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Border collie becomes world’s most expensive sheepdog with £27,000 pricetag

A border collie has become the world’s most expensive sheepdog after selling for £27,000, as her owner said the animal’s "red tinged fur" drove up bidding.

The price paid for Kim, who is twelve months old and described as “extremely intelligent”, beat the previous record by over £7,000 when she went up for online auction on Feb 3.

Dewi Jenkins, the Welsh farmer who raised and trained Kim, said he was not surprised by the figure because alongside being a “fast learner”, red-furred dogs are currently “in fashion”.

He said: "Everything I trained her to do, she knew by the second time. She was a very fast learner.”

"She was doing everything - she worked cattle and sheep, she was ready for any trials or farm work for anybody.

"To top it off, she's a red colour and they are in fashion at the moment."

Mr Jenkins, from Talybont, added that Kim had also turned heads in a half hour video the farmer put together, showing off her abilities as she corralled stubborn rams and cattle.

The border collie was sold at an online auction by Farmers Marts of Dolgellau a few days before her first birthday.

The world record sale beat the previous record holder, four-year-old border collie Henna, who sold in October 2020 for £20,000.

And it is significantly higher than the average price for a working dog of around £2,000.

At the same auction the Evans family also set a world record for a Border Collie puppy, after 11-week-old Bet sold for £6,100.

Mr Evans said that the coronavirus is having an impact on prices for dogs, which could be behind the sharp increases.

He added: "Prices for pet dogs have gone up during lockdown and this has had a knock-on for sheepdogs too.

"We now do online auctions rather than travel - so people can see what is being offered. That has raised a lot of interest and pushed up prices."