Training sheepdogs is no walk in the park

Two 11-month-old litter sisters from noted sheepdog handler John Bell stole the limelight, selling at 4250gns and 3400gns. Mr Bell from Selby is no stranger to top bids as he broke the world record price back in May 2013 with one at £9,240.

Good sheepdogs are the essential tools of a shepherd's trade and it is virtually impossible to work with sheep without one, particularly on a hill farm.

Having said that, there are many who can skilfully round up sheep with a quad bike, but that is really only practical in fields. After all, many parts of Scotland's steep and rugged hills are all but inaccessible to such vehicles and wily, nimble sheep in difficult terrain can easily outmanoeuvre them.

Sheepdogs can make wonderful workmates as well as devoted pets. I use the term "can make" because not all sheepdogs are the same. Some turn into downright evil creatures intent on biting sheep with a nasty "grip" and the worst sheep worriers are often sheepdogs.

Bred for an active life outdoors, many collies are highly strung and make poor household pets. I was once given a ten-months-old collie that had broken nearly every ornament in the house as it excitedly jumped up to bark at passers-by. That free gift from a demented, once house-proud friend turned out to be one of the best working sheepdogs I ever owned.

He was a natural with sheep and easily trained. That was just as well, as training sheepdogs is not a talent I was noted for possessing.

Some folk, like Mr Bell, are gifted when it comes to working with dogs, but patience is not my strong point and things invariably went horribly wrong when frustration gave way to anger.

Roaring obscenities at a wayward young dog is not the best way to teach it the error of its ways. Jumping up and down and stamping on your hat, rolling in the grass and sobbing, or foaming at the mouth, simply confuses the dog.

I spent the best part of a summer once trying to persuade a keen young collie to work steadily with sheep instead of bunching them up and running round them at breakneck speed. The more animatedly I shouted at him to lie down, the more he took that desperate command as words of encouragement to run even faster.

Running towards him and gesticulating my stick in a frantic manner, as I tried to catch and restrain him, was taken as the command to divide the flock into small groups that could then be chased into different corners of the field.

Fortunately he had no vice and merely ran harmlessly round the sheep till they tired of the game and either stubbornly stood their ground or lay down "in the pet". Yes, our training sessions that summer often went horribly wrong.

It's tempting to beat young dogs as a punishment, but that would only make matters and confuse them. In a desperate attempt to control that wayward collie, I bought an electric collar capable of delivering varying strengths of electric shocks at long range as a reprimand for ignoring commands. Several friends advised me not to use that collar as they reckoned it was cruel, while others warned me to be cautious with it, as over-zealous use could lead to the dog becoming timid and fearful. Instead of turning up the voltage to deliver the equivalent of the National Grid and burning their ears to a frazzle, you were only supposed to deliver a mild, tingling sensation initially that encouraged the dog to heed your commands.

After careful consideration I left that collar unused in its unopened box and wisely decided to give the dog away to a friend who was better skilled at training dogs than I was. He was a good-natured collie and his only fault was that he was keen to work and I couldn't handle him.

After a lifetime of mediocre success as a dog trainer I eventually left that task to others. It was simpler by far, and often cheaper in the long run, to pay a couple of thousand pounds for a properly trained sheepdog.

I take my hat off to those who make training them seem so easy.