<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>331733</docID> <postdate>2024-10-25 07:52:47</postdate> <headline>Last pick of the litter, Bear the kelpie is now top dog</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-331734" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bear-ther-kelpie-e1729803122104.jpg" alt="" width="732" height="489" /></p> <caption>Tom Perkins says working dogs like Bear simply love getting on with the job. Photo: Cobber Challenge PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Stephanie Gardiner</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Farmer Tom Perkins was in the market for a lithe new working dog when he came across a "pretty big lump of pup".</strong></p> <p>The smoky-coloured kelpie named Bear was the last of a litter and keenly followed Mr Perkins' every move as he looked at other dogs at a breeding stud.</p> <p>"I said I'd take him and the rest is history," Mr Perkins told AAP from his property at Dirranbandi, in southwest Queensland.</p> <p>"He's shone right through."</p> <p>That instant connection between man and best mate has proven a winner after six-year-old Bear took out the Cobber Challenge, which puts working dogs around Australia to the test.</p> <p>The 14-day competition uses GPS collars to track the distance, speed and hours clocked up by canines as they work livestock.</p> <p>The challenge fortuitously coincided with Mr Perkins having to muster and drench 4500 ewes on his family farm.</p> <p>Bear covered 570km, including one day of nine-and-a-half hours hard yakka, at an average speed of about 13km/h.</p> <p>The loyal dog's easygoing temperament complements his role on the farm, as he's both keen to work and happy to relax when the job is done.</p> <p>"When it's on, it's on," Mr Perkins said.</p> <p>"Some pups always want to be working flat out the whole time, but he's not like that."</p> <p>Mr Perkins says he treats his pack of 10 working dogs like part of the family.</p> <p>Though they're loved and well looked after, their ultimate reward is instinct-driven herding rather than the pats and naps domestic pets prefer.</p> <p>"Dogs get the job done and love doing it and do it with a smile on their faces," Mr Perkins said.</p> <p>"You go and open their kennel at four o'clock in the morning and they're just as keen to go as they were yesterday."</p> <p>Tasmanian Kelpie Nell and her owner Brad McDonald came in second at the Cobber Challenge, with the six-year-old dog covering 360km.</p> <p>Rip - a kelpie who was the only one of his litter to survive an illness - ranked third alongside his owner Ben Coster from Yass in NSW.</p> <p>Working dogs continue to have their day, widely seen as a convenient alternative to hiring labourers as shortages grip the agriculture sector.</p> <p>A one-year-old kelpie named Eve, from a stud in central west NSW, was sold at a record-breaking price of $49,000 in 2022, also valued for her laid back personality.</p> <p>Mr Perkins said the growing interest in working dogs was good for rural Australia.</p> <p>"There's often a lot of bad news coming out of the bush to urban areas and more often that's a miscommunication, or a misunderstanding," he said.</p> <p>"(This) shows that what's happening out here is all good."</p> </body>