Lily Davies Etheridge, an exceptional dog, stock and horse handler on Muster Dogs. Footage via ABC Australia.

Central Western Daily

Transcript

00:00 Yeah, always kind of had dogs and horses around me and obviously working with livestock, good

00:07 memories I suppose. You do your school work but then you knock off and run out and go

00:16 play with your dog or hop on your horse and lunchtime and yeah, it's a pretty amazing

00:21 lifestyle.

00:22 Nowadays, she lives and works here, running stock across dry and dusty plains. But Lily

00:28 wouldn't have it any other way.

00:30 I really enjoy being busy and doing and getting things done, I find that very satisfying.

00:36 The idea of sitting behind a desk wouldn't really do it for me.

00:41 Lily's put her university plans on hold in favour of working the land.

00:48 Initially I was planning to go to uni doing vet science but I probably haven't definitely

00:52 yet got the idea of uni. I might come back to it if I feel it but I'm just enjoying what

00:58 I'm doing now.

01:00 As well as an accomplished livestock trainer, Lily's a gifted horse handler and an excellent

01:06 dog trainer. She got her first working dog when she was seven and has been attending

01:11 dog training school since she was 11 years old.

01:14 Steady, sit down, sit.

01:17 So I got into working with dogs through my mum I suppose, because I grew up around working

01:21 dogs. You're really nice on a day where you don't have your dog with you for some reason

01:24 but you feel quite naked and useless really. You feel like you can't do your job properly

01:29 because they just make life so much easier.

01:32 My dogs are my good mates, they're not just equipment. Some people just see them as that

01:38 but if you want them to really put in 100% for you, you've got to have a bit of love

01:42 for them.

01:43 Minute, come here.

01:46 So a few house dogs running around at home in the yard, not all mine, I'll make that

01:50 clear. There's Minute, she's an old retired working dog of mum's.

01:55 Ginger!

01:56 And then mum's got Ginger, a little Australian Terrier, which I bought her for Christmas

02:00 a few years ago.

02:01 Come here Fergie.

02:02 And then my Jack Russell, Fergie, she's a funny little thing, she spends half her life

02:06 chasing flies.

02:07 Fred, Fred, Fred.

02:09 Freddy's my sister's Jack Russell that was out of the litter that I bred.

02:12 So pleased.

02:13 Yeah, he's a little doodies, funny little thing.

02:16 Tango! No wonder you're so fat, he won't run anywhere.

02:19 And then Tango, he's a little dachshund that I kind of inherited at one of my jobs.

02:25 She's pretty cool, she's a bit more indifferent than the Jack Russell, she kind of hangs around

02:30 and does her own thing.

02:31 Very good dog.

02:33 So before you train a dog, you've got to know, I suppose you've got to know what makes that

02:37 dog tick.

02:38 Here, here.

02:39 It's a bit about bloodlines, where it's come from, genetics.

02:43 Get over.

02:44 Here, here.

02:45 I suppose the big one is communication, you've got to be consistent with your commands and

02:50 know what you want.

02:51 Here, here.

02:52 Yeah, I like trainability, something that's not too strong headed, something that really

02:57 wants to work with you and is smart and learns things quickly.

03:02 Lily's always had Kelpies.

03:04 This is going to be the first time she'll be training aboard a Colin.

03:08 Yeah, I'd be excited to try a Collie, but it might take a little bit of adapting.

03:12 Her pack of female Kelpies are all under two years old, so getting another potentially

03:18 unruly youngster up to speed may prove quite a handful.

03:22 But her mantra?

03:24 Failure is not an option.

03:26 [MUSIC]

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