[quote1256134441=realname] Many Italians living in Queensland,så why not a dog breed from Italy.. [/quote1256134441] They are very expensive and there is not a good community for these types of dogs in Australia. Plus there are plenty of other breeds which are more than capable of performing the work and better suited to the conditions available locally. Also - Australia has very stringent laws and regulations surrounding importing dogs from countries/places where rabies is present, since there aren't any animals with rabies in Australia and they would like to keep it that way. I have heard of dogs being quarantined for up to 6 months, which is hard on the dog, on top of the massive environmental/climate change. The wild dog problem, is also relatively new, dingos have been taken care of in the past using baits, and through government sanctioned culling, exterminators and local hunters - the wild dogs are another story, and the working breeds of Australia are more traditionally used for mustering, not livestock protection. Not that there wouldn't be any that are capable, but now they have hit a point where its such a problem they either try and solve it with their own dogs (risky) or bring in a tried and true breed like the Marrema :) Hope that makes sense.