Welcome to Sheepdog Stories

About the Old English Sheepdog

A four-legged fur monster that drags in kilos of sand, rubbish and earth?
Or a dog willing to work where the fur actually fulfills an important function?
​
​
The origins of the Old English Sheepdog
​
The ancestors of today’s Old English Sheepdog belong to the group of sheepdogs that were already spread around Europe and Asia in ancient times.
 
Herding dog refers to a dog that primarily guards and protects its four- and two-legged pack members. The ancient herding dogs were very vigilant and aggressive towards both predators and strangers. This can also be read about OES in older literature. The shepherds wanted dogs that were as angry and repulsive as possible towards strangers. Nowadays, however, the OES is, in general, a good-natured and easy-to-manage dog without being in the least bit mischievous.
​
Sometimes you can hear outstanding theories about the herding dog breeds’ kinship and about which breeds gave rise to various others. Myths about occasional dogs that have come aboard foreign ships and sailed astern are common. That these isolated examples would have given rise to new races in a new country is not credible. It is probably truer that similar needs create similar development.
 
During the Middle Ages, extensive agriculture was still practiced throughout Europe. Livestock raising was far more important to livelihoods than grain cultivation. As the population was still quite small, a system was required that allowed a low use of personnel resources. Then the availability of strong, persistent, independent (intelligent) and independent working dogs became important. Just such a dog is OES!

Even today, you can see the heritage from ancient times in our dogs’ faces. The ability to think and make up one’s own mind is a common trait of Bobtails. This is a very independent, imaginative, initiative-taking, talkative and positive dog.
 
However, it can show a surprising bull-headedness when it is something it does not want. This without showing a tendency to be in a bad mood for the sake of it. Anyone who wants a dog that obeys blindly should probably refrain from getting an OES.
​
In addition, OES can be considered as belonging to the so-called land breeds that nature has developed without too extensive human intervention. It is probably not, primarily, a sheep dog in today’s terms, but a driving transport herder. These were used from the Middle Ages into our century by farmers to transport cattle, horses and sheep to the great markets held around England. It could involve transport marches of up to a week. This required a very good condition of the dog. The breed has therefore developed a special type of gait that is very energy-saving, namely the pacing gait. This gait is about to disappear as some people find the dog ugly to look at when it suits. Which is a strange approach, as the functional must be seen as beautiful in a working dog!
​
During the time our breed was used as a working dog, it was mainly in the south of England that it had its stronghold. In Scotland, parallel to these large-bodied steeds, there was a lighter, more suitable type of steed for highland terrain. These go under the collective name Collies.