Muster Dogs

Muster Dogs
Genre	Documentary Reality television
Created by	Michael Boughen
Directed by	Sally Browning Monica O'Brien Michael Boughen
Narrated by	Lisa Millar
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	21
Production
Executive producer	Matthew Street
Original release
Network	ABC TV
Release	23 January 2022 (2022-01-23) – present

Muster Dogs is an Australian animal documentary and reality television series^[1] created by Michael Boughen for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Produced by Ambience Entertainment, the first season premiered on ABC TV and ABC iview on 23 January 2022.^[2][1] This was despite the ABC originally announcing the program in late 2020, as part of its slate of programming scheduled to air in 2021.^[3]

The first season showcases the journey of five Australian Kelpie puppies as they are trained to become muster dogs on farms across Australia under the guidance of expert dog trainers Neil and Helen McDonald. The first season was met with positive reviews.^[4][5]

The first series was won by "Annie", trained by Queensland grazier Frank Finger.^[6][7]

Following the positive reception of the first season, production of a second season featuring Border Collie puppies was announced released and premiered on 14 January 2024.^[8][9]

The second season was won by "Buddy", trained by Zoe Miller of the Northern Territory.^[10]

In March 2024, it was announced that Muster Dogs had been renewed for a third season, with six episodes scheduled to air in 2025, with both kelpies and border collies to be featured.^[11] In July 2024, auditions were opened for dog training for the third season.^[12]

On 1 December 2024, a four-part special, Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now, presented by series narrator Lisa Millar, debuted on ABC TV. The special featured five previous human and canine participants from Muster Dogs: season 1 winners Frank and Annie, Joni and Chet, Cilla and Ash, along with season 2 winner Zoe and Buddy, and Russ and his Border Collie Molly.^[13]

Season 3, Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies was won by "Banjo", trained by Kim Dodson from Victoria, revealed in the final episode aired in March 2025.^[14]

Millar has spoken at length about the surprising success of the show and how it has become the highlight of her career.^[15]

Two companion books to the series have been published. Muster Dogs by Aticia Grey was published in November 2021.^[16] Muster Dogs: From Pups to Pros, written by series narrator Lisa Millar, was published in January 2024.^[17]

Grazier[4]	Hometown	Dog	Result
Frank Finger	Clermont	Annie	Winner[7]
Aticia Grey	Western Australia	Gossip	Lost
Rob Tuncks	Victoria	Lucifer
Joni Hall	Northern Territory	Chet
Catherine Scotney		Spice

Grazier[9][10]	Hometown	Dog	Result
Zoe Miller	Northern Territory	Buddy	Winner[10]
Cilla	Gympie	Ash	Lost
Lily	Wilcannia	Snow
Russ	Tasmania	Molly
Steve	Winton	Indi

Grazier	Hometown	Dog	Result
Kim Dodson	Victoria	Banjo	Winner
Jack Kennedy	Victoria	Pesto	Lost
Renee Spencer	Queensland	Pockets
Blythe Calnan	Western Australia	Banksi
Marlene Brewer	New South Wales	Hudson
Nathan Obst	Queensland	Chief

Grazier[9][10]	Hometown	Dog	Result
Courtney Moir	Wellstead, WA	Blossom	Winner[18]
Ian Worley	Nundie, NSW	Buruma	Lost
Max Hudson	King Island, Tas	Roxy
Rex Grey-McCormack	Broome, WA	Alfie
Shaydie-Jane Campbell	Taroom, Qld	Turner
Sam Mackaway	Walcha, NSW	Captain

In a positive review, Graeme Blundell of The Australian wrote, "Muster Dogs is simply delightful TV as well as being thoughtful, engaged and cast with a bunch of wonderful characters from the land, their laid-back humour coloured with a hard, sceptical and sombre undertone. ... They are the five farming families, on properties ranging from the red earth of the Top End to the green pastures of regional Victoria, who take on the challenge of training new kelpie pups and testing their worth on the properties they run."^[4] In a 2022 review, Melinda Houston of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote, "It's sort of a competition to see who can best train a working dog pup in just 12 months, but the more interesting face of the show is the insight into the dogs themselves, the people who breed and train them, and the farmers who work them."^[2] David Knox of TV Tonight wrote, "These pups all come from the same litter, a lineage of trained dogs, but can they all be trained when they are split up and given to new owners?".^[19] Margaret Lyons of The New York Times wrote "you need some inspiration for naming a new dog in your life, look no further than this unscripted Australian series, which includes dogs named Jumpy, Lucifer, Gossip and Trunk. “Muster” follows five kelpie puppies given to five ranchers, reconvening after one year to see which dog's herding skills are the most advanced. But the show is much more about the journey than the destination".^[5]

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	AACTA Awards	Best Factual Entertainment Program	Muster Dogs Season 1	Nominated	[20]
2022	AACTA Awards	Best Editing in Television	Muster Dogs Season 1 - Episode 1	Nominated	[20]
2023	Screen Producers Australia Awards	Documentary Series Production of the Year	Muster Dogs Season 1	Won	[21]
2024	TV Week Logies	Best Structured Reality Program	Muster Dogs Season 2	Nominated	[22]
2025	AACTA Awards	Best Factual Entertainment Program	Muster Dogs Season 2	Won	[23]
2025	AACTA Awards	Best Direction in Nonfiction Television	Muster Dogs Season 2 - Episode 3	Won	[23]
2025	Screen Producers Australia Awards	Documentary Series Production of the Year	Muster Dogs Season 2	Nominated	[24]
2025	TV Week Logies	Best Structured Reality Program	Muster Dogs: Collies and Kelpies	Won	[25]
2025	TV Week Logies	Gold Logie - Most Popular Personality on Australian Television	Lisa Millar - Muster Dogs & Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now	Nominated	[26]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date	Viewers
1	1	"Episode 1"	23 January 2022 (2022-01-23)	604,000[27]
2	2	"Episode 2"	30 January 2022 (2022-01-30)	421,000[28]
3	3	"Episode 3"	6 February 2022 (2022-02-06)	549,000[29]
4	4	"Episode 4"	13 February 2022 (2022-02-13)	574,000[30]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date	Aus. viewers
5	1	"Episode 1"	14 January 2024 (2024-01-14)	534,000[31]
6	2	"Episode 2"	21 January 2024 (2024-01-21)	429,000[32]
7	3	"Episode 3"	28 January 2024 (2024-01-28)	1,110,000[33]
8	4	"Episode 4"	4 February 2024 (2024-02-04)	1,171,000[34]
9	5	"Episode 5"	11 February 2024 (2024-02-11)	773,000[35]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date	Aus. viewers
10	1	"Episode 1"	2 February 2025 (2025-02-02)	1,238,000[36]
11	2	"Episode 2"	9 February 2025 (2025-02-09)	1,160,000[37]
12	3	"Episode 3"	16 February 2025 (2025-02-16)	1,069,0000[38]
13	4	"Episode 4"	23 February 2025 (2025-02-23)	1,103,000[39]
14	5	"Episode 5"	2 March 2025 (2025-03-02)	1,103,000[40]
15	6	"Episode 6"	9 March 2025 (2025-03-09)	1,103,000[41]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date	Aus. viewers
16	1	"Episode 1"	1 February 2026 (2026-02-01)	1,338,000[42]
17	2	"Episode 2"	8 February 2026 (2026-02-08)	1,260,000[43]
18	3	"Episode 3"	15 February 2026 (2026-02-15)	1,169,0000[44]
19	4	"Episode 4"	22 February 2026 (2026-02-22)	1,203,000[45]
20	5	"Episode 5"	1 March 2026 (2026-03-01)	1,203,000[46]
21	6	"Episode 6"	8 March 2026 (2026-03-08)	1,203,000[47]

Note: From 28 January 2024, OzTAM ratings changed from Total Reach reporting to National Reach reporting. Muster Dogs reached a national audience of 1,110,000 viewers.^[48]

• Muster Dogs at IMDb