Price for a Kelpie expected to rise following Muster Dogs series

A touch of cinematic exposure has been all it's taken for interest in the Kelpie breed to shoot skyward again.

When the Australian movie Red Dog, based on the novel of the same name by Louis de Bernieres, hit the big screen in 2011, kelpie popularity soared. And the same has happened since the the ABC's wildly successful small screen series Muster Dogs.

Five kelpie pups, all from the same litter, have become the stand-out hit of summer viewing on Australian television, with a current total audience of 1.43 million viewers.

Muster Dogs tells the authentic stories of remote and regional farmers as they meet the challenge to train a Kelpie puppy in just 12 months. It advocates the use of dogs as an environmentally sustainable practise that "takes the rattle out of the cattle" and promotes regenerative farming to better protect the land.

Clermont grazier Frank Finger took part in the series with his pup Annie, alongside four other stock handlers.

Since being named the show's champion working dog handler, Mr Finger has been inundated with people from across Australia, wanting to learn how to train their working dogs.

As a result, he and his son Scott have decided to run a working dog and pup starting course.

"Our family is going to run a school at our property Hillview at Clermont in a couple of weeks; we've had that much inquiry and people wanting lessons over the phone," he said.

"We've had calls even from Western Australia ringing up for advice and then locals wanting to come for a one-on-one.

"If people have the desire to learn and want to learn, we might as well take the opportunity. We've been hosting working dog schools for 27 years, so we might as well run our own."

Mr Finger said he wouldn't be surprised if the price for Kelpies rose following the success of the series.

Australian Cattle Dog and Kelpie Club of Queensland president Jan Phillips said interest in Kelpies had risen following Red Dog and the Muster Dogs series.

But Ms Phillips warned potential buyers that these dogs needed the right care and stimulation.

"People go in fairly blind and buy Kelpies and cattle dogs, all of which need a certain amount of understanding before you buy them because they're a working dog," she said.

"When you have a show like this, people get all excited because they're beautiful dogs.

"Kelpies are an absolutely gorgeous dog, but if you put them in a family that's not prepared to mentally stimulate them, they'll have the most destructive dog you can ever buy.

"Breeders will usually discourage people just buying on impulse."

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Mr Finger said he was proud to be in the series, which showcased the true art of calming cattle, with trained working dogs.

"A lot of the feedback I'm getting is that people are amazed at the calmness that these (working dogs) bring over the cattle and how calm the cattle are, for very little effort from the dogs," Mr Finger said.

"A lot of people think dogs need a lot of bite and because the more bite you have, the less calmness you have in your cattle. That's why we're trying to promote calmness without bite.

"I would think the betterment for the industry would be if more dogs were used, the more calmer our cattle will be, effectively translating to less bruising and better for animal welfare; especially when you're getting cattle ready for market.

"You don't want bruising because you get docked for the bruising, especially for the price they're paying for cattle now, you want every ounce of meat saleable."