Two-year-old Jack Russell Joey thinks he is “half working dog, half child”.
Photo by
Daneka Hill
There are five kelpies at Toland Poll Merino outside Violet Town, but they’re somehow outnumbered by their smallest and strangest looking pack member — Joey. Stud principle Anna Toland tells us more about the new addition.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Is Joey your first Jack Russell?
First Jack Russell and first small dog in general. We’ve always had kelpies and working dogs. In COVID my daughter wanted a puppy so we got her a kelpie, but she turned it into a pet and you can’t do that with kelpies you want to keep on a farm.
I was interested in Jack Russells but they were selling for $2500. There was no way I was paying that. One day I was on the phone with someone and she said “sorry for the noise, my bitch just had pups” and I asked what breed. She said “Jack Russell” and I ended up getting Joey from her for $800.
Joey and Anna Toland with some of the stud’s reserve rams. These guys will go back into the stud’s breeding and AI program.
Photo by
Daneka Hill
Is he a good pet?
He gets massive FOMO and barks the house down. He needs to be locked up because he follows motorbikes and cars. He’s also figured out how to open screen doors. I didn’t realise Jack Russells could be so smart.
How is he around the sheep?
He’s a little bit scared of the sheep, which is good, he isn’t out there harassing them. He must look like a lamb because the ewes are fascinated by him and will follow him around. The rams love him.
Toland Poll Merino specialises in naturally mulesed, dual-purpose Merino rams. The stud will hold it’s 35th annual on-property sale on September 26, offering 80 polled Merino rams.
Photo by
Daneka Hill
How is the kelpie working team?
Good. Lou is the oldest at 11, but she still works when she feels like it — which is pretty often. She has developed selective hearing however, so she thinks she is doing a good job. Lou likes to bring the sheep in on her terms now.
Is having a four-dog working team important?
We have close to 5000 sheep at the moment with all the lambs. Because we have the ram stud, we do performance recordings and collect a lot of traits for genetics and sheep breed values. On top of that there is a lot of classing so we’re out and about all day moving sheep.
Eight-year-old Wil (short for Wilbur) is Lou’s son. “He was the runt of the litter so I named him after Charlotte’s Web. He used to fit in my top pocket when he was born.”
Photo by
Daneka Hill
You breed your own kelpies. Have you thought about breeding Jack Russells?
Joey just became a father recently. It’ll be his first litter. We haven’t seen the puppies yet.
How is he with rabbits?
Terrible. People told me “you’ll have to carry a shovel around with you” in case we lose him in a warren, but he took one look at a rabbit hole and didn’t like it very much.
