There can be but it depends on the level the trial dog is going to get to, if its just your standard weekend trials then yes, a lot are no good at shifting sheep, if they are aiming to be the top of the tree and win a Supreme then a "Saturday dog" is found out quickly!
They can be cheap but I have heard it Said by people who own and work them they need a year a leg to train
It all depends on the dog, I have a 2 year old Welsh bitch now who got in pup at 12 months by accident so didn't do any training or work for 3 or 4 months , she's now just turned 2 and can do any flock or cattle work that a collie could just with more power and presence. I may have only spent 1 hour doing official with her and the rest has been working with other dogs or learning on the job.
Welsh dogs can't really be trained as such. Always better to learn on the job IME. When I was a kid everyone around here had Welsh dogs and seeing someone training one was unheard of.
Very true and some of the best dogs will have been on death row/free transfer but often make good dogs when older and more mature.
Welsh dogs will be useful long before 4 yrs old but at 4 they can think for themselves and almost do a job without you. Btw the same could be said for many border collies but a lot of them will be too old by six.
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