One man and his dog

In 1976 (and 6 years before I would be born) the BBC series One Man and his Dog aired for the very first time.

The programme was based on an extremely simple concept. Shepherds and their sheepdogs competed both against each other with the aim of herding sheep and demonstrating the amazing capabilities of these canines and farming professionals.

In its heyday the program attracted over eight million viewers. And this was many decades before streaming or on demand tv.

Viewers were enthralled and captivated by the skills of the sheepdogs and their handlers.

Fast forward roughly a decade to the mid 1980s. My father and I are out on a weekend drive through the country lanes near London.

On this fateful day we passed the entrance to a field where a sign declared that there were sheepdog trials.

Alongside us in the VW campervan we had our trustee family dog Guinness.

My father needed absolutely no convincing to park the van on the side of the road and take his excited son to see the contest.

I watched in wide-eyed amazement and awe as the dogs went to work.

That was the day that I declared that I would one day own a border collie. It took three more decades for the circumstances and my lifestyle to be ready for that event.

My dog Minttu comes from a farm in the South of Norway where both her parents are active working dogs. What particularly attracted me to her litter was that her father was imported from England and her mother is Norwegian, so she fitted in perfectly to our multicultural family.

When she joins on my walks I fully expect her to work. By work I mean that she must always listen to my commands and in that way she is able to bring the playful dogs back to me. On occasion if a dog stays too far from the rest of the group I will send her off to go and bring them back, mainly through engaging in play and then returning with the wanderer.

All these years later the TV series One Man and his Dog has inspired and influenced this man and his dog.

Doggies: Lucy, Bamse, Leopold and Lexi