Heading dog Bride fetched the top price of $8000 at the Lawrence Gymkhana Club annual working dog sale on Friday.
Vendor and semi-retired farmer Lindsay Geddes, of Mosgiel, was pleased with the sale price for his 2-year-old black and white bitch.
"You’ve got to be happy with that."
Bride had a "nice touch".
"She doesn’t upset the sheep, she just floats into position and quietly does it."
He also sold 5-year-old bitch Sky for $4700.
Prices spent on dogs were back a bit on last year, possibly due to the dry conditions biting in the South, he said.
"Bidding’s been quite slow."
At the sale last year, the number of registered buyers easily outnumbered the dogs on offer, he said.
He sold his 2-year-old heading dog Stripe for the top price of $9000 at the sale last year. It was the first time he had achieved top prices in back-to-back sales.
This year about 30 dogs, a mix of heading, huntaway and pups, were on offer at the sale.
He believed it was because of sheep and beef farms being sold to forestry.
"I’m a sheep scanner and between Beaumont and Waitahuna more than 35,000 ewes have gone this year — it’s terrible for small towns."
Gate donations, a barbecue and entry fees raised funds for the Tuapeka Health Centre.
