Regular readers of the Craven Herald will no doubt remember the headline news about John Bell’s sheepdog, Bob which fetched the record price of 8,800 guineas at Skipton Auction Mart last May.  Victoria Benn catches up with John to find out more about his passion for training sheepdogs, and the secrets to his unparalleled success

John Bell definitely likes a challenge – and at 82 years of age, he shows no signs of stopping. When I speak to him he has just returned inside from tending to his current ‘project’ – a litter of seven Border Collie pups. “I don’t usually breed my dogs, I usually buy them as puppies, and then train them up to sell.

“There was something special about their father though, so I decided to buy him and breed from him. The puppies will be fully trained and ready to sell in about 12 to 18 months time,” explains John.

John has in fact been training sheepdogs “on and off” since he was 16, growing up on his parents’ farm at Armistead Hall, Giggleswick. “I started training them as a hobby really. I remember selling my first one for about £20-25 and thinking “this isn’t bad!” – £25 is very good money when you’re only on £2 a week!” With 65 years of experience behind him, it probably comes as no surprise that John has achieved the top selling price at the Skipton Auction Mart Sheepdog sale an incredible 20 times.

In addition to achieving the highest price ever for Bob, he has also achieved the highest price for a young dog, in the dogs under 12 months sale.

It all becomes even more impressive when you discover that the quarterly sale at Skipton Auction Mart is actually the largest sale of Border Collies in the world, with over 100 dogs listed for auction. The sales regularly draw in crowds of several hundred, travelling from all corners of the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe.

So, what are the secrets to training a high quality sheepdog?

“Obedience in the yard must come first,” explains John, “they must learn to lead, to walk, and to stop when commanded.

“Stop and recall are key, without these you have nothing at all. Only when the dog has these skills do I let it near the sheep.” “How I teach these skills will of course differ dog to dog, as all are different and need a different touch. The other thing I am passionate about it is looking after my dogs and making sure they are clean, with clean pens and plenty of water.

“They also need plenty of exercise which helps them sleep well, which in turn enables their minds to remain sharp and alert.”

As you listen to John you can tell that he loves his dogs, and enjoys the satisfaction of taking a puppy and transforming it into a top quality sheepdog. He is also keen to tell me all about the pleasure and thrill he gets from showing his dogs at auction.

“I love the challenge of working a dog in front of a huge sale crowd. I’ve always loved that type of challenge – it used to be rugby and athletics, then training horses – I was quite serious about that, and have had 42 horses and ponies that I either owned or pre owned qualify for the horse of the year show. Since my retirement I’ve gone back to training sheepdogs – but even at 82, I suppose I’m still incredibly competitive!”

John is also keen to point out, that despite all the fuss in the media £9,000 isn’t really a lot to pay for a top quality sheepdog, “You see a lot of farmers on quad bikes these days, and what do they cost? £6K? How can a quad bike get 1000 sheep off a 1000 acre moor into holding pens? It can’t!

“You can’t take a quad bike up onto steep moorland, but a dog will bring them down, and it will do all your penning and yard work, which a bike can’t do either.”

“A top quality dog will last a farmer 10 years or more. It’s an investment really, not a cost.”

John doesn’t just sell his dogs to farmers though, many are also sold to become trial dogs. Sheepdog trials began over 100 years ago in North Wales. In the early days they were partly a test amongst shepherds to see who had the best working dog, but considering the very isolated life shepherds led, they were also an important social event too. These days sheepdog trialling is more of a hobby or sport amongst farmers and enthusiasts. Look out for the trials at Gargrave, Malham and Kilnsey Shows in the summer months. Listen out too for the idiosyncratic herding commands and whistles.

Speaking of whistles, John gallantly revealed that the reason his own trialling days didn’t last too long was because of his inability to whistle well, “It was a very wet and very windy day. I had the wind blowing in my face and the dog was 500 yards away. “I whistled and nobody, especially not the dog, heard me. I thought you silly begger, time to stop this!”

Lucky for John’s customers that he did – since he doesn’t trial, John is always in a position to sell the very best dog he has.

Thinking again of Bob, the 8800 guinea dog, I am still intrigued to know how bidders feel confident enough in a dog’s ability to bid such a large amount of money on the day of the sale?

John says: “Word got out with Bob, he was working like a top trial dog from a very young age. Everything came natural to him. But with any dog and any sale, prospective buyers are always welcome to come and see the dog working at my farm before the sale, and for those folk who maybe don’t live too close, or perhaps live abroad, I always post a video of the dog working the sheep onto YouTube.” I’m not sure what is most impressive; a lifetime of training champion horses and sheepdogs, or posting videos onto YouTube at the grand age of 82. n The next sale of sheepdogs at CCM Skipton Auction Mart will be on February 28th. Catalogues will be available to download a week prior. See www.ccmauctions.com.