Australian farmers have a responsibility to control dingos. We're all wild dogs, we're
running on their property. So about three years ago I made a decision to change my strategy
about controlling wild dogs in my property and decided to go and look for the young and
breeding time, which is July. The dingos have their pup since July. And I was lucky enough
to find two leaders. And having read a couple of those dingos, I got to the understanding
that I could probably try a policy of having my own dingo pack and regularly walk them
around my property and might be able to control the other of the wild dingo pack by letting
them know there was already a pack of dogs in this area. The culmination of my efforts
to removing these pups from the whole logs means I now have matured ingos who are now
a breeding age and just only a few nights ago I was very privileged to be present for
the birth of my own. I'm right up close and it's all happening just natural like a wood
in the bush except for the dingo doesn't have a fear of me and accepts me in. I just feel
so privileged to be able to be right up close to something that's normally so secretive.
An interesting characteristic I found with dingoes, they don't normally bark but they
have a whole heap of other noises they make in communication, quiet communications and
they do a very throaty I think a dingo can almost talk. And I learned early on sitting
here by the campfire when I had dingo pups beside me that when I played the harmonica
they all wanted to howl. I don't really know whether they think I'm sad or what it is with
a harmonica that really gets into them but all they want to do is come and sit beside
me and howl with me. I feed my dingoes a variety of foods. I like to get a big boiler, half
filled with water, put in vegetables. I try to give them as much native food that they
would naturally have got themselves. You can't always count on a roadkill kangaroo or something
coming along when you need it. Then they all seem quite happy and I think they do well
on it as a matter of fact. I feel privileged to have actually seen what happens with dingoes
right up close. They're so misunderstood in Australia. I really realised how much they
have accepted me as I'm just one of a number and I have some very good traits. All dingoes
have their part in the pack. I suppose one of my best traits must be they can see me
and eat me.
