A "solid and talented all-rounder" working sheepdog from mid Wales has sold for more than £9,000 at auction.
Oaktree Dot, also known as Ellie, was sold by John Griffiths, of Garthbrengy, near Brecon, at the famous Skipton Auction Mart's autumn sale with a price of £9,450, which was more than double the second top call.
The three-year-old black and white border collie will move across the border into Warwickshire to work on Duncan Hawley's sheep farm.
Mr Hawley said: “I needed a dog that does what it says on the tin. I first saw Ellie in an online video and she really stood out because of the work she had already done.
"She ticked all the right boxes for me, but I needed to see her in the flesh, see her working on the trials field, to look her in the eye and like her!”
John Griffiths, right, with his 9,000gns top price working sheep dog at Skipton, joined by buyer Duncan Hawley. Picture by Moule Media, Skipton
Ellie was bred in mid Wales by Glyn Davies, who operates under the Oaktree prefix.
“I can only thank the breeder. I get a lot of dogs from him – in fact. I like to call him my bloodstock agent!” said Mr Griffiths, who has been selling working sheep dogs for four decades and maintains a large team at home with several flocks and up to 9,000 Welsh Mountain, Welsh Mules and Texel-x ewes to shepherd.
Having plenty of youngsters at home needing both time and work, Ellie was reluctantly offered for sale by Mr Griffiths after breeding a litter of seven in September, 2020, all said to be showing great promise. But she had been purposely worked and trained for 18 months and specially prepared for the past six months in readiness for a ‘live’ sale at the north Yorkshire venue.
Ellie is by Tanhill Alex, bred in Cumbria by Alec Baines, a dog that finished third in the 2017 International Supreme Trial in the hands of fellow Welsh handler Nigel Watkins, out of Thornbury Meg, whose own sire was Kevin Evans’ ‘old’ Spot, a multiple winner for the Welsh trialling legend.
Skipton’s latest live sale attracted a large crowd and was again supplemented by a real-time online viewing and bidding facility for those unable to attend in person.
A total of 33 dogs went under the hammer, with total clearance achieved for fully broken entries.
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