Episode 2 Kate Humble: My Welsh Sheepdog's Tale

'This is Teg, my beautiful soppy sheepdog.'

You are the best dog in the whole world.

'Teg is part of a rare breed.'

She's proper Welsh, isn't she?

'Yes, Teg is a Welsh Sheepdog.

'A breed brought back from the brink of extinction.'

We found 80 of them, but of the 80, 20 were too old to breed.

'I want Teg and I to contribute to this story, so much to the joy

'of my husband Ludo, I've made the decision to breed from her.'

It's going to be a nightmare. It's going to be a nightmare.

'My logic is that her puppies could help the survival of these

'ancient working dogs.'

We need a new bloodline, really, in Wales, in the Welsh dogs.

'But the path to the pitter-patter of puppy paws is not a simple one.

'She doesn't even seem too keen on puppies.'

Ooh, Teg, that's not very maternal!

'Should I help my quirky dog Teg deliver a basketful

'of pure Welsh puppies, or will this all end up as a shaggy dog's tale?'

Teg and I have been on a journey

attempting to verify her credentials.

To gain her Welsh Sheepdog registration, Teg had to prove she's

a working dog, demonstrating the distinct Welsh herding behaviour.

'But even though the Welsh Sheepdog Society recognises that Teg has

-'all the attributes of a true Welsh dog...'

-She's eager.

'..they won't register her

'until I know the full history of her family tree.

'So now I'm aiming to prove Teg's Welsh heritage by uncovering

'her ancestry.'

That's your daughter.

'I'm also going to search for a perfect mate for Teg.'

I know, we girls play hard to get.

'And I learn about the potential complications of matchmaking dogs.'

You stand a chance of problems with deafness and with eye problems.

At our smallholding in Wales, Teg is very comfortable around our animals.

But even though she's proved to everybody we meet

that she's got the makings of a first-class working

Welsh Sheepdog, my husband Ludo still needs convincing.

All I've seen her doing is splitting the sheep,

-but maybe I've got the wrong eye open.

-You need to come and see her.

-It's amazing.

-OK. Are you sure it's the same dog?

-Yes!

At a distance, it could be some other, completely different dog.

You're so rude about her!

The challenge we have is, because we don't have enough sheep at home,

he can't really see the point of her.

The point, for me, was getting that partnership with the dog.

He couldn't care less.

So to try to prove Ludo wrong,

Teg and I have been practising with our trainer Adeline Jones, and today

he's joining us at Adeline's farm to see how we've been getting on.

It will be amazing and very impressive

if I can actually see Teg doing the things that everyone else

tells me that Teg can do, but I'm not holding my breath.

Are you sure you haven't spent weeks training these sheep to do

-exactly what they are told as soon as they see Kate and a dog?!

-I have!

-No matter what dog turns up.

-No matter what dog turns up, no.

'Our plan is to work a small number of sheep and load them

'onto a trailer. Which sounds far simpler than it actually is.'

Teg, get back. Back! Teg, back!

-I'm more used to seeing that.

-Yeah.

-Steady, good girl. Steady.

-She's got fixated on the one.

It should be all right now.

What's going on in Teg's head now? What does she think she's doing?

She's got a default mode that,

at this stage, is bringing them to Kate.

Teg's exhibiting her natural instincts, and so am I.

Is Kate going sideways, is she just showing off for me,

to prove that she can move the sheep around?

'No, Ludo, this is what a dog-handler partnership looks like.'

-Good girl.

-That was quite impressive.

-Now, if Kate wanted to catch one now...

-She can. Pretty good.

Here, here. Here, Teg. Teg, back. Teg, Teg!

That'll do. That'll do. Stand. Stand.

Here, Teg. Good girl.

KATE GIGGLES

-Very good. Impressive.

-Wasn't bad, was it?

-Very good.

-She's quite a clever dog, really. Well done.

-Teggy, here.

Very clever, well done. All right, I believe you now.

KATE LAUGHS

God, it's good fun.

Look at you, you're still bloody sceptical.

That was very impressive! It was. It was!

Well, you know... There's a lot of work to do, surely?

She's finished sheepdog school, she just needs to go

to sheepdog University now. Then she'll be sorted.

'I think that's the best I'm going to get from Ludo.'

Now, I know I'm going to a lot of effort to prove Teg's credentials,

but with the Welsh Sheepdog population being as low as the

number of giant pandas in the wild, I'm very keen to breed from her.

Of course, the future of the breed is not ALL on Teg's shoulders.

The Welsh Sheepdog Society has been storing up a sperm bank

to safeguard the survival of these dogs.

'In Bridgend, I meet vet Karen Davies at her canine reproduction

'clinic to see how this works.'

And this is all quite pioneering, isn't it?

-AI is used fairly routinely in things like cattle...

-And horses.

But dogs, it seems that people haven't really

thought about using it.

No. I don't know why, but vets in this country seem to

pooh-pooh the idea of freezing and using dog semen.

There is no romantic way of collecting semen from a dog.

The poor male is duped into thinking it can mount a female,

but the vet gets there first, with an unattractive funnel and tube.

Look, she's shoving her butt in front of you.

He doesn't know whether to be insulted or happy.

The sample is then analysed under a microscope.

-Got them?

-Yes!

So they don't really look like tadpoles.

No, they don't, they just look like little, tiny, little fleas.

Dots. Yes, yes, they do.

-There is plenty of them.

-Yes.

There should be quite a few hundred million in there. We'll see.

To be a viable sample to fertilise a bitch,

the vets need a high concentration of sperm in the semen,

as up to 50% of the sperm may not survive the thawing process.

And as far as the kind of future of the breed is concerned,

is this really important technology?

Well, I think so, because there are so few dogs,

the gene pool is small, it's difficult to find

a dog that might not be very closely related to the bitch you've got.

And you don't want to breed in any genetic problems,

so sometimes you need to go to a dog that's a slightly different line,

so that you don't end up with a problem that's common to

both ancestors, and the puppies then get a double dose of the genes.

Once the samples are deemed of good quality,

they are then frozen in liquid nitrogen and can be kept

indefinitely, ready to be used in artificial insemination, or AI.

But when it comes to breeding Teg,

I'm hoping to go down the natural route.

Although I have to confess there are couple of sentimental worries

I need to get over.

The thing that concerns me is, of course,

all pregnancies come with a risk.

I would hate to put my dog in any sort of peril.

Um, would she make a good mum?

All those sort of unknowns that already I'm slightly worried about.

And, if I'm honest, she and I have a very special bond, it feels,

already, and I wonder how that would be affected when she has puppies.

Um, I might be a little bit jealous.

So I'm going to go to the vet today to check out whether she is

fit enough, healthy enough to breed, and if she gets the thumbs-up

from them, all we've got to do then is find the perfect husband.

It's like being on Downton Abbey.

'That is, if Teg gets over her phobia of vets.' Come on, Teg!

Come on, let's get you up.

There we go.

'Dr Stephen Howard gives Teg a medical checkup.

-'From mouth and ears, to heartbeat and mammary glands.'

-OK, perfect.

She's in really nice shape.

She's got a nice defined waist to her,

and when we feel over her chest, you can

feel her ribs quite easily, you can't see them.

Condition-wise, that's absolutely perfect,

that's where we want her to be.

You're in great shape! That's what every girl wants to hear.

Standard pregnancy for a bitch lasts round about 63 days,

sometimes it's a few days shorter, sometimes it's a few days longer.

Should I be looking for a dog that isn't too big,

or are there any considerations like that I should thinking about?

I think, certainly size-wise,

-a little discrepancy isn't going to make a big difference.

-Right.

But really, it's probably looking to try

and find a dog that has mated before successfully,

and that is probably - for what we're looking for for her -

-a good working dog and in good condition himself as well.

-OK.

-That's the plan from there.

-Good.

It's great news that the vet has approved Teg's

fitness for breeding. But the challenge I've been set

by the officials at the Welsh Sheepdog Society

is to uncover her bloodline.

Earlier in the series, Teg was assessed by them

-to determine her Welshness.

-Tidy. Keeps in about them.

'Although they agreed she displays the behavioural instincts

'of a Welsh Sheepdog...' Tail up, bit of a bark every now and then.

Yes, that's acceptable, yeah.

..they can't register her until I manage to piece together

three generations of her family ancestry.

We know Teg's father is definitely Welsh. What's his name?

-Cymro. That's "Welshman", isn't it?

-Of course it is.

That's your daughter.

'AND he's registered.'

He has that lovely Welsh joy.

There something kind of, they look so joyful when they are working.

-He's a happy dog.

-He's a good dog, aren't you?

It always looks as if he's smiling. Unless I swear at him!

Cymro's heritage traces back to Topsy,

the first dog to be registered by the Welsh Sheepdog Society,

and to save the breed from extinction.

But I still need to solve the mystery around Teg's

maternal line.

'I meet up with Teg's mother Missy, and her owner Bronwen Tango,

'to see if there's any more information she can give me.'

-Did you go to a farm to pick her up?

-No, I didn't, we just met.

It was prearranged with the farmer I was working for,

and they did all the planning.

I was just going there to collect a puppy on the Horseshoe Pass.

Oh, right, so it really was like a little illicit meeting!

That's right, yes!

So at the moment we don't know anything about Missy's breeding,

-nothing at all?

-No, no.

If you think there's any way, if you suddenly wake up in the middle

of the night and go, "I know, he was called Bert," phone me!

And we'll see what we can do!

'Whilst I leave Bronwen to rack her brains, I try another tack -

'appealing directly to the public for information.'

So if anybody does know Teg's grandmother, what should they do?

-They should contact your programme!

-Perfect.

And after numerous tweets, countless e-mails and 65 phone calls,

our efforts pay off.

We have found the man who bred Teg's ancestors!

At least I can find out once and for all

whether Teg can be registered as a Welsh sheepdog.

It all hangs on him, and her ancestors.

'In North Wales, at the Morris farm, I learned that Teg's

'grandmother was called Nell, and she was a Welsh Sheepdog.'

Well, Nell passed away last year, so she'd be about 12 years old.

She was the first Welsh that we had.

And did she work quite independently as well?

Did she have that sort of Welsh trait of not needing

lots of instruction, of going and saying,

"I know what you need to do, I'll go off and do it"?

I don't know if it was a woman thing,

but she did her own thing pretty often!

That's the beauty of us girls!

And when you thought about breeding her,

what was your sort of criteria, really?

I hadn't actually thought of breeding her, to be honest,

but we had a dog, from my cousin, Rex, he was a Border collie.

'Ah, right...

'Because Teg's grandad, Rex, was a Border,

'that means that Teg ISN'T 100% Welsh,

'and as a result I can't register her with the Welsh Sheepdog Society.

'But what's interesting is that this kind of innocent

'crossbreeding between Welsh dogs and Border collies is, in fact,

'what nearly drove the indigenous Welsh Sheepdogs to extinction.'

That is the trouble with farmers, they don't tend to cross them

accurately enough.

But to be honest, you know, the point is you want a dog that

works well, you crossed two dogs that were really good working dogs.

And anyone would do the same.

I suppose the disappointing thing is that obviously this is

clearly a breed in trouble, and I wanted to be able to

contribute to the future of that breed, and because Teg

can't be registered, it's now a little bit more complicated.

It's really important that we find the right sire for Teg,

and that that pedigree is absolutely spot-on,

and then that the puppies she has all work well.

If THEY work well, they can be registered

and they can then go on to breed. So it's not the end of the world,

she can still contribute to the future of the breed.

To be honest, for me, I just think she's the most wonderful dog,

and I couldn't be happier.

I don't care whether she's got a little bit of collie snuck in there.

All herding dogs are closely related genetically,

but there's still distinctive breeds.

So if I want Teg's future puppies to help

the survival of the Welsh dogs, I need to learn

about the dos and don'ts when it comes to making.

'I call Adeline to get her expert advice.

'Her bitch Merle has a five-week old litter,

'and apart from the sheer cuteness of the puppies,

'the thing that strikes me is that unlike most pedigree breeds,

'where the pups are almost uniformly alike,

'this pure Welsh litter is a mixed bag of colours.'

-What colour was the sire?

-He's a black and tan.

-He's a black and tan.

'Although there are numerous combinations,

'there are essentially three main base colours in Welsh dogs,

'all of which can be accompanied by white patterns.

'Red, where the dog's main colour is ginger, like my Teg...

'black...

'and tricolour, which is black and tan with white pattern.

'Then there's the complicated merle, a gene which can be superimposed

'on top of the base covers, giving a speckled effect on the coating.'

-Can you see that the merle colouring has shaded the redding?

-Yes.

And this one, he's a blue merle, he has inherited the tri and the merle.

'The merle gene can affect the colour of the eyes in dogs,

'occasionally turning dark eyes fully or partially into blue eyes.

'And that's a giveaway as far as Teg's colouring is concerned.'

So would Teg be a red merle?

Teg is a red merle, and the only place you can see it is in her eyes.

If you breed two merles together,

you stand a chance of problems with deafness and with eye problems.

OK, so that's why it's really important that

I don't go for a merle dog with Teg?

You shouldn't go for a merle dog with Teg.

It's as much as 25% can have big issues.

'So I'm going to have to be extra careful

'when choosing Teg's mate.

'Luckily, all 2,000 dogs of the Welsh Sheepdog Society

'are on a database, and before long some familiar faces soon pop up.'

So this is Cefncoch Wil, who you saw at the assessment day.

Yes, in that slightly sort of Jane Austen way,

the pushy mother trying to find a nice husband for her daughter...

I did look at him and thought, "Hmm, he looks like a fine one."

And then there's Ben, Alun Jones's dog we met at Teg's

'first hill gather, which Teg seemed to have taken a shine to.'

Have you made a friend? I know, he's quite handsome, isn't he?

We might have to come back.

But in the valleys of South Wales,

there is one tough farmer Adeline suggests I meet.

He has a passion for Welsh Sheepdogs and a unique

talent for catching feral sheep.

Simon Mogford has 15 dogs on his farm.

One of them is a potential contender to mate with Teg.

Six-year-old Tango is a smaller short-haired dog,

especially good with sheep that have gone wild.

He's in his element, now he has a woman fussing him.

'Simon has invited me to see Tango in action.'

You said I shouldn't bring Teg today

because what you're doing would be too dangerous for her

and for an inexperienced dog, so what ARE you doing?

There's a few feral sheep left in the one area,

so we will track them down. It's a dangerous area

because there is a cliff edge right the way around it.

'Simon is one of two farmers commissioned by

'Natural Resources Wales to catch feral sheep in forestry areas.

'Nobody is sure how many wild sheep are out there,

'but in the last eight years, Simon and his colleague have caught

'nearly 2,500 of these rogue sheep across Wales's remotest countryside.

'So our mission is to try and track these elusive wild sheep

'over an area larger than 26,000 football pitches.

'The ancestors of these animals escaped from farms and set up

'their own feral population over the past three decades.'

See the tracks at the side, you can

just pick up where the grass has bent over.

-Yes.

-That is sheep grazing.

'If left alone, these animals can spread diseases

'and have a devastating impact on the forest.'

They should be in this plantation of trees. Should be.

So this has been replanted,

but the sheep have taken all the saplings out.

Yes.

Wow.

In this wild area it can take a long time for Simon to find

the feral sheep, so today he takes us to a flock

he tracked down a few days earlier that needs moving to a paddock.

Tango takes the lead.

Here. Back.

I don't think I've ever seen sheep...

-..in a habitat like this.

-Stand here. Quiet. Tango, quiet.

What's really interesting is that upright way that the Welsh dog

works is completely essential in an environment like this one.

If Simon was working a collie, I don't know how it could do this.

Because it would so fixated on the sheep

and not on the environment around it, I don't think it would manage.

-He's managed to catch one.

-Come here.

So Tango was standing almost mesmerising the sheep to keep

-it still.

-He's standing where they can't get away from him.

A collie, there now, could be stooped down,

whereas they see a way out.

-When Tango is up, just his presence is enough.

-Just lovely to watch.

It's just this great partnership.

Seems like Tango completely understands what Simon needs to do.

Simon knows that Tango will do his job.

And between them they are catching sheep that maybe haven't been

handled ever, ever in their lives.

It's masterful.

Tango, you were amazing.

I wait for Simon and Tango to secure the flock.

There's another potential husband.

Not Simon, obviously, he's married.

For Teg. Tango, I mean.

Once captured, these animals will either be reclaimed by farmers

or sold in a market.

If a sheep belongs to a farm, it's usually marked in some way.

So now the big burning question is,

you've got your sheep all trussed up, now what do you do with them?

-The fun part now, pick them up and carry them back!

-Seriously?!

Right, bags I take a little one. You can have the big boy.

Down the middle, right underneath, tight into you.

KATE LAUGHS

I just turn him over. I've got him. He's on my shoulders.

I've an arm free.

Back to the tractor before you're too tired.

He's like Superman. Right, which one of you is going to weigh the least?

Probably you.

SHE LAUGHS

And this is a tiddler!

There are eight of these to be loaded, and I haven't even

delivered my first one, while Simon is storming ahead.

This man's like a man mountain.

'My second attempt is even more pathetic.'

I don't know where to start!

Maybe I can just roll you!

What's the protocol for just rolling them back?

-Can you help me get this one on my shoulder and then I'll try?

-Yes.

Bloody hell. OK.

-Are you all right?

-No!

By the time you've done it you would have just done them on your own.

-Shall I just give up?

-I wouldn't be far off.

Bloody useless.

If I've learned one thing today, it's that I'm not going to be

competing with Simon to be Wales's finest feral sheep catcher.

But it's also another remarkable insight into just what

incredible dogs these are.

Choosing the right mate is hard work.

But now I have a shortlist of three, I want to give Teg

the opportunity to give them a once-over.

So we travel to mid Wales for the biggest event in the Welsh

sheepdog calendar, to gauge her reaction to my chosen candidates.

The Welsh Sheepdog Competition day showcases the best working

Welsh Sheepdogs from north, south and mid Wales.

So as the farmers and their dogs show off their herding prowess,

I focus on the ulterior motive behind this annual competition,

which is basically speed-dating for Welsh dogs.

You come and meet different people in different areas.

You know, if you see a good dog,

you can consider taking your own bitch to the dog.

It's important, really, to see dogs working

before you take a bitch to it.

Before you commit, yes.

Right, let the dating begin.

TANGO MUSIC PLAYS

'It's a day of mingling...

'..watching...

'..sniffing...

'and snarling.

'A chance for Teg to hang out with the three contenders

'I picked for her. First up...'

Look, it's Wil.

I have to confess I've had my eye on Wil.

'I think there's a little chemistry going on there.'

You've got a nice bitch. Yes, she's very nice.

'Ooh, the flattery trick is always a winner!'

Would you consider allowing him to mate with her,

would that be something you would allow to happen?

Yes, that would be all right.

'The second date is with Ben, who I have a soft spot for.'

I love the way he works. He's got a really nice temperament, hasn't he?

-Yes, cool, calm.

-Yeah.

'But maybe Teg thinks he's TOO cool and calm,

'as I can't see ANY sparks between them at all.

'But Simon's dog Tango is the one who seems the most keen.

'He tries his luck once...'

KATE LAUGHS

We girls play hard to get.

Don't we? It's our prerogative.

'..twice...

'..and the third time he seems to be asking Teg for a dance.'

What a smoothie. I'm really torn.

I've basically got one from each team.

I've got a north Wales, and mid Wales or a south Wales,

so I don't know which one's going to be the winner.

Probably be down to you, Teg, to see which one you like best.

What do you think? You don't care, do you?

So, back home,

I call on my VERY supportive husband to help make a parental ruling.

I know you haven't met them, but is that any criteria that you

think we should put into the mix of making the decision?

Infertility?

-No, not infertility. It's my shortlist of three.

-Photo dating.

So this is Ben. He's just one of these dogs, you put on a mountain,

he just is like part of the landscape.

Does that guarantee that the offspring will

work like that as well, just from the off?

Um, no, it doesn't guarantee it,

but it probably gives you a good chance. And this is Wil.

My nervousness about him is that he is a big dog.

And with Teg being big,

we might end up with giants for puppies. And then this...

is little Tango. And Tango belongs to Simon Mogford.

He's just got this sixth sense when it comes to sheep.

I just have a sense that Tango might be the one.

And Teg quite liked Tango. Look, who do you think?

Yes, that's it. Do you want Tango? Is he handsome? What do you think?

Tango? Is it Tango?

Well, jolly well hurry up and come into season.

Not that interested.

'Next time...

'We join forces with scientists to investigate

'the DNA of Welsh dogs.'

What actually separates one breed from another, in terms of genetics.

Ludo is forced to embrace the joys of canine fatherhood.

Great, it's all over the bloody wall as well.

And Teg goes on an official date.

Don't beat him up.

And try and make sure you ovulate. Good.