Retired Working Dogs New Zealand

Retired Working Dogs New Zealand

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When you think of New Zealand’s rural sector, what comes to mind? We hear a lot in the news these days about our farming community, but how often is the working farm dog acknowledged, let alone celebrated? These dogs are the backbone of farming in New Zealand: an estimated 200,000 employees who work tirelessly day in and out, to ensure the (mostly!) smooth running of working farms throughout our beautiful country. Whether they are mustering stock in from the high country down South, backing sheep in the yards of the Wairarapa, or pushing dairy cows down laneways in the Waikato, these incredible workers deserve to be noticed. Because, without these dogs, there would be no Christmas lamb, milk in your coffee, or steaks on the barbie.

There are many types of working farm dog in New Zealand, and a range of roles that they cover. From the big, strong, New Zealand Huntaway (our only indigenous dog breed) who uses his big powerful bark to push stock away, to the quiet and clever NZ Heading Dog, who sneaks around stock and steers them for you. The Beardie, the Kelpie, the Smithfield and the Border Collie; all of them have their place in the working of stock in NZ. We also have the Pig dog, whose job is to seek out and bail or hold wild pigs - a skilled and risky role. 

The common traits that all of these dogs share are: their incredible stamina, clocking up hundreds of kilometres a week on steep and rugged terrain; their intelligence - working dogs often work in teams and each team member has their own set of whistles and voice commands to steer them; and their heart, working long hard days and going to bed exhausted, but still bouncing out of their kennels the next day to do it all over again.

One special old working dog whose story needs to be shared is Tod. In 2012, at the age of 12, Tod found himself on a one way trip to the vets. Tod had retired from working sheep and cattle, and sadly in those days, there was no platform to advertise a working dog who could no longer earn his keep. Luckily for Tod, he met a Vet Nurse there who felt there was plenty of life in him yet, and he spent a wonderful 5 years rounding up chickens and sleeping in the sunshine. This was the very beginning of the Retired Working Dogs NZ Charitable Trust, an organisation dedicated to re-homing working dogs once they are no longer able to do their jobs. 

RWDNZ rehomes all working dogs: those “failed workers” who are young and have not made the cut, the older dogs who have come to the ends of their careers, and those which had to retire due to career ending injuries. Pig hunting dogs, failed, or retired, are also rehomed through the charity. There is also a small network of RWDNZ foster homes throughout the lower North Island, which take on those dogs unable to wait for new homes on farm, and get them ready for re-homing: de-sexing, microchipping, vaccinating, registering, and preparing them for their new lives as pets.

Since its inception, RWDNZ has rehomed hundreds of dogs, mainly on behalf of their owners, and given the rural community an alternative retirement option for their workers, which they have gratefully embraced. It must be noted that the majority of farmers are loathe to part with their loyal workers, however, on a working farm there is a limit to how many dogs can be housed and fed, and logic states that those who are no longer earning their tucker must be moved on to make way for the young guns coming through. 

The popularity of working dogs as pets has been proven in the numbers rehomed through RWDNZ, and these dogs go on to become companions, family members, and in some cases are re-trained to other forms of work such as mobility or detection dogs. 

Whatever they end up doing, each of these incredible dogs deserves to be celebrated. Both for all of the hard work they have done in their lives, and for their contribution to our economy. Next time you drive through the countryside, spare a thought for the unsung heroes of our rural sector, busy at their work, come rain, hail or shine.

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Remi Marcelin • Sep 05, 2021

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