n By Hajera Blagg


In remote southwest Scotland, in and around Galloway Forest, working with dogs isn’t exceptional. It’s been a way of life for generations. In fact, it is here along the Scottish borders from which the working dog par excellence, the border collie, derives its name.


Unite Forestry rep Neil Grieve has worked alongside dogs his entire life. It’s in his blood, after all – Neil proudly shows Landworker a sepia-toned photograph of his grandfather, who, like him, was a forestry worker.


Against a backdrop of the very same forest where Neil now works, his grandad is pictured gallantly astride a motorcycle, his grandmother seated behind.


But in pride of place is his spaniel, nestled between his lap and the bike’s handlebars. The dog stares off into the distance, as if he’s no time for photos. There’s work to be done.


It’s all come full circle for Neil, who works alongside his two German wirehaired pointers – Beatrice and Maddie – with little rescue terrier Bella along for the ride in a supporting role. This tightknit team are hard at work each day and night, culling deer.


It’s not a job for the faint of heart, but it’s a necessary one.


“Deer’s natural predators – wolves, bears, lynx – have all died off,” Neil explains. “So, the deer population has exploded. It’s not good for the forest and it’s not good for the deer either. Because there’s so many, there’s not enough food, and they end up being malnourished and emaciated. Failing to manage the population means the deer themselves suffer.”


It is estimated there are 1m deer in Scotland alone. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) says that managing the deer population is key to delivering their climate emergency action plan, meeting biodiversity targets and conserving ancient woodland.


Beatrice and Maddie primarily help Neil after he has shot a deer.


“God forbid I injure a deer, instead of killing it straightaway. An injured deer will run off into the thicket for cover,” Neil says. “The dogs then track it so I can find it and dispatch it.”


Dogs are so central to forestry rangers’ work that they are a condition


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Deer’s natural predators – wolves, bears, lynx – have all died off, so the deer population has exploded. It’s not good for the forest and it’s not good for the deer either


Neil Grieve, Unite forestry rep


of the job. At nighttime when visibility is lower, they become even more vital.


“To get a night shooting licence, you have to have a dog. It’s a legal requirement.”


Neil’s job has evolved dramatically in the last few years thanks to new technology. Thermal imaging means he no longer needs a colleague to hold a spotlight when he’s working at night. This is where Neil’s dogs also play an important role – offering protection and companionship through hours of lone working.


The Landworker team spent a sunny spring morning with Neil and his dogs in the forest, as Neil demonstrated the dogs at work, tracking. The intensity of their work ethic was on fine display.


But readers with their own dogs at home will be pleased to know that selective hearing is not merely a companion animal trait. Even working dogs have their moments, with Beatrice blissfully ignoring the odd command from Neil.


Dogs being a necessary ‘tool’ for the job, Neil’s employer FLS covers much of their maintenance and care. Neil can claim back up to a certain amount for food, some vet bills, worming and flea tablets, and even the cost of purchasing the dogs themselves.


It’s a blessing at a time when the cost of keeping animals has skyrocketed. Knowing just how expensive it is, Neil is passionate about helping others.


Neil sits on the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB), and each year he presses for a rise in the SAWB dog allowance. Thanks to his efforts, the dog allowance has consistently risen above inflation. In the most recent year, he helped secure a 12 per cent increase.


39 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2026


The SAWB dog allowance, now set at £11.18 per week per dog, can help people like Unite retired member Jim, also a former forestry worker and a good friend of Neil’s. Jim, who we’re now off to visit, keeps and breeds sheep, living on one of the last smallholdings in Scotland still owned by FLS.


When we arrive at Jim’s doorstep, we wait. Jim’s off running errands, his mobile phone left, as it always is, at home. When he finally arrives, he unearths a key from under a moss- eaten rock, unlocks his door and ushers us in.


We’re sat around his kitchen table, and over countless cups of tea and cigarettes, Jim chats away.


He ambles from one topic to another: the success rates of artificial insemination of sheep; awards he’s won at previous shows; the price of manure in the shadow of war; and of course, his dogs.


“You couldn’t do the job without them,” Jim says of his border collies.


Jim describes the various ways the dogs assist him. During lambing season, they’ll find and alert Jim to newly born lambs. Throughout the year, they’ll move the herd from one pen to another based on Jim’s needs.


The skills herding dogs use are so complex that your typical border collie will not begin work until it is around three. Even with strong herding instincts, they need extensive training.


When asked if he feels a close bond with his dogs, Jim pauses.


“Oh aye,” he says.


“But they won’t get nae petting from me – they’ve got to know who’s boss,” he adds, eager, perhaps, to convey a no-nonsense approach to life.


Later outside, when Jim releases his collie Timmy from the bed of his truck, the dog makes a beeline to the boss. Pressed against his side, Timmy makes eye contact with Jim and smiles.


And you can’t help but detect a hint of tenderness, love even, when Jim looks down and smiles back.


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Mark Harvey


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