Oaks and Co

02/10/2025

Brucey Bruce!

The sweetest, headstrong lovebug! 🤣 Bruce LOVES to skittle the sheep and then look at you with the happiest, sweetest, look on his face! 🙈🤪
Once we have his head in the game he does amazing and loves when you praise him so lots of "good lad" is helping keep him focussed on the task at hand.
We have started his run ins and building his distance as he now knows his sides, spot on. Once we pull it all together he should be able to hold his head better. A touch of youthful over enthusiasm at the moment but a bit of experience and age will look good on the big fella. He'll be fantastic when he learns a bit of patience and we are on it.

01/10/2025

Budgie.

Two weeks into her training. She was a blank canvas when she arrived, no down, no recall and had only had a "self employment" moment with her family's sheep, before. 🙈 It happens!

Two weeks in and she has both her sides in, her down is coming on lovely as is her recall away from the sheep. Today we started running her in to the sheep and we will begin to widen her outrun. Not too shabby for 7 months old. She is a lot of fun to train as well which is an added bonus!

09/09/2025

That's not a dog in my shed!!

Naughty Pablo took himself for a dander! 🤣

03/09/2025

A link for the episode staring our working sheep flock.

EP 7 - We meet an emotional support dog providing therapy in prison, and catch up with a conservation detection pup in training.For more of the biggest news ...

02/09/2025

Who saw Pablo and his chums making their debut on Dogs With Jobs this evening?

Pabs will be getting a big head! He says he will give autographs in exchange for digestive biscuits! 😜
Super day spent with

, it's lovely to see the end product.

It's up on ITV's you tube channel or ITV x on demand

23/08/2025

I hope I'm still running my collies when I'm 94! 💪💪

03/05/2025

Set backs whilst training can be frustrating but accepting that you need to take a step back and reaffirm the training for your dog is so important.
Scout had made it out into the main field working the sheep. The increase of space and the higher pace of the sheep as a result, excited her, she would drop out of work mode, into play mode and switch her ears off. Scout is a confident dog with the sheep and I really want her and Fraser to be ready for hill lifts, so we had to take a step back and firm up Scouts foundations. That meant heading back to the round pen for a session or three. By the end of the first session, her head was back in the game and she was working well. We will do another couple of sessions in the round pen before heading back to the field for assessment. I love watching Scout and Fraser work together, they have an incredible bond and I can't wait to see them in the hills together.

20/04/2025

Happy Easter folks, hope you are all having an awesome day.

15/04/2025

When we talk about the importance of boundary training for your dogs when getting out of the car, this is why! 🙈🤣

Well-done Lindsay, Scout and Pippa! 💪💪💪

(Ps. We mention the head fart that led to this trial!!) 🤣

💪

22/02/2025

Our beautiful Georgia fell asleep tonight for the final time, nearly two months to the day since we lost her daughter, DC and a week short of her 21st birthday.
Georgia came into our lives when Neil and I got married. She has been with us through everything, every house move (there were a lot!) , the births of Fin, Val and Mads, she has seen it all.
As Karen from just pointed out, she could tell some secrets! 🤣
She travelled on the Holyhead to Dublin ferry twice and the Liverpool to Belfast on the final cross water house move.
She has always been a soft southern cat as she lived for heat! Spent her summers curled up on an indoor windowsill soaking up the sun and her winters wrapped round the wood burner.

Georgia, I'm not sure how we adjust to doing life without you. Thank you for everything in the last 21 amazing years, for never taking any s**t off the dogs and for learning to love the kids...once they got past the grabby stage. You were one of a kind and you will be sorely missed, old girl.

Rest easy up there. Say hi to your kin for us. We miss them too.

🐾🐱

14/02/2025

** March 2025 Livestock Desensitisation and high Distraction recall group training. *

Our livestock Desensitisation and high Distraction recall class will have your dog recalling like a champ around all distractions.

Would you like to be able to recall your dog in high distraction environments?

Would you like to safely have your dog off leash up the Mournes without fear that one of the woolly wonders might appear from behind the wall and create chaos?

Or in Tollymore without fear that your dog will take off after the deer down by the river?

Then this is the course for you.

Our Livestock Desensitisation and High Distraction Recall group training takes place in the Dromara hills with our own flock of training sheep.

Although we use sheep for this training, the training gives your dog full recall that can be used everywhere and from any stimuli. Dogs in the local park, wildlife, kids playing football etc. The training we offer transfers across.

Starting Saturday 1st March 130 - 230pm

This is a 4 week course.

There are limited spaces available as we run small group sizes to ensure everyone gets individual attention.

If you would like to book a place or for further information please pm the page.

This course costs £100 inclusive of all 4 weeks.

17/01/2025

It was amazing to be asked by Caroline Finlay to get involved with a piece to film on training her conservation detection dogs to keep focussed on their job, when presented with livestock. Jazz, Ivy and Hugo the Springer Spaniels came to do their thing while Pablo and crew did their best to throw them off their game. Great fun and a pleasure to watch them work. We always enjoy nerding out over working dogs.

I'll not spoil the surprise just yet (mostly because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to🤣) but get ready to see Pablo make his TV debut, soon. He's making a name for himself! Rumour has it, Nick Park has been in touch with him about starring in a live action remake of Shaun The Sheep. 🤣