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BBCA sheepdog trial champion says that herring is a risk of losing the skills required to train dogs.
Shepherd Philip Walton and his border from Koli Scott, Hathersgill, Kumbriya, hope to defend their English championship title in the National Sheepdog trial in Penrith later this week.
The farmers have worked with the sheep for thousands of years, but Shri Walton said that he was worried about the future.
He said that it was difficult to involve young people in sheep training, saying: “The dogs are for the management of the sheep, and if it is lost, it will all be lost, and will disappear.”
Shri Walton said that he and Scott were so close that he saw the dog as a “part-man”.
“He can understand what I am thinking and sometimes he knows more than me.”
Shri Walton said that in the last seven years, hours and hours of work was done to train Scott, but his Koli was now so good in the job that “he can take the lead”.
“He is a very interested dog,” he said. “He will go to the end of the earth for me. He has a great understanding of the sheep, how to handle the sheep.”
He told how the sheep respected his Seema Koli and the sheep could not be “bullies” to the bakers.
“Some dogs may bother the sheep from passing through the gate in the field. And then there are others.”
Along with grazing the sheep, Scott takes care of them. He often finds sheep that falls down from the hole, and which are deeply buried in the snow.
But they are skills. Mr. Walton fear will be lost, because less farmers have time or need to train dogs.
He said that skills were disappearing at the same time because there were fewer sheep at the decline, and very few Koli wanted to tease dogs.
Sri Walton and Scott became the English champion in the National Sheepdog Trial last year.
The tests conducted by the International Sheep Dog Society are one of the four in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Handlers demonstrate their dog’s ability to control sheep in a bid to qualify for international tests, which will be held near Wrexham in September.
Mr. Walton and Scott will learn if they have managed to capture their victory trophy on 17 August.
