This week's breeder of our time is none other than well-known sheepdog breeder and trialler, Derek Scrimgeour

Here he spoke with The SF about his journey into sheepdog trialling:

What’s your background?

I was born in Scotland and lived at Killiecrankie, a hill farm where I was brought up. After leaving school I attended Craibstone to undertake an agricultural course before coming home to work on the farm, primarily working with cattle and sheep. I worked at home for a few years but there wasn’t enough money on the farm for a wage so I undertook jobs as a sheep contractor for other farms and, as a result, bought a young pup which I trained myself.

The contract sheep work was what I was interested in at the time and I had no real concept of making it into sheepdogs. Once I turned 17-years-old, I bought myself another pup, named Laddie. I was very lucky that it was a really talented pup and showed plenty potential, and I gradually became more interested in the dog side as much as the sheep side but had no idea about how to run at sheepdog trials.

At that time, there was absolutely no help at all in terms of training courses for dogs. I did ask for help but it wasn’t of the culture to help others train dogs so I bought a book about training and followed the book’s instructions. I noticed that a trial had been advertised to take place in Aberfeldy and with the book having mentioned trialling in great detail, I liked the idea of having a go. So I went to the trial and my dog got around the course, but I only finished with half the points – little did I know that the sheep had to be in straight lines! Fair to say that was a learning curve, however, my dog showed so much potential that three older handlers approached trying to buy him off me.

With trialling being no more than a hobby and having endured limited success, I took a shepherding job off the west coast of Scotland on the mainland just off Skye before applying for a job at Derry Farm, in Newton Stewart to work for a lady named Flora Stewart. The farm was home to 30 cows and 700 ewes, and I remained there for two years before taking on another job in central Scotland.

I discovered that Laddie was breeding well so I kept and trained a few pups off him, and saved the money with the intention of trying to buy a farm of my own. However, I was more interested in buying good dogs, training them and then selling them to make some extra money.

I now reside at Raise Lodge, just outside Wigton on the edge of the Lake District, having moved here some 45 years ago. During my time here, I’ve developed a passion for breeding and training dogs, mostly because there isn’t a lot of money in farming and I have a rent to pay.

Over the years, I’ve taken trialling more seriously as it’s a good way to advertise my dogs. It’s fair to say I’ve found my forte in helping others train their dogs, having previously been asked to travel to Europe to do just that. It’s something I still continue to do to this day and I run one-to-one courses on the farm, with one of my biggest courses being how to help people train their dogs to behave in the countryside around livestock – something I believe is of huge importance.

What qualities do you like about the collie?

I like to work with a dog that wants to please you. Some dogs like to do it for themselves and training takes a little longer with them but I like dogs that have a little extra talent.

What do you look for in a dog?

Temperament as much as anything. The dog has to look special and want to work for you and give you their talent.

Which was the best dog that you’ve ever bred?

I bred a dog that became the Irish champion, as well as another dog named Laddie, that secured the English national title.

But what was the best dog that you’ve ever seen?

Definitely Alf Kymes Moss. I saw him at a trail and asked if I could mate a bitch off him. I ended up taking Moss over the winter and gave him some hill work, with Alf taking him back in the summer for trialling. Moss had everything and he was like a machine – he had huge stamina and he was clever. He could spot sheep on his outruns and pick them up without a second thought, he was just a special dog.

You’re most abiding memory?

I had a little bitch called Lyn, which made it into the English team and I ran her in qualifying. On the day of her run, the weather was particularly bad and a river had developed across the trial field. Lyn’s outrun became too big and she got caught behind the river, but being a determined little dog, she jumped into the water and almost drowned trying to get to the sheep.

However, she picked herself up, swam out of the river and continued to get the job done. She unfortunately died a month later with cancer but considering she was ill at the time of that particular trial and still managed to give me her all, I hold her as one of the most hardworking and determined dogs I’ve ever worked with.

Biggest disappointment in your career?

A few years ago, one of my most promising young dogs, Jett, was stolen off the farm. I really liked him and he was going to be running at the English National for a good three years. He was a dog that was difficult to replace and I never heard of him again.

Most influential person in your career?

There are so many people that have influenced me over the years, however, I would like to mention Willie Jardine who played an important role at the beginning of my career. He was one of the men that tried to buy my dog at my first trial and when he realised I didn’t want to sell him, he began offloading some good advice as to how to run a dog properly at trials.

Favourite trial that you have attended and why?

It would be running at the International competition with a dog called Ben, in Ireland. This trial was a tricky one as the sheep were difficult to shed and it was noticeable that people were struggling, however, Ben was particularly good at shedding so it was exciting to be running with a dog that I knew could get the job done.

Best breeder ever?

There are so many good breeders and trainers that it’s impossible to pick out one. However, I will comment that when I first started, trialler’s were primarily made up of your bog-standard sheep farmers or farm workers, and their dogs were working dogs which made it harder to get them polished for trials. Nowadays there’s people that only handle dogs for a living, meaning that dogs get a better standard of training and so handlers can win a fair few more competitions.

Best advice you’ve ever received?

Willie Jardine told me that I had my dog well trained but I was too busy trying to show off his speed. The best bit of advice he gave me was to slow my dog down and he would win trials – and he was right.

Biggest achievement?

It would be winning the English National Sheepdog Trails and being team captain for England in 2008.

A piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to get into the breed?

To anyone wanting to get into trialling dogs, realise that it’s only a sheepdog trail – it’s a minority sport so don’t ruin your life over it. Concentrate on your work and family. A trial should be part of your life and not your whole life.

Future of the breed in your opinion?

The collie will always be dominant in comparison to other types of working dogs. The other breeds are specialists in their field but the collie is the all-round perfect dog for shepherding. They’ve got to have a good future as there’s no other way to gather sheep off the mountains without a good dog.