From pup to pro: Following a Wairarapa working dog's journey

Meet Miley, a seven-month-old huntaway with great potential. She's the third generation bred by award-winning dog triallist Chris Shaw and we'll follow along as he trains her up. Wairarapa farmer and dog triallist Chris Shaw with his latest pup, seven-month-old huntaway Miley.The secret to training any dog well is forming a strong bond between animal and trainer.Wairarapa dog triallist and stock manager Chris Shaw would know. He has been working with a team of dogs daily for close to 20 years."When I'm picking a pup, I normally like the one that comes up to me, just wants to be me mate," he tells Country Life."They're going to be with you for a long time so you've got to like everything about that dog."Miley, his latest pup, is the third generation in a line of huntaways that Chris has been breeding.Mum Roxy and big sister Duchess, Dutch for short, are a part of his regular working dog team.Miley was sired by a "a natural working" dog from the Hunterville area named TJ, as Shaw is now more focussed on breeding "good farm station dogs".Miley with big sister Duchess and mum Roxy.One of six born at the end of January, she is now about seven months old - the most important time in a young dog's life, Shaw says."The most important time in a dog's life is eight weeks old and eight months. So that's the time the dog sort of bonds with you and becomes your mate."There's not a lot of training that goes on at this stage in her life. It's more of a bonding process."Rather than seeing himself as the boss of Miley, Shaw views their relationship as a partnership."We're going to be together a long time so we have to get along." The secret to a well-trained dog is the bond between trainer and pup, Shaw says.Miley was chosen for her friendly nature and good "bone structure"."She's got a healthy, athletic physique."There is a lot of time and effort that goes into breeding and training up a working dog. Shaw is in no hurry to rush the process either."For me there's no set time on breaking in a dog. If you do the basics properly, you'll end up with a better product, whereas if you rush them to get them broken in you get a sort of half-hearted dog that doesn't want to work with you. I'd like to have a dog broken in by two-and-a-half to three years old."Shaw says a team of working dogs is "like a bag of golf clubs, every dog has a job".Huntaways are the "motor of the team" that help move the stock, while heading dogs are like "the steering of a car"…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details