters gathered ringside to watch the handlers and their dogs take on the challenging course.
Handlers directed their dogs using whistles and commands, while the audience remained respectfully silent. Each team was tasked with moving three steers around a set course in under five minutes, guiding them along a fence line and through three gates. The steers, often eager to return to the yards, provided an additional challenge as the dogs worked diligently to keep them on course.
Helen Farley, a newcomer to the trials from Salisbury, participated with her three-year-old dog, Rex. Though they narrowly missed completing the course by a single gate, Farley expressed her satisfaction with Rex’s efforts, noting that it was only their second trial together and that he had performed all she had asked of him.
The Dungog Working Dog Trials operate under the rules of the NSW Working Stock Dog Association, providing competitors the opportunity to participate in similar events throughout the state.
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