Ben and Flynn.
Australia’s top canine competitors are set to duke it out for the title of Australia’s hardest working dog, as finalists are announced for the milestone 10th edition of the 2025 Cobber Challenge. Cobber, the host of the competition, is a dog food company targeted specifically at feeding thousands of working dogs every year.
The Cobber Challenge is an annual showdown where the country’s best working dogs go paw to paw in a tribute to the unsung heroes of our farms, the four legged legends behind Australia’s billion dollar agriculture industry and a vital force driving food and fibre from paddock to plate across the country.
Each working dog will be fitted with a GPS tracker to log how far, how fast, and how long they work each day over a three week period, which commences at the start of October. Points are scored based on distance, speed and duration. It’s three weeks of grit, grind and good old fashioned Aussie hustle. At the end of October, the dog that clocks up the most points will take home honour, glory, a cash prize of $3000 and a years supply of ‘Cobber Working Dog’ Dog Food.
Kellie Savage, Cobbers Marketing manager is looking forward to seeing how this years finalists can set new records for the tenth edition of the competition “To date, the record distance that a working dog has completed in the Cobber Challenge is over 1,260km! While it’s a high bar to compete with, we’re confident that there’s a working dog in this year’s competition that’s going to break this record and take things to the next level,” said Ms Savage.
“All but one year, a Kelpie has taken the crown, so we’re keen to see if another breed can rise to the challenge, or if the kelpies will keep their throne. It’s also fantastic to see that a lot of women have made it through to this stage of the competition. While I’m not one to have favourites, I’m looking forward to seeing how our girls go this time round.”
The 12 cobber challenge finalists for 2025 are Denzel Bambridge and Buck from Tarlo NSW, Jess Zammit and Bundaberg from Wonthaggi VIC, Riley Watson and Kip from Grenfell NSW, Tahlia Carroll and Stan from Carroll NSW, Tony Ward and Boss from Baldvis WA, Kasey Connor and Moon from Lock SA, Lachie Groves and Borris from Ross TAS, Laine Eade and Rose from Tresco West VIC, Beck Smith and Duke from Stonehenge QLD, Ben Wade and Flynn Narrangullen NSW and Daniel Bibby and Raffa – Loxton, SA.
Finalist Ben Wade and his dog Flynn from Narrangullen near Wee Jasper are excited for the competition.
“The idea of the Cobber Dog Challenge is really highlighting just how many miles or kilometres our dogs do at work every day,” says Ben.
“The aim is to try to highlight just how important they are in this industry.” The way the competition is structured, elected finalists put a GPS collar on their dogs and track their daily work day and then the best 21 days over the next couple of months dictate the winner, who does the most miles and has the highest kilometres per hour.
“So my dog’s name is Flynn”, Ben continued. “He’s a red Australian Cattle Dog, and I think he’s the first Australian Cattle Dog to run in the Cobber Challenge. He’s four years old, so he’s just in the prime of his life. He specialises mainly in cattle work. So we run Angus cows and calves on the farm.”
Flynn is a part of Ben Wade’s 14-dog team in Narrangullen. He stands out for his drive, independence and no-nonsense, old-soul working style. Whether it’s sheep or cattle, Flynn reads the mob and takes control, no fuss, no frills. Flynn flies across steep terrain with purpose and precision.
Off the clock, Flynn is full of personality. He’s happiest riding on the ute, leaning in for a cuddle after a long day. He’s not overly social, keeping his loyalty close and his focus sharp, often putting in 10-hour days without hesitation.
“He’s a good boy, he covers for a lot of staff and can do jobs that no human can do.” Ben emphasised how important dogs are to the industry, “They’re very important to what we do. Very important to how we handle our livestock in a very calm and collected manner. They do all of those jobs for us, and to be honest, they probably look after the humans as well as the livestock.
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