Running sheep in Victoria's picturesque high country is in the blood for fourth-generation farmer Simon Turner.
But the family farm shares a boundary with the state forest, meaning wild dogs have direct access to his paddocks and livestock.
In previous years, he's counted stock losses in the hundreds, primarily a result of wild dogs.
The impact extended far beyond the financial.
“Then it's the emotional bit, they've got the upper hand over you, you're finding half-live mauled animals that you've spent a lifetime breeding, just trailing their internal organs behind them, doing that for hours before they die,” Mr Turner said.
He has spent tens-of-thousands of dollars installing 'dog proof' fences to combat the dogs, which are usually domestic and dingo hybrids.
But as his property abuts public land, he’s forced to cover the entire construction cost.
“Out there in the crown, there's a huge population of wild dogs that has no top order predator, no management and no control," he said.
"We're only managing the dogs that are within 3km of our freehold boundaries."
A bounty of $120, as well as aerial and ground-baiting programs, is being used to keep the wild dogs away from grazing country, and 18-dedicated wild dog trappers operate in the state’s worst effected regions.
Anthony Websdale’s patch is one of the busiest, and at any time he has around 25 traps set which must be checked every 72 hours.
He said the job was challenging and unique.
“There is a lot of work and you've got to put a lot of thought into it, and you could say 'to catch a dog you've got to think like a dog',” he said.
Barry Davies manages Victoria's wild dog program and was preparing the trappers for a busy summer period.
“The biggest challenge is around this time of year when the bitches are training their young pups," he said.
"Like any prey species, they're training their young how to kill because if they don't know how to kill they won't survive."
Mr Davies said the success of the program wasn't measured in the number of dogs killed, rather the limit on stock losses.
Simon Turner agreed, and said the baiting and trapping must be maintained in order to keep farming effectively.
“We don't want to eradicate them we just want to get them under control so that they're not destroying the native wildlife and the farmer's livelihood."
