Top prices paid at Whanganui dog trials fundraiser

Auctioneer Chris Hay (right) talks to Neville Hughes, who sold four dogs at the Parapara/Makirikiri Sheep Dog Sale. Photo/ Brenda O'Leary

A sheepdog sold for more than $10,000 at a fundraising auction near Whanganui last month could be the top price paid in New Zealand, one observer says.

Kimbolton man David Stuart sold his huntaway named Coal for $12,000 at the sale held at the Parapara/Makirikiri Dog Trial Club on January 23.

The New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association puts out a newsletter that covers dog sales every year, Parapara/Makirikiri Dog Trial Club secretary Brenda O'Leary said.

"To date the huntaway sold at our sale for $12,100 is the highest price I have seen recorded in New Zealand."

Hunterville farmer Shane Hurley bought the dog.

As a comparison, in 2019 a dog sold at the PGG Ashburton Sheep and Cattle Dog Sale for $10,000 was a record in that event's 63-year history.

Other top sellers on January 23 were Hawke's Bay man Rob Gallien's huntaway Dodge - $10,500 - and two-year-old heading dog Haze - $9800.

Taranaki's Brad Bielski sold young huntaway Siege for $9000, and Howard Ingles sold five-year-old heading dog Floss for $8100.

Phoebe Smailes from Ruahine is likely to use the $6000 fetched by her two-year-old heading dog Nippy to pay for her university study.

Phoebe Smailes sold her heading dog Nippy for $6000. Photo / Brenda O'Leary

In the Parapara/Makirikiri Dog Trial Club fundraiser, the dogs were auctioned by independent farming livestock agent Chris Hay, and the event was advertised in publications and on Facebook.

The sale is one of four working-dog sales in New Zealand, O'Leary said, and one where the dog owner gets most of the proceeds.

It is a fundraiser, with dog owners paying the club $100 for each dog put up for sale and pocketing the rest of the sale price. It probably raised more than $3000 for the club, organisers said.

It's the third year the sale has been held on Wellington Anniversary weekend, and its reputation is growing. O'Leary believes it provides a service, both to farmers and to breeders and trainers.

"A lot of the dogs are quite well bred. Some of the people selling them were well-known dog trial people, with a really good reputation and really good dogs," O'Leary said.

There were about 100 people at the day, held at a property Duncan Atkinson manages in Ruatangata Rd, near Whangaehu.

People came from Whitianga, Wellington, Martinborough and Hawke's Bay, and there was even an inquiry from the South Island.

"There's huge demand for broken sheepdogs. There were people there that went away and couldn't get a dog.

"No one left there until the last dog was sold."

There's a lot involved in training a dog, O'Leary said. It takes two years to make them "foolproof".

The day was a social one too, she said, with people catching up on news, and barbecue food provided by Glynis Best and her team in the cookhouse.