World's most expensive sheepdog sells for £10,000 (after he only cost his owner £315)

• Bob the border collie has smashed records for sheepdog prices
• Renowned trainer John Bell bought him for just £315
• An unknown bidder paid the staggering amount

By SAM WEBB

PUBLISHED: 12:24, 23 May 2013 | UPDATED: 15:42, 23 May 2013

Costly canine: John Bell and 15-month-old border collie Bob. Bob is the most expensive sheepdog ever sold

A sheepdog trainer has bounded into the record books once again after his latest talent sold for nearly £10,000 - making him the most expensive in the world.

Border collie Bob was sold for £9,240 at auction last week, making him more valuable than some family hatchback cars.

The staggering price was the highest ever paid for a working sheepdog at an official sale - smashing the previous record of £8,400.

The 15-month-old was sold by retired farmer John Bell, 82, of Howden, East Yorkshire, who has now had three world record sales in the last three years.

The world-renowned trainer paid just £315 for the black-and-white dog last year, when he was just a 13-week-old pup.

Mr Bell said: 'He has been working since he was nine months old. He is a natural and I was expecting a lot of him.

'He has brilliant character but it wasn't his character he was bought for, it's his ability. His ability made him stand out.

'He is a very good dog, everybody who saw him thought the same. I had him 12 months and I do train them over a longer period and I do have myown method.

'One of the biggest skills is spotting the potential in a young dog. Young dogs are like children, some learn quicker than others, but the aim is to produce an outstanding one.

 

He started training sheepdogs as a teenager, selling them to local farmers for around £15-20, depending on how good they were.

Bob went under the hammer at auction for £9,240 to a mystery buyer

'I realised I had a bit of knack for it, but gave up when I started farming on my own in Lancashire.

'When I retired 15 years ago I started training sheepdogs again as a hobby, and it has turned into a passion,' said Mr Bell.

THE KING OF SHEEPDOGS

The border collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep.

They make excellent sheepdogs as they are typically extremely energetic, acrobatic, athletic and are often cited as the most intelligent of all dogs.

To create an effective sheepdog, trainers must modify their predatory behavior. Humans have been able to minimise the dog's natural inclination to treat cattle and sheep as prey, while preserving the dog's keen hunting skills.

In 2011 trainer John Bell sold a 13-month-old tri-coloured bitch called Dewi Fan for £6,300 and in 2010 he sold 14-month-old Ron for £5,145, both record prices at the tim

The champion trainer had been made a large offer for the dog before the sale but he decided to go along to auction.

Seemingly nonplussed by the large amount his recent sale has brought in, Mr Bell said: 'All this fuss for an expensive dog but what do people spend on their hobbies, like golf?'

He added: 'I do enjoy the rearing the pups and bringing them through.

'I used to work with horses and my wife and I used go round the country looking at owned and pre-owned horses for something special, and now I do the same things with dogs.

'You are looking for a special style and when you find the right article you know. Style is essential.

'I can spot that in a dog but they don't always strike gold, nobody does strike gold in business all the time.'

The buyer at Skipton Auction Mart last Friday was an anonymous telephone bidder. It is believed that Bob is destined for a new home in the UnitedStates.