Donegal man and dog achieve first-ever perfect score at sheepdog trials

Richard Canny

The International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) has been in existence since 1906 but it recorded a special piece of history on a Roscommon farm at the weekend when the first-ever perfect score in a sheepdog trial was achieved in a competition.

Donegal man Allistair Lyttle and his trusty dog Twm were competing at the 2025 Irish National Sheepdog Trials when they delivered the maximum score of 220.

Incredibly, it’s a feat which has never been achieved before in either the single or double dogs categories in the 119-year history of the ISDS, the governing body for sheepdog trials in Ireland and Britain.

Sheepdog trialling involves great precision by the handler and their dog. In order to score points, they have a mere 15 minutes to impress the judges as they navigate sheep through several gates and then into a pen. To achieve the perfect score of 220 seemed an impossibility until now.

Reacting to the flawless performance adjudicated on by a panel of expert judges, Lyttle said: “It’s quite overwhelming. It’s a score that could be matched but being the first to do it, it’s a record that can’t be repeated.”

Lyttle, who started sheepdog trialling as a young boy, runs a sheep and cattle farm in Pettigo, Co Donegal.

Over the course of three days in Roscommon, 150 of Ireland’s best sheep dogs and their handlers showcased their skills at the national trials on the lands of Barra O’Brien.

The competitors were vying for places on the Irish national team that will compete at the International Sheepdog Trials in Wales in September.