Dream job for Jasmine

WORKING sheep with a collie is an age-old farming tradition and one that is still just as popular despite the growing popularity of quad bikes and other all-terrain vehicles. For many farmers, their sheepdogs are both a friend and an essential tool and may be their only employee on the farm.
Sourcing a good-working, and already-trained sheepdog isn’t the easiest find for farmers across the country, and for those who opt to train both the dog and themself, it can sometimes be a lengthy operation.
There’s one lady who many sheep enthusiasts in the north of the country have turned to, and that’s Jasmine Grant who hails from Dunbeath, in Caithness, where she runs her Braehillor Sheepdog Handler Training business, at her Braehillor croft.
A workaholic at heart, with more than 40 years of practical experience in training behind her, Jasmine grew up around sheep and collie dogs as both her late father and grandfather worked as shepherds. 
She took on a 10-year role as a shepherdess herself, before achieving a degree in teaching and working for the North Highland College UHI in the land-based section. 
When her father passed away in 2000, she took on the running of the family’s 850 hill ewes and 60 cattle and then incorporated a farm in Fife, finishing more than 2000 sheep.
In previous years, Jasmine has had a lot of success in sheepdog trailing competitions throughout Scotland and was a part of the winning team in One Man and His Dog in 2005 and won the Grampian TV trials in 1996.
“I’ve always been so passionate about farming, particularly when it comes to working with sheepdogs,” began Jasmine, who now runs a reduced flock of 150 North Country Cheviot ewes and a small herd of cattle on the croft, with 13-year-old daughter, Kirsty.
“It all started when my friend and North Country Cheviot breeder, Tina Coghill, from Inkstack, Thurso, approached me in August, last year, as she was looking for more training for her and her dog. 
“Tina’s friend then came along and before I knew it I was running my first training course, which was made up of six individuals who came every Sunday for three hours in a block of six weeks.” She worked with each handler for around 20 to 25 minutes in a small training field before moving them onto a bigger field as they became more experienced. Nowadays, Jasmine takes on a couple of groups per week and the odd private lesson. She has also run four training courses in conjunction with the Scottish Crofting Federation and hopes to continue with this successful partnership in the future.
“The business was officially established in October 2017, and since then, the interest has been phenomenal. It’s expanded through word of mouth and people phoning up looking for group lessons or private lessons, so I haven’t had to do a lot of advertising. Caithness is the home of world champion sheepdog trialist Michael Shearer, and we have a lot of other good handlers up here too,” added Jasmine, who has had customers travel from as a far as the Isle of Lewis and Aberdeenshire.
Initially, Jasmine used Cheviot ewes and gimmers for training but has since bought-in Blackfaces.
“Cheviots are ideal for training, however I want to give a broad experience to my customers. Some dogs don’t like the clicking of Blackfaces’ horns when they work and I really wanted them to come here and get them over that fear and to experience heavy and light sheep and let handlers see how the dogs react to different sheep types. You need real characters and genuine sheep to work dogs on,” she said, adding that all of her training sheep must be kept fit. In fact, Jasmine fed her blackies ad-lib throughout the winter, due to the fact they were running so much, in order to keep them in good heart.
“It’s important to look after the sheep as well as the dogs.”
It’s a well-managed system that Jasmine runs and her training area is well kitted out with particular attention being paid to biosecurity. She also recommends that all dogs are vaccinated in line with veterinary advice before attending her courses. The courses start with an initial assessment of the stage of development of each dog and handler and the training is then tailored to the specific needs of each handler, with a variety of different sheep types used to suit every dog. When the handlers arrive, the first factor Jasmine takes into consideration is how well the dog behaves on a lead.
“It’s really important that the dog listens to you when it’s on a lead. You need to get the dog to know that it’s in work mode and that playtime is over. I don’t allow growling or snapping here, and I put yellow ribbons on reactive dogs so that others know to give them space.
“A lot of good handlers who do training clinics focus on training the dog only, but I look at the whole package – the dog and the handler. It’s important to find out how long the owner has had the dog so that you can get an idea of the dynamics between the handler and the dog. My training field is always well fenced, and I have a round pen for any dogs that are over keen and inclined to grip.”
Jasmine’s own dogs - four-year-old Molly and three-year-old Mist - are both a huge attribute to the business, as they’re used to help support the trainee dogs. They hold the sheep for the trainee dogs and some days they can be running non-stop for eight hours per day.
“I use Molly or Mist to bring the sheep down the field to a distance which is appropriate to the stage of the trainee dog – it is a mistake to let an inexperienced dog run out too far for their sheep as things will inevitably go wrong. A lot of people go out to the field at home and just let their dog go immediately but it’s important to let the dog see the sheep and to settle down before starting to work. It is important that the handler’s sheep don’t run away on them and Molly or Mist are used to keeping control of the situation and giving the handler confidence, allowing them time to think about working their dog.”
Jasmine did point out, though, that when using young dogs, which are only five or six-months-old, she tends to only have them out in the field for 10 minutes or so, and then repeat it later. 
“It’s important you look after their joints, and don’t work them too hard, plus their attention span at that age doesn’t last long. There is an optimum time for training and each dog is different, so it is important to learn when to stop or you will undo the progress you have made. 
“Twenty minutes at a time is usually enough for a young dog to train, although it is very much longer when they are doing real, everyday, work and learning on the job. I always stop the training on a good note each day – you want both the dog and the handler to leave the field feeling good so that when they return they’re feeling confident and that both look forward to the next training session”
The power of Facebook has been an invaluable tool for both Jasmine and the handlers, as, after each course, Jasmine can contact handlers individually, or as a group, and go through problems which arose on the day, or anything a handler is unsure of. It’s also been a great way of sharing videos and photos which have helped handlers learn from their mistakes.
Jasmine’s business just goes to show that you can make a go of anything and even with continual inventions of advanced technology, equipment and vehicles, according to Jasmine, there is nothing to beat a hard-working collie dog when it comes to working with sheep.
“You may be able to gather sheep in with a quad bike a little faster but walking sheep in with dogs allows you to see your stock better and can save you a lot of problems in your flock in the long run. If I went to work without a dog, I’d feel as if I had no hands. Dogs are loyal animals and only ever want to please their owners. They never let you down and are an invaluable part of the team. All they ask for is a dry bed, a good meal and a kind word,” concluded Jasmine.