I have had the great opportunity to work with sheepdogs and Border Collies for the past 30 years and their incredible herding instinct and their love of their work have been a real inspiration to me over these years. As my life has changed directions, emigrating to Canada and later on having the chance to start farming on my own, plus the various moves to different farms and geographic areas, my Border Collies have always been the one real constant in my life. Through ups and downs my working dogs have always been there.

Border Collies and other working sheepdogs, such as the Beardies and the Welsh Collies, have been a part of the shepherd’s life for many generations. The sheepdogs on the South Downs, where I was brought up, were the Old English Sheepdog. With their long matted coats they were best known as a driving dog rather than a gathering dog. To the West of the English countryside, the farmers and shepherds of Wales developed the Welsh Collie, and then to the Northern parts of England and across the Scottish borders, came the beginnings of the stylish Border Collie.

Today, the most common working stockdog throughout the Islands of Britain, across the Atlantic to the vast ranches and farms of North America, and in many other parts of the world, remains the wise and intelligent Border Collie. Not only have they become the most sort after sheepdog, but the Border Collie has also become a strong worker on beef and dairy farms all over the world.