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Ethos
Explore Kismet Sheepdogs in Devon
Kismet Sheepdogs is committed to excellence in breeding and training top-notch sheepdogs. Our mission is to support both working farms and trial enthusiasts with dogs of outstanding temperament and skill. Rooted in tradition, yet dedicated to improvement, our journey progresses towards creating a legacy of success in the world of sheepdogs.
Ethos on training
Our primary objective will consistently be, to provide the dog with skills to always have a value and thus, always find a good home. This facilitates scope to tailor our approach and end result based on the dog in question.
Off sheep
Our first checkpoint to achieve is a “confident dog in it’s own skin and able to face life”. We therefore, lean slightly on the behaviourist approach with pet dogs. We believe that if you want a working dog at peak performance at all times (high winds, a field next to the M6, a coastguard helicopter is flying, the military are practising the next village over or you’re competing at the World Trial) and a dog with patience and an off switch (while you see your neighbour by the side of the road to compare lamb prices, mend a gate or wait your turn at a trial) it all starts with a foundation of socialisation. Our farm dogs learn manners at food markets, pubs and anywhere weird you can think of.
On sheep
Once the dog is comfortable in itself and its master, it can cope with sheep being added into the equation. The process is similar for most dogs but some need creative solutions to accommodate quirks of their personality. The key is to keep everything calm and facilitate confidence for the dog to form a basis for later training. The dog is always allowed to make a choice but it is up to the trainer to make the right choice easy, and the wrong choice as a difficult action to take.
Our story
November 2021
Omega Jess joined the team to teach Sophie the ropes. She retired in April 2022 to a wonderful home where she lives a better retirement than most of us can dream of!
May 2022
Pandy Beti was purchased from an online auction from the fabulous handlers and trainers that are the McNaught family in Wales. A summer of training and bonding followed.
Winter 2022
Pandy Beti and Sophie managed some early success in the Westcountry Maltese Cross Nursery season. This class is used as an entry level course for dogs and handlers to gain experience without the pressure of a driving element on the course.
May 2023
Sophie and Beti attended 150th anniversary of Bala Sheepdog trials, this was the location of the first ever recorded trial. This was a big step up for the duo, after a positive first nursery season, they were suddenly in an open level driving class and in the company of world famous trainers and competitors. They even featured on Welsh TV’s Ffermio.
Summer 2023
A summer of valuable education and mistakes at every run until a wet summers day with hard sheep where the team finally got a place on the board with a 6th rosette. Runs became more consistent with fewer (major) mistakes.
The last trail of 2023
The first FIRST! What a way to end the season before a quieter but very exciting winter….
January 2024
PUPPIES! A healthy litter arrives of 9 pups from Beti and Boi, a Welsh romance from her home town. With this, the Kismet facebook page was born and the “A” litter featured heavily.
March 2024
The initial “single” puppy that was meant to be staying, turned into four, oops…
Summer 2024
Pandy Beti bounced back into fitness and worked better than ever, Sophie and Beti are now more of a team after another lambing for Sophie to gain further “stock sense”. Numerous open placings for the duo followed.
Late summer 2024
Two of the part trained pups that Sophie trained from the Kismet “A” litter found new homes to progress their training.
Autumn 2024
With only the two pups to focus on (Alba and Apache) and the Open season winding down, Sophie considers running them without any pressure in the Nursery Maltese Cross competition.
Late Autumn 2024
Sophie buys back Annie who left at 8 weeks old, the ideas of nursery competitions are on hold until a decision on whether to keep or sell Annie after training.
Early Winter 2024
Annie makes fantastic progress with training and a lovely home turns up, just as Alba and Apache place in their first trials at 10 months old.
Early spring 2025
Kismet Sheepdogs has it’s own website!
Spring 2025
Alba and Apache rack up some wonderful colours by the end of their first “no pressure” season in the Nursery Maltese Cross class
Lambing 2025
Beti matures further and puts in some hard work through lambing becoming the only dog to do delicate tasks such as picking out ewes and lambs that need some extra TLC.
April 2025
New kid on the block, Lloyd Jill, now called Floss, daughter of English National Champion , F. Richards Lola. She arrives a little overwhelmed with her very busy new home. At 8 months old, she has some catching up to do to get to the Nursery Maltese Cross class in Winter 2025. The first stage at Kismet sheepdogs is never sheep, but socialisation and obedience!
May 2025
Kismet Sheepdogs branding arrives! Ready for the new Open season, Beti and Sophie are kitted out to represent the team. Kismet is now on Instagram and Tiktok.
May 2025
Floss makes massive progress with Sophie’s regime of life skills education. She can now deal with new situations and relax, especially when she is surrounded by her confident dog friends.
May 2025
Open season starts and Beti’s fitness needs to be improved. First open competition passes with Sophie and Beti in great company with fabulous competitors from all over the UK and even more importantly, with new training tips and ideas and a plan on what to work on to improve for the next outing!
Early June 2025
The new addition! Pearl arrived at 10 weeks old all the way from Ireland! Such a confident and sweet pup, a testament to her breeder. She is sired by James McGee’s outstanding Airgid Gold and the mother has lines to Paddy Fannings fabulous trial and hill dogs, including World finalist, Bruce.
June 2025
Kismet Alba started to prove her skill and resilience working a single stroppy ewe out of a field that she had escaped into. This is incredible for how young Alba is!
Late June 2025
Pandy Beti and Sophie made the point cut and qualified for the English National Trial! A first and an unbelievable achievement after being together for 3 years and competing for 2.5!
Late June 2025
The fabulous Floss found a new home. She hit it off right away with her new owner.
Early July 2025
After a Clinic with the world famous Kevin Evans, Kismet Apache found a new home with him! Who could do Patch better justice than one of the best trainers in the world? This was a hard goodbye for Sophie, after being with Patch since she took her first breath and all the best wishes go to their their new partnership.
Late July 2025
Two new youngsters arrived at Kismet for training. Wren and Ruby have fabulous breeding and the sweetest characters.
Late July 2025
Beti is now on form and is looking incredible, working a single stubborn ewe through two fields!
Early August 2025
Wren and Ruby are progressing with their training on and off sheep, gaining life experience, learning obedience and even visiting trials ready for their future successes (hopefully!).
Early August 2025
Kismet Alba has really improved for her summer off and her natural ability with cool, brave intelligence, alongside her increasing maturity, is a very exciting prospect for the winter nursery season!
Mid August 2025
Sophie and Beti compete at the English National! What an absolute honour at such an early point in their career. Beti had an unusual blip on her outrun, likely from Sophie’s nerves! But the rest of the run, Beti ran perfectly and Sophie was so proud. They even managed to get a score on the board with these heavy tricky sheep.
Mid August 2025
A side trip to Wales on the way back from the National, could only really mean one thing… Another puppy! Llyn was sired by the same dog as Kismet Alba and Llyn’s FABULOUS mother includes lines of Aled Owens Bud and Kevin Davies incredible Ken dog.
Late August 2025
The Kismet girls went out in force to a weekend trialing, with Alba’s first trail back after only being back in work for 4 days!
Early September 2025
Wren has the last bit of polish training put on her before heading home! Sophie is elated with her progress
