THE Tasmanian Country Farm Dog of the Year has been named as Duncan, the nine-month-old Border Collie from Thirlstane in the state’s North-West, belonging to Arlyn Beyerle and Izzy Stolp.
Having come back on to his family’s farm after living in Victoria for a number of years, the couple are working on his parents Ralph and Libby’s 65ha property outside Devonport, managing poultry and beef cattle operations.
Duncan came into the picture earlier this year for Arlyn and Izzy, their return to the farm allowing them to get a dog.
“Where we were in Melbourne, we weren’t able to have a dog, so that was actually one of the main drivers in getting us back to Tasmania, to get ourselves one,” she said.
“My grandparents had a Border Collie and Arlyn grew up with them too, we just love their energy, the loyalty and being able to train them.”
Duncan arrived in early in 2022, not long after the couple had returned home.
“So far, he’s very much a companion dog, he’s getting more interested in the cattle, but he’s still a bit scared of them at this stage,” Arlyn said.
“He’s a big fan of swimming in the creek, or basically any body of water he can find.
“Luckily for us, it’s a farm and there’s plenty of muddle puddles that he can find.”
