DOES your dog have what it takes to be crowned Australia\u2019s hardest working dog? Put it to the test by nominating it for the 2019 Cobber Working Dog Challenge.<\/p>\n
No matter the breed or work they do, owners of working dogs are encouraged to nominate their canine co-workers.<\/p>\n
Two dogs from each Australian state will be selected from the nominations to compete in the fourth annual Cobber Challenge.<\/p>\n
The Cobber Challenge tracks the dogs\u2019 work over a three-week period; this year from Monday August 12 to Sunday September 1. Each of the 12 competing dogs will wear a GPS collar to track how hard they work in their natural environment.<\/p>\n
The competitors will be scored based on distance, speed and duration of work per day.<\/p>\n
Their data will be uploaded daily, so people can follow the performance of individual dogs, as well as the best performing state.<\/p>\n
Points will be calculated based on this information to crown the 2019 Cobber Challenge champion.<\/p>\n
Boof, a Kelpie that works on a mixed farm in south-west Victoria, took out the title last year.<\/p>\n
Then six-years-old, Boof had a late dash of activity to edge out the competition in the last days of 2018 Cobber Challenge.<\/p>\n
Over the three weeks, Boof ran over 630km at an average of 10.62km\/h, totals that surprised owner Henry Lawrence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he\u2019d do a lot, but in the last week, when work picked up, he piled on the kilometres.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne morning when we were shifting a mob, he covered around 40km, and then another time he clocked almost 70km for the day,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n
He said it was fortunate Boof was picked to compete last year, because in recent months, Boof\u2019s been forced to slow down.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoof broke his leg, he was trodden on by a bull, but X-rays show it\u2019s healing well,\u201d Henry explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoof will go into a more casual, part-time role in the team when he\u2019s recovered, he\u2019s earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry works with three other dogs, including one of Boof\u2019s daughters, Grace, who is showing great potential.<\/p>\n
Henry thinks she\u2019ll be his next main dog, but she has a lot to live up to.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoof\u2019s a pretty great dog, he can work a mob of sheep through a mob of cattle or vice versa or go \u2019round them both if I want, he just seems to know what I\u2019m after so it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nominations will be open for three weeks from today (Monday June 17) to Sunday July 7.<\/p>\n