THE Dungog Working Dog Trials were held last weekend, 19 and 20 October, at Dungog Showground.

The annual competition attracted around 50 entries, with competitors and their dogs travelling from all over NSW.

There were plenty of Dungog Shire trainers and their dogs.

Norma Pearce has kept the event running smoothly from the beginning.

She is still using her original notebook from the first Sheep Dog Trials in 1988, with entries carefully noted in her precise handwriting.

At the early trials, the dogs worked sheep, but bringing in sheep from the Upper Hunter became quite expensive, she explained.

So the decision was made for the dogs to work cattle instead of sheep, since Dungog is a cattle farming area.

This year’s program had Maiden, Novice and Open events running concurrently.

At ringside, there was an atmosphere of concentration, as competitors, supporters and spectators watched the handlers put the dogs through their paces.

While the competing handlers whistled and called instructions to their dogs, the onlookers kept respectfully quiet.

Each combination was allowed five minutes to move three steers around a course, which included following a fence line and going through three gates.

The cattle were often determined to go straight to the yards, but the dogs did their best to keep them moving in the direction their handlers indicated.

A newcomer to dog trials, Helen Farley from Salisbury competed on Saturday with her three-year-old dog, Rex.

They came very close to completing the course, missing out only by the cattle beating her through the last gate.

She said that it was only her second trial and she was very happy with Rex’s performance, as he had “done everything she asked of him”.

The Dungog Working Dog Trials are run under the rules of the NSW Working Stock Dog Association and handlers can compete in other trials around the state.

By Lisa WISEMAN