Edenhope dog breeder David Lee says working dogs can play a crucial role

Mr Lee started working with pig dogs in Queensland before he went droving with a wagonette and working in stock camps, which sparked his passion for working dogs.

"I did a lot of miles in the saddle and worked around people that had stock dogs," he said.

"I look back now and they didn't really know what they were up to with them.

"They were basically a tool where they didn't have the instructions on how to use them properly.

"I probably learned the wrong methods of how to train a dog."

While working as a station hand and horse breaker over various properties in Queensland he always saw dogs that were tied up being unutilised, he said.

"I used to feel a bit sorry for them," he said.

"If they didn't do this they'd get shot, if they didn't do that they'd be getting shot - that was just the way of life.

"I started out on the wrong path and I felt that there was more to learn and better methods."

About 10 years ago he and his wife Sarah aimed to find better ways to train working dogs.

He said even after a decade of training dogs there was still so much to learn.

Attitudes within the industry were also slow to change, he said.

While other areas of farming had continued to improve, stockmanship had been left behind.

"Everybody seemed to be too busy - they just want to hurry their stock everywhere because they're got so much other work to do," he said.

"You can only go as fast as your slowest sheep or your slowest cow.

"Being in the paddock with them, that's when you understand a lot about your stock, while you're riding around you're assessing them and your pastures, you're seeing what they need.

"A lot of people are trying to evaluate that out of the Toyota flat-out."

The couple are currently breeding Kelpies and breed Border Collies as well.

Mr Lee said it started with ensuring the pups had adequate nutrition, wormed, and were well socialised and handled.

He stuck to a similar training program but each dog learned slightly differently, he said.

"I don't give them a look at sheep until they're 12 weeks, some a little bit later," he said.

"We introduce them just to stimulate their herd instinct... some of them don't click straight on which is fine but we put them in a controlled environment with quiet sheep."

Natural traits included having distance off their stock and really strong heading abilities

Mrs Lee said they kept their pups until they were six months old.

"We can have a really good look at each individual pup and what they're displaying and if that mating has been successful," she said.

"That helps with the training process too."

When it comes to selling dogs, the couple match each dog's ability and personality to the buyer.

They only started selling at auction recently, Mr Lee said, and not knowing where the dog would end up had been a bit unsettling.

Even so, he tried to speak to potential buyers first and if the dog was not going to suit he would let them know straight up.

"For us it's not just about getting a sale," he said.

"We love our dogs - for us it's about getting them to go to a place we're they're loved."

The world record price his Kelpie recently fetched at the Casterton online auction reflected the time and effort that went into producing good dogs, he said.

"The way I look at it, Hoover was $35,000 - that means someone had to sell say 16 weaners," he said.

"When you look at it like that, the numbers stack up."

He hoped Hoover's sale was the start of better recognition for what working dogs could be worth, and the crucial role they could play in a farm business.

"If you can afford to buy the right dog with good genetics, it changes your whole approach to working your livestock," he said.

"They shouldn't be something that gets stuck on the end of a chain or locked away and only used when you're doing stock work - they need to be a part of your life so you can get the best out of them not only as a working dog but as a companion too.

"It's another dimension to farming that I think is pretty underutilised in a lot of areas in Australia."