Nine week-old Pentir Lassie set a new world record price of £7,600 for an unbroken pup at the Skipton sale. Image – Dave Swinburn Photography.

A WORLD record price of £7,600 (A$13,800) was paid for a nine week-old unbroken pup at the latest Skipton Auction Mart sale in the United Kingdom last week.

Fully trained sheep dogs sold for up to £13,800 (A$25,000) at the online auction on 18 and 19 May.

The record-priced pup, an unusually lilac-coloured bitch Pentir Lassie was offered by Welshman Glynne Jones, of Pentir, near Bangor in Gwynedd. The sale smashed the previous record of £6,100 established at Skipton’s previous online sale in January for an 11 week- old black and white bitch, Bet, from awell-known Welshman David Evans.

Lassie was described as a lively, confident and healthy pup, from the first litter of pups by Reiver Gray, bred by well-known shepherdess, Emma Gray, now farming in Scotland on the Isle of Bute.

Lassie’s dam, Graylees Cêt, has been owned and trained by Mr Jones since being purchased as an eight week-old pup in August, 2014, to lay a very solid foundation for his Pentir Sheepdogs breeding programme. As well as Lassie, who is from Cêt’s sixth and last litter, the outstanding mother has produced a number of ISDS pedigree pups with Tweeddale Jamie, described as an amazing match from the outset.

Mr Jones is a full-time sheep and cattle farmer and sheep dog enthusiast farming 100 acres in and around Pentir, in between the Snowdonia mountain ranges and the North Wales coast. Lassie was his first offering at Skipton.

“My aim is to breed top quality working sheepdog pups from the best DNA tested bloodlines in the UK,” he said.

“I’m obviously over the moon. Lassie is a dog with everything in my opinion.”

The pup’s new owner is Damian Barson, of Tessleymoor Gundogs, a dog behaviourist and gundog trainer based in Woodplumpton, near Preston. He is taking an increasing interest in sheep farming, running a flock of Ryelands, and plans to diversify into Herdwicks.

Mr Barson said he has trained dogs all his life and has his own pack.

“So I wanted to get the best, a dog with both style and character.

“It was all down to colour and breeding,” he said.

“I just had to have the wee pup, though I do think I went a bit wild!”

Spud goes for A$25,000 at Skipton auction

David Evans’ Peny-y-Borough Spud (Buddy), was the top priced dog at £13,800 ($A25,000) top price dog at the Skipton sale. Image – SMH Photography.

A father and son breeding and trialing team David and Kevin Evans between them sold six fully broken and unbroken dogs for a combined £50,000-plus at the auction.

David Evans, of Penclyn Farm, Brecon, was May sale topper at £13,800 with a November, 2017, black and white dog, Pen-y-Borough Spud, by son Kevin’s Kemi Ross, a member of both the 2015 and 2016 Welsh National teams, also a 2016 European Nursery finalist, as well as running in the same year’s International.

Spud, better known at home as Buddy, is a grandson of dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh champion, Tanhill Glen, while its dam, Derwen Wot, was bred locally by Shaun Richards, of Pen-y-Borough Sheep Dogs in Eldroth, near Settle. Wot is a full sister to another top-notch Evans trials dog, Derwen Doug, a European nursery champion and dual Welsh and international brace champion.

Buddy already has multiple trial placings to his name and was sold to American buyers Kellie Herrington and her husband, Terry Dear, from Ponder, Texas. Kellie is a small animal vet who enjoys trialing and Buddy was purchased purposely for her husband to both trial and use at home, where he is currently is raising a small set of Fullblood American Dorper sheep.

Kevin Evans, of Llwynfedwen Farm, near Brecon, then achieved second top price of £12,800 with his smart 16 month-old black and white dog, Wyverne Brodie, another fully trained son of Derwen Doug, out of David Meek’s Wyverne Meg, herself a daughter of a twice international champion.

Prices at the auction were described as being “more realistic” than of late, with plenty of readily affordable dogs to suit all tastes and pockets, both solid broken entries for work and up-and-coming youngsters to further bring on and run in trials.

Skipton’s next working sheep dog sale is the summer fixture scheduled for a Friday in July, with the actual date yet to be finalised. However, it is hoped it will herald a welcome return to the trial and sales field at the UK’s leading working sheep dog sale venue, with bolt-on online bidding facility also likely.

Source – Moule Media.