Happy with the Jerilderie Working Dog Auction results were, from left, Elders auctioneer Nick Gray, Shane Maurer, his $14,000 kelpie, buyer Dwayne Evans, and Alexa Hearn, AuctionsPlus.

COOTAMUNDRA stockman Shane Maurer is on a good run with his Kelpies — claiming his first national yard dog title last year and at the weekend setting a new auction record of $14,000.

Last July, Mr Maurer and his nine-year-old dog Getitdun Davey won the Australian Yard Dog Championships at Bendigo.

And at the Jerilderie Working Dog Auction on Saturday, Shane set a new national auction record for a working dog of $14,000 when Elders Deniliquin auctioneer Jason Andrews sold his three year-old Kelpie Coopendale Charlie to Wilcannia station manager and goat catcher Dwayne Evans.

Charlie’s $14,000 price tags exceeded the previous Australian record of $12,000 paid for Kelpies at the Casterton Working Dog Auction in Victoria in 2012 and 2017, and at the National Working Stock Dog Futurity and Sale at Murrurundi in New South Wales last year.

The auction also bettered its own sale average, selling 41 of 47 dogs for an average of $4344, $700 higher than last year.

Mr Evans also bought the top-priced dog at the 2017 Jerilderie auction and said he could earn the value of his record-priced dog in one day on goats, allowing him to pay more than other stockman for a good dog. He catches between 5000-10,000 goats annually and last year grossed about $700,000 from goat sales.

“The money is still there with the goats.”

Mr Evans said he had bought three dogs from Shane Maurer and his dogs were “up there with Ricky Jones’ dogs for strength”, which was needed for goat mustering.

Mr Maurer said Charlie was a very capable all-round sheep dog; good in the paddock and the yard, and able to work dry cattle. The dog had also had some trial success and competed at novice level.

“He’s as good in the yard as he is in the paddock.”

Charlie was bred by Graham Cooper of Stockinbingal, NSW, by Coogee Trooper out of Coopendale Loo. He bought the dog as a 4-5 month-old pup for less than $1000.

Mr Maurer said he wasn’t surprised that good dogs were making $10,000-plus, with the good, sheep, goat, cattle and wool prices, and landowners requiring fewer staff to handle more stock on properties.

Jerilderie auction co-organiser Warwick Doolan said Elders Jerilderie manager Nick Gray also broke the previous $12,000 auction record when he sold James Fowler’s Nomak Delta for $12,250 ($13,475 incl. GST) 20 minutes before Coopendale Charlie was sold.

Mr Doolan attributed the strong working dog prices to the strength of livestock and wool prices, the reputation of the auction to attract good dogs and the sale’s interface with AuctionsPlus for the first time.