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The Doherty family has been breeding sheepdogs for over 50 years, but this 16-month-old Border Collie is certainly one of the best they have ever bred. The brothers keep a small flock of ewes on the mountain, where Cap was trained to herd sheep.
There were three genuine bidders on the day of the auction, and after a five-minute-long bidding war, Cap was finally sold to an unknown buyer from Northern Ireland.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, former owner Joe Doherty said that Cap has genuine power to command and move stock, and that was his main selling point.
“He shows absolutely no fear, and this confidence allows him to master stock in a very calm and controlled manner. He has natural flank and a great engine, and he will work all day and still want to do more,” he said.
Demonstrating his working ability with sheep at a young age, Cap is very good with large flocks, working on mountains and on roads. His pedigree lineage can also be noted.
“None of us are involved in trialling. We breed a litter of pups from time to time to try and obtain a dog to suit us.
“Cap’s father is a very capable dog, having bred many good dogs, including Glencregg Silver, the youngest dog in history to have won the International Trials champion. Four of Caps siblings sold at the pen for young and unbroken sheepdogs at Skipton in July 2015, aged six months old, setting a new pen record,” Joe said.
High-end sheepdogs
Jeremy Eaton, general manager at Skipton Auction Mart, who sold the dog on the day, told the Irish Farmers Journal that he has never sold a dog for this much before. Skipton Auction Mart runs five or six sheepdog sales annually, attracting high-end buyers for well-trained sheepdogs. Its May sale is usually its premium sale, to coincide with sheepdog trialling.
“We do sell dogs anywhere between £4,000 to £8,000 – that’s quite the norm for sheepdogs going for trialling – but I have never ever sold one remotely close to this price before.
“Internationally, the demand for high-end sheepdogs is taking off. The buyers want well-broken, well-trained dogs for heavy farm work, to justify the money,” he said.
YouTube videos of the dogs working from home are shown at the sale, giving prospective buyers more confidence to bid. The video of Cap, which was shown on the day of the auction, now has over 58,000 hits on Facebook.
Social media is now attracting a lot more international interest in the sheepdog sales at Skipton, Jeremy said.
“We have had buyers from Australia, the Faro Islands, America and Canada. The demograph from social media also shows increasing interest from places like Scandinavia, Czech Republic, Germany, and the Far East, in places like Thailand,” he said.
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