Watson's Working Sheepdogs
Our Story
Bob has maintained a consistent trialling profile in the west of England for many years and became a first time member of the England Team in 2015 with Max, his red and white dog. He is also in demand, throughout the south-west, as a Trainer of new handlers.
It started when, as a young child, I went trialling because Mum and Dad went trialling. Dad competed in trials all over the south-west and beyond. He also used dogs from other areas to keep up the bloodlines of his home pack. John (W J) Evans was the first breeder he used and also Glyn Jones (Bodfari).
Mum and Dad took me to the International at Twywn in 1968, and in 2016 it was held at the same place. Back then it was the first time I’d ever been to the beach. I expected to find sand but all I found were pebbles large and small!
I was about six or seven when I had my first dog, a bitch called Fleece. She was by Dad’s Hemp, out of a farm dog called Lou. Virtually all white apart from her black ears. I picked her out the day she was born, against advice from Dad who urged me to change my mind but, no!
A white dog is sometimes an advantage. Fleece grew to be a big strong bitch and if something stood to her she had the power to move it. Wild sheep especially were easier to work as they wondered what she was! It worked because she was strong, so I was lucky in my choice.
All those years ago, Fleece saved me having to walk miles. When we were gathering the moor, Dad, Kenny and Jed would gather and clear different parts of the moor and bring the sheep to me to hold whilst they went off again to other areas of the moor. Until I had Fleece I had a lot of running about to do and I was only little! Once I had my pony and the dog life became so much easier.
I remember a big black and white smooth coated dog, called Blue. A good farm dog, with which I won a bit in Trials. In those days, when I was about twelve or thirteen, I always wanted the sheep to be as rough, feisty and as bad as possible because Blue would handle anything. He didn’t really have the finesse for fine-limbed sheep.
Dad always said that if something went wrong on the trial field then I could not run in another trial until I had sorted out the problem. For example if the dog wasn’t shedding properly then I would have to practice at home until I became competent.
Dad used to be very friendly with John Evans (W J Evans) who’d moved to England from Wales and impressed Dad with his style of dog. When giving demonstrations John would work half a dozen dogs while his big white horse circled the ring unfettered. The crowd always loved this. And those six dogs would not blink an eyelid without the say so of their Boss. A master-handler. When he ran a dog the beer tent emptied, need I say more!
John Thomas another Welsh ex-pat and friend of my brother Jed, was of the same ilk. Jim Chapman, a Scotsman, no longer with us, and lived down this way was also a good handler. John and Jim’s dogs would not have been any good for me, not my sort of dog at all. Same as my Dad, I like a dog that gives me time to think, whereas Jed likes a keen dog that doesn’t need to be asked more than once.”
When asked of all the dogs he has owned, which one is or was the best the answer is… the next one! More recently, it has to be a bitch I had called Juno and her grandson Max. Juno was the sort of dog I enjoyed working. Easy to work, strong and always willing. I don’t mind a dog not doing something right but I like them to try. Juno always tried. I got her in 2011. Jed found her for me. She came from Wales, out of Stan Harden’s Bet bitch. That’s why I bought Max, her Juno’s grandson. Max is much the same. That’s all you can ask for. Max gained me a place in the English Team in 2015 which allowed me to run in the 2015 International in Scotland. In 2016 he gained me a place that allowed me to run for England in the World Trial in 2017 in Holland.
I now have two pups sired by Max from two different bitches on the continent through his work at the Dutch Open and World Trial. One is red and white like Max, the other is black and one and hopefully they will turn out to be as good as their Dad and great grandmother.
For me temperament is a large factor when I look at buying a dog, and it’s style of working. If they’ve not got the right temperament then they’ll struggle because of what they have to cope with, not only on the trial field but behind it as well. They need to deal with all the travelling, be able to relax and not let things get to them. Especially at the big trials, crowd pressure gets to some dogs.
If I didn’t have the help and support of Carolyn & Chris Richards of the Ashridge Court Estate, North Tawton ep I would struggle to be as competitive in the trials as I am. From March until the end of September I have the facilities to work my dogs. In the winter months I don’t have much work for my dogs.
I enjoy sharing what works for me and passing on my knowledge to others through my open-to-all training days and one-to-one sessions. When someone first starts trialling they might stay with one trainer for a while but I encourage them to try several. By going to different trainers it gives the opportunity for handlers to take bits of the training and adapt it to suit their circumstances. Developing your own style is a journey and you have to make the best of what you have.
Bob has an inherent kindness about his approach to training people. Their dog might not be of good quality but it is the only one they have and they need to be taught how to get the best out of it. He has an unhurried approach and a soft gentle voice that calms the handler whose nerves are probably jangling. He is a self-deprecating man and with the training from his father’s knee, always very polite.
Returning to trialling, Bob says: “No stress’ is the name of the game. If you can anticipate what a sheep is going to do, you can get your dog in the right position, so that means you have a better run. A good handler is someone who knows his dog and doesn’t let situations develop which could cause him and his dog to have a problem. In trialling, if you don’t get a good packet of sheep there’s nothing you can do and you’re unlikely to have a good run. But if you do get a good packet then you need the dog to be good enough to take advantage of it.
Sometimes I’m asked to give demonstrations at local Country Shows etc.
This is not a hobby for me. It is a way of life. I was once told how lucky I am with my dogs. I replied, “It’s funny, but the more time and effort I put in, the luckier I get.”
