The bond between a man and his dog is one that has been prevalent throughout the ages and in the Lake District there is none more apt than a shepherd and his sheepdog.
Ross Watson, who grew up and lives in the village of Lady Hall, near Millom, has been competing in sheep dog trials with his border collies since he was a teenager.
Mr Watson, 39, appeared on the hit BBC show One Man and his Dog when he was just 18 with his dog Joy, but his passion for sheep dog trials began long before that.
He said: "When I was a young boy I did everything with my grandfather, he was the one who taught me how to train dogs and I still use the whistle that he gave me.
"Back in 1974 my grandfather got a phone call from a man he knew who had a collie he was going to shoot because it was no good and in a bad way. My grandmother told him not to bring it home but he did, he took care of it, trained it up and that same dog became the only sheep dog to win Supreme National Champion sheepdog twice."
Mr Watson now owns some of the best dogs in the UK and takes them to competitions every weekend. Already this spring he has won five of the 10 trials he has entered and last year won two of the most ancient trials in the country, the Longshaw Sheepdog Trials in Derbyshire and the Harden Moss Sheepdog Trials in Yorkshire.
Mr Watson works as an auctioneer at Ulverston Auction Mart and trains his dogs in the evenings and at weekends between competitions. Although he admitted he is constantly on the lookout for 'the perfect dog', buying and selling new dogs every month, he has a core unit of five excellent dogs. These are Nidd, Don, Max, Cap and Bill. Nidd and Don are the top dogs, with Don already having three wins under his paw this year and Nidd the victor of last year's biggest trophies.
So what do you look for in the perfect sheepdog? To onlookers it might be tough to spot the difference between these traditional farming dogs, although it is obvious when you watch them work that their intelligence is far superior to that of many other animals. However, Mr Watson knows exactly what is required, he said: "I look for a dog with a lot of gears, one who could run all day and has a really powerful engine.
"They have to have a good outrun, which means they must approach the sheep properly when they set off. They can't be too kind with the sheep either, they have to let them know who's boss. You need a good focused dog and you have to know sheep yourself."
Although sheep dog trials have grown in popularity and become more mainstream over the past decade, helped by programmes such as One Man and his Dog , Mr Watson still thinks it is very important to have grown up with a good understanding of sheep and how they behave.
He said: "You are still working with animals and both sheep and dogs can be unpredictable. You can practice all day on a problem area you have with your dog and that might just run along smoothly when you arrive at a competition, but then a routine move that you perform faultlessly every day at home might go completely wrong under pressure."
Watching Mr Watson work with his dog Nidd is quite incredible. For people who have never watched a sheep dog trial it is truly amazing just how perceptive the collie is to Mr Watson's commands, the way he responds to his whistle and shouts from hundreds of metres away. The sheep are different at every competition and can be unpredictable, but Mr Watson assured us that a good dog makes good sheep.
WATCH VIDEO of Ross and Nidd:
Mr Watson has been trying to raise the profile of the sport in Cumbria and set up the West Coast Nursery Club for young dogs and owners who need help with training and providing local, friendly contests for shepherds to get some experience before entering bigger contests. This club caters for shepherds and their dogs from all over the county and aims to cultivate the interest Mr Watson has discovered in places like Whitehaven.
He said: "I get some great support from people all over Cumbria. Loads of people know me from the auction mart and it's really lovely to hear that people take an interest in me and my dogs. The nursery club for the young dogs is to try and help out people who are getting started and give them some experience at competing."
Mr Watson has always been passionate about farming and agriculture, having studied Land Management at Sheffield University. The dogs he trains are devoted to him and although some people say that farm dogs can be quite aggressive, Mr Watson's are gentle and playful with people.
He said: "They are really soft with people although I try not to pamper them too much, I just reward them for their work with a good pat. They completely change when they see the sheep though. If there are sheep around, all their attention is on them. I love the dogs and I love winning, that is what keeps me at the competitions."
Mr Watson's ambition is to come in the top 15 shepherds in the country for as many consecutive years as possible so that he can represent the country in the International Sheep Dog Trials and eventually become Supreme International Champion.
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