NSA/Closamectin 2016 sheepdog sale

The sale will be held in a field kindly loaned by John Anderson, adjacent to the mart, and as usual the dogs will have a short time to show their ability on a small packet of dry hoggets before being offered for sale by auction. The sale will commence at 5pm with the sale of working dogs, followed by younger, untrained dogs and pups.

There are few more satisfying tasks for a sheep farmer than using a well-trained dog to handle their flock single handed, and even in these days of technology and quad bikes there is still no substitute for a working dog. As the old saying goes, “There is no good sheep farm without a good shepherd, and there is no good shepherd without a good sheepdog”.

At the recent dog sale in Skipton where a good number from NI handlers were present the world record price of 8,800 gns set in 2013 was broken when a 16 month old dog, Cap entered by Padraig Doherty was finally knocked down to another NI buyer for 14,100 gns. This price shows the interest and demand that a good dog can command.

Buyers can be assured of a good selection of collie dogs ranging from young pups and just started dogs right through to fully trained dogs ready to go to work on the farm, and even including some with trial potential.

Entry forms are available, either from Ballymena Mart, on the mart website, or from Eamon McCormick, telephone: 07740175698.