Leault Working Sheepdogs

Neil Ross farms at Leault beneath the Cairngorms, and each day he brings out his dogs. Up to eight collies work together, each answering to its own whistle, moving sheep and ducks through gates and obstacles while Neil explains exactly what he has just asked of them and why the dog did it. Watching a team this size operate simultaneously to separate commands is genuinely astonishing — a skill built over generations of Highland shepherding and increasingly rare to see done properly. Afterwards there are collie pups to meet, orphan lambs to bottle-feed, and a chance to try shearing a sheep yourself. Booking ahead is essential; the farm comes first.

One of the last places in Britain where you can watch eight working collies handled to individual whistles by the shepherd himself, on his own Cairngorms farm.

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