A team from the University of Sydney veterinary school has managed to calculate the return on investment of working dogs.
In light of the thousands of dollars it can cost to buy a working dog, the topic was ripe for research. Answering the call, the research team discovered that the average farm dog provides roughly a five-fold return on investment.
The research project was jointly conducted between the university and farm research groups, including the West Australian Working Sheep Dog Association, and the Working Dog Alliance.
It was found that while the cost of purchasing a working dogs is an average of $8,000, the value of the work they perform comes in at a median of $40,000.
However the research is ongoing, and not just about the money. It also aims to identify the types of characteristics most sought after in a farm dog, with the goal to make it easier for farmers to choose a partner to help them in the yards, the shearing shed and out in the paddocks when mustering.
