Working dog Sam steps up to the plate

By Nicole Cairns

June 19, 2012, 10:38 p.m.

GOOD MATES: Mike Colvin and his dog Sam. Photo: Justin Whitelock.

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SAM and Mike Colvin have not been a team for long, but have grown quickly to be companions.

"I got into trouble a year ago when my long-term working dog suddenly decided that was all he was going to live for," he said.

"Luckily I was able to get a hold of Sam. He was a local dog bred by a local guy and I didn't have to go through the normal training regime."

Mr Colvin's dog, prior to Sam, had been his worker for over 13 years.

He had herded sheep for Mr Colvin up until four days before he died.

Now Sam has quickly risen to the challenge of running the Colvin property.

"He's a very intent worker. If a rabbit were to run between him and a mob of sheep he wouldn't even see it. He's totally focused on sheep from the moment you take him out.

"At the moment he's looking after between three and 4000 sheep probably not enough work for him really.

"He's very disappointed if you're doing other work, like fencing or something like that."

Taking on an already trained dog didn't have the usual hurdles for Mr Colvin and Sam.

"I was the difficult part of the transition between owners.

"I tried to copy the commands of the guy that had him. That didn't work well because he just got a bit confused. In the end I just went back to my usual way and he responds to that now.

"He's the one that adapted and not me.

"I think I'm very lucky because I haven't had to train him. We've got a difficult spot where we have to shift sheep over an old wooden bridge, and he's had to adapt.

Sam isn't Mr Colvin's only dog.

"I have a little Jack Russell here somewhere . . . her job is to keep the rats and the mice down.

"But she's a bit ambitious too. Not last summer, but the summer before, she actually killed two snakes and survived."