MBF: Dad’s farm and the kids’ dogs

By Daneka Hill

Feb 11, 2022

Out at Chris Hibberson’s Yarroweyah farm he has cows and dogs — but they don’t go near each other. That’s because his dairy cows aren’t used to being hurried along and the dogs aren’t actually his.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Immediately there is one dog that stands out as I come up the driveway.

That is Stag. He’s a three-year-old bloodhound. My son Jonathan got him for a hunting dog, but he hasn’t done much of that.

A good dog to have around?

He’s a great barker. It really carries, he’ll bark at anything, a pushbike, a runner. He’s a lot better than the last bloodhound we had. If she got off the chain she’s gone, you know, you’d never find her. This guy stays near the house.

Hound dog: Three-year-old bloodhound, Stag. Photo by Daneka Hill

And the blue heeler?

She belongs to my other son, Connor. Alice is about six, she likes to work, but bites too much. With people she’s another story; she’s that fierce she’ll kill you with love.

Are you the dad with land who gets stuck with the “grandkids”?

No, both my sons still live here on the property. Connor helps me milk and Jon works on the farm.

Alice: A quiet dog with way too much push when she gets among livestock.

Dairy cows can’t stand them?

I’ve had neighbours’ dogs come in and the cows just don’t like them. The real working dog is Lily.

Who’s Lily?

She’s about 12 or 13. Now that’s a dog that goes everywhere. She’ll go with Nicole (Chris’ wife) in the tractor, trucks, wherever. She comes up to the milk tanker drivers and loves them all.

Lily: The Jack Russell-sized kelpie known as Lily inspects what remains of her outside bed after Stag got off his chain and demolished it. Photo by Daneka Hill

What’s Lily like?

Everyone used to think she was a puppy until she started going grey. She’s a kelpie x Jack Russell. She loves getting stones and carrying them around. She’ll play with them all day.