How often do you get to meet anyone from Iraq? Well in my case the answer is, not very often! when I ask the same question but put in ‘shepherd’ aswell, then the odds drop significantly. So i thought i better ask Omar Alkubaisy a few questions. Omar told me he got into sheep first and then ran into handlers […] Continue Reading
A week or so I spotted something on Facebook. It was Scott Glen doing a sheepdog training clinic using the Zoom app. I was smiling to myself thinking about how we are changing as the result of Covid when an idea sparked in my mind. Since Scott is so handy on Zoom, why don’t I […] Continue Reading
The 5 steps to training a sheepdog I recently met up with a friend of mine to do some schooling. Eamonn Connell is like me in that he only returned to sheepdog training in the last few years. I told Eamonn about how a new handler had asked me recently ‘what are the stages of training a sheepdog? Can you […] Continue Reading
Austrian sheepdog handler talks about the differences she has met with training dogs and competing in trials in Ireland. In 2019 Mirjam Lettner was successful in winning a place on the Irish Sheepdog Team to go forward to the International competition.
the great J.M. Wilson sent Jim a letter asking if he’d like to come up and show Fleet working sheep.
Talking to James McGee about goals and focus in these extraordinary times, or in any time! Like alot of people, I know that James is a top handler. I know that he has won an International Supreme and a World Trial. What i didn’t know is that he won the second National that he ever ran […] Continue Reading
This is a very frank interview! Someone said to me that they have heard all the Churchmount interviews on soundcloud and that this one is by far the best. This one is where the world renowned Nigel Watkins is talking sheepdogs. Nigel is true to form with no holds barred! Nigel tells me about how Foot and […] Continue Reading
In a sheep farming operation it is important to manage the sheep in the way the causes the least amount of stress for them and the least amount of work for the farmer. Shedding the sheep that we want, out of a group, means that we can leave the sheep we don’t need to relax and continue grazing with their lambs
I am fortunate in that I often find myself in conversation with Con McGarry. Last year we traveled together to the European Nursery Championship in Holland. We were due to travel again to it this year but of course, Covid19 changed all our plans. That said, I did get to travel with Con and two other directors, to ISDS meeting […] Continue Reading
Talking with Aled Owen I know that I don’t need to remind you of the gravity of the situation we are facing at present with this virus. However, I think that as sheepdog enthusiasts, we are very lucky in that at least we can escape from the news into our own dog world for a while. 2001 […] Continue Reading