Australia: Man teaches dog to drive on farm

A Jack Russell named Lexie is an Australian farmer’s right-hand man after teaching her to drive.

Footage shows the one-year-old dog helping out with Jobs after climbing behind the wheel.

She was trained by her “best pal” Cameron Zschech, 21, who says “there’s no reason she can’t just because she’s a dog”.

Cameron told ABC he was on his family’s land in Hamilton one day, transporting sheep, when he thought, “Now’s the time I could teach the dog to drive.”

Using the same method his father taught him, he said he put the vehicle in first gear and then “let it idle” while Lexie steered.

“I figured if we had that much time, we might as well try Lexie,” he said.

“She went well. Lexie thinks she’s a sheepdog. She has the right attitude for the role, but her height lets her down.

“She’s about a tenth the size of a ewe… but totally unaware of her tiny size.”

The bitch’s promotion to driver came after she was injured as a puppy on the farm.

“There was an 80kg ewe and Lexie ran after her and it followed after her, standing on her leg,” explained Cameron.

“She screamed, couldn’t hunt sheep anymore, but since then she’s recovered and gotten a little wiser.”

After the accident, the proud owner said he realized she had “a knack for driving” and that it was “safer for her”.

Nowadays Lexie gets a list of jobs from Cameron’s father before she goes to work.

Sometimes she steers while Cameron feeds hay — something he describes as “pretty good teamwork.”

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