Well, he was supposed to be a kelpie, but I've got a suspicion that somewhere along the line someone went astray, because he seems to have a bit of labrador in him.

So as a kelp-radore, is he a good worker?

He's a very good sheep dog. He can dive into a whole flock of sheep and pick out the ones that are fly-blown.

He just saves so much time. I'd have to have two extra blokes to do all the work that we do. I don't even have to open gates for him, he just jumps right over them. He's got a terrific leap on him.

How did you train Rocky?

I had an old dog that I used to train with him. They seem to respond better when they can see another dog doing the things they're trying to do.

In a few years I'm probably going to get another pup and Rocky can help train him. The main thing with training any dog is having him with you at all times. If you spend enough time with a dog, you create a bond with him and he responds much better.

He sounds perfect. Has Rocky ever been in trouble?

I had to growl at him when he was younger because he would go near snakes. He's learnt since then though.

One day we were out in the paddock and I felt Rocky pushing me backwards. When I had a look, there was a snake right in front of me and he was warning me. He knew he couldn't attack it because he would get in trouble.

What's the best thing Rocky has done?

One day my wife was out for a walk in the bush when she spotted an emu. For some reason, the emu started running towards her to attack her. Rocky started charging towards the emu barking his head off and scared it away. He's a very loyal dog - he would do anything for you.

What about the weirdest thing he's done?

One time he was fast asleep in the backyard, when all of a sudden he has jumped up and started sprinting about 200 m to a channel and came back with a water rat. He must have heard it or smelt it or something. He seems to have a sixth sense.

Words and pictures:

Jordan Oliver