"I wouldn't say the drought is over ... but the rain did give us a bit of a break. We have knocked it back a gear and are taking it a bit easier," Harry Glasson says.

After three years of drought and nearly two years of feeding livestock, the Glasson family, from Greenlaw station in western Queensland, has had some relief rain.

Eighteen months on from when ABC Rural last visited the Glassons, there is a tinge of green grass at Greenlaw.

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But as Mr Glasson explained, it is far from drought-breaking.

"We had 50 to 100 millimetres of rain, but it has all been storm rain. Patches of really good stuff, patches of bugger all," he said.

"It grew temporary feed, not enough to bring cattle home, but it gave us sheep feed.

"It does give you a bit of heart ... we were lucky to get what we got."

Now the Glassons are no longer hand-feeding their sheep and cattle daily, the family has been able to relax a bit more.

Susan Glasson said even though the rain was a long way off their average, it had provided a huge relief.

"You can just see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel," she said.

"Every day you don't have hungry animals on your doorstop and you are not planning the next load of cottonseed or corn.

"It just gives you a bit of heart and it is great to look out onto a bit of green."

Due to patchy rain the pasture response has varied across Greenlaw station. ( ABC Rural: Lydia Burton )

In the past 12 months the Glassons have been forced to destock.

"We have a couple of thousand ewes left here and no cattle," Mr Glasson said.

The family's core breeder cows are almost 1,000 kilometres away on agistment in southern Queensland.

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Mr Glasson's wish now is for more rain to bring them home.

"If we can get follow-up rain, winter rain, that would be the answer," he said.

"I reckon if we could crack 15 to 20 inches [375 to 500 millimetres] of rain, we would be laughing again.

"That is above our average. We probably average 12 to 13 inches [300 to 325 millimetres] of rain, but every now and again you get a bit of a bonus.

"So we are looking for a bonus."

King of all droughts: a reflection of the past three years

Even though recent rain has brightened the mood at Greenlaw Station, there is no forgetting the hard times of the past few years.

Drought is a long, tough, life-consuming task, as Mrs Glasson can attest to.

"It just became monotonous. But I guess we took each day at a time and looked to Christmas for it [the drought] to break," she said.

"When that didn't happen, I think it got people down.

"Then we hoped for rain in January and we got a little bit of a break and that gave people more heart.

The Glasson family spent close to two years hand-feeding their stock before rain in early 2016. ( ABC Rural: Lydia Burton )

"But certainly it got to people in the end and people were just about over it by the time it finally rained."

Mrs Glasson said this drought had been the worst she had ever seen.

"This has been the king of all droughts as far as we are concerned," she said.

"We have been on this place for 35 years and have not had any years like last year."

Mrs Glasson estimates the drought has been the most costly as well.

"It has added at least another $50 a head to our sheep and another $300 a head to our cattle," she said.

"It has put a huge hole in the bank account, but we believe that the stock were worthwhile keeping.

"But we need some good production this year just to try and make up a little lost ground."

Harry Glasson watches as one of his working dogs sniffs for traces of wild dogs. ( ABC Rural: Lydia Burton )

Wild dogs have taken over drought stress

However, the Glasson family is struggling to hold on to the sheep they invested in, both financially and physically, due to wild dogs.

"It is a bit disheartening to see the sheep that you worked so hard to save, disappearing to wild dogs," Mrs Glasson said.

Over the past few years the family's lambing percentages have been largely affected by wild dogs.

"Last year it was flat out being 20 per cent," Mr Glasson said.

"That is down from 50 per cent the year before and 75 the year before that.

"We always used to be around that 90 to 100 per cent."

The rams have been put back into the paddock with the ewes so the Glassons can get their sheep production back up and running. ( ABC Rural: Lydia Burton )

So while the Glassons' drought worries have been put on hold with some recent rain, the current worry is wild dogs.

"The pressure is not off because of the dogs. The pressure is on more than anything else because you have invested so much money in them," Mr Glasson said.

"It is not only the financial stress, it is the mental thing as well, seeing these animals being taken.

"You are trying to build your numbers up and you get lambs, you feed them and then [they are being eaten by wild dogs].

"It is a real stress and we have got to do something about it."

Family investigates fencing to stop wild dogs

Tracking, baiting and shooting have all been techniques the Glasson family has tried to get on top of the wild dog problem.

Now they are investigating fencing.

"Fencing is really our last option if we are to stay in sheep," Mrs Glasson said.

"The dogs are just coming from all directions at the moment and we have tried everything, but they are on the increase, so fencing is our last option."

In the meantime though the Glassons are staying optimistic about their future at Greenlaw.

"Hopefully we can get mobile and start making some money and get our numbers up, and do some improvements that we haven't been able to do for a few years," Mr Glasson said.

"The main thing though is to keep the tribe together and happy."