The Old English Sheep Dog is also known under the (nick) names and abbreviations of: Bobtail, Dulux Dog, OES, Olde English Sheepdog, Old English Sheepdog or simply English Sheepdog, but you shouldn’t be confused with the English Shepherd, which is a completely different breed.
Left an OES with full coat and properly groomed (Photo by (cc) Harald Urnes, Norway and right an OES with trimmed summer coat (Photo by (cc) Mona).
- Exercise Needs: Middle to high.
- Typical Health Problems: Eyes, hip dysplasia and heatstroke.
- Average Life Expectancy: 11 years
- Grooming Requirements: High, unless trimmed.
- Training Difficulty: Low to middle.
- Diet: Normal.
- Price and Cost: Puppy prices start at around $500.
Introduction
If you are looking for a large family or companion dog that is great with children and pets and don’t mind a fair bit of grooming, the Old English Sheep Dog might be just what you are looking for. A gentle character combined with intelligence and a good sense of humor makes this dog a first class choice for families. But two caveats come with this breed. One is the, already mentioned, high maintenance when it comes to grooming and the other is its herding instinct that sometimes can prompt it to ‘shepherd’ small children, and pets around. But when the dog is properly socialized and trained, the latter doesn’t pose any major problems and the first – just think about a good hair cut, especially for the warmer season 
History
The oldest hint of this breed can be seen in a 18th century painting by Gainsborough which shows a small to middle sized dog with a long coat and hanging ears. With a bit of creativity it can be interpreted as a painting of an ancestor of the OES as we know it today. As for the breed development, experts agree that it has mostly come out of native English herding and shepherd dogs that were bred for a certain type of work and not for a certain type of look, accounting for the varied appearance of all early English herding dogs. Breeds discussed that might have been included later to form a more uniform look are the Bearded Collie and Russian Ovcharka, both also sheep dogs. One, now extinct breed, that also might well have been the direct forerunner of the OES was the Cotswold Cor, a dog used to herd and drowe cattle. So it is safe to say that the Old English Sheep Dog developed as a breed predominately in the South and West of England and that its ancestors included a variety of native English and European herding and Shepherd breeds.
At the end of the 19th century the first of these dogs, then called simply ‘Shepherd’s Dogs’ were shown and judged in Birmingham, UK. Despite the fact that the judge was not very taken by them, this new breed quickly became popular and sooner after was even exported to the United States, where it not only became popular, but also highly fashionable. The breed was recognized by the AKC in 1888 and by the United Kennel Club in 1948.
Historically the tail was docked or ‘bobbed’ to mark a dog as working dog, hence being exempted from the tax applied to pet and companion dogs. Today this cutting off the tail is done for purely cosmetic reasons and is getting more and more out of fashion. Thankfully, it is forbidden, by law, in many countries and more and more Old English Sheepdogs dogs are now shown with an non-mutilated tail.
Appearance
When first seeing a Old English Sheep Dog in full coat and properly groomed the words ‘white-grey-fluffy cloud’ come to mind. Covered in so much, and such long fur, that it needs some sort of accessorizes to keep it out of its eyes, the OES seems to have far more hair than it actually needs to have. And this dog is not only hairy, it is also big, its height at the withers starts at 22in / 55cm for bitches and 24in / 60cm for dogs, which, btw, can weight over 90lbs / 45kg. Smaller dogs are allowed in the breed standards, within reason, as long as they fulfill all the other requirements.
The overall shape of the body is slightly more rectangular than square and higher at the hind than at the shoulder. Because of this, its way of walking reminds often of that of a bear. The long, thick and hardy topcoat covers the whole dog and can be any shade of grey and white, but also blue or blue merle (rare) can be observed. The top coat is hard to the touch and the water resistant undercoat is soft, thick and gets matted easily when not groomed regularly.
The color distribution is normally in form of big patches and the two colors should be well separated from each other. The legs and hind quarters should be uniform in color, but white stockings are also allowed. The head is proportionally to the body and the ears hang flat. As already mentioned, the tail docking that gave the breed its nickname ‘Bobtail’ is done today purely for cosmetic and fashion reasons. If the tail is left in peace, it is long, low set and should have a nice ‘feathery’ coat. Having an intact tail helps the dogs to keep balance, communicate more effectively with other dogs, and humans!, and there is really no reason why a puppy should need to lose its tail just because a ‘fashion standard’ dictates it. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that short tails can occur naturally, so not every ‘Bobtail’ you see will have suffered an operation!
Temperament
These dogs have a sweet temperament, when raised and socialized properly, and are happy to be ‘everybody’s buddy’. Nervousness and aggressiveness are considered serious faults and such dogs are excluded from breeding by most registries. They are a working dog breed and also if rarely used anymore as such, they do have an inherited herding instinct that provokes them often to ‘herd things together’. These things might be other pets, livestock such as chicken or even smaller children.
On the positive site, it is not unheard of for these dogs to have saved small children from escaping and running on a road, guided by exactly the same instinct. They also apply their intelligence at training their owners and who can resist these cute eyes blinking longingly at you under the fringe of hair? Potential OES owners should have good self-control and resist in giving in, if not they end up being the faithful servant of their manipulating dogs. Having said all this, the Old English Sheep Dog is easy to train as it is eager to please and generally very interested in food. They do need human company and do not fare as well if left too much to their own devices.
Training
As already mentioned above, they are fairly easy to train and can be great, but gentle watch dogs. They do best in a family home with lots of human contacts and space to run and roam, but they can be kept in a town or city provided they get enough exercise, both physically and mentally. This breed has not forgotten that they are working dogs and needs an outlet for their abilities, such as agility or flyball.
If overfed and under-exercised they can quickly become lethargic and obese couch potatoes. Training this breed should also be ‘light handed’, as they can be very sensitive to corrections they don’t understand and they react especially well to all dog training methods that involve positive reinforcement.
Exercise Needs
As with all large breeds, care should be taken with puppies to not to over-exercise them during the bone and joint development stage. But when grown up and mature, this dog needs a fair bit of mental and physical exercise to stay sane and healthy. Also be careful not to exercise it too much in warm weather, especially when the dog has its full coat, as heatstrokes are frequent in this breed.
If not kept in a house with garden or yard, and, preferable with other dogs, the Old English Sheepdog needs a minimum of one hour a day of vigorous exercise, a walk around the block is simply not enough! You may also want to consider taking up some dog sport such as agility or flyball to combine both mental and physical exercise in one workout.
Grooming Requirements
High!!! If you live in a warm climate and don’t plan to show your dog, you should seriously consider trimming its coat. If you don’t want to do this, you have to spend at least 3 to 4 hours a week grooming it thoroughly or pay somebody to do it for you. And additionally to this ‘full grooming session’ you should remove daily any leaves, twigs and other debris that got caught in the fur after each walk. Add to this the considerable amount of mud and dirt the coat can attract on a rainy day and you see why many consider the OES the breed with the highest grooming requirements of all dogs.
If the coat is not properly cared for, or trimmed, it mattes easily and will be a breeding ground for all sorts of problems including skin infections. If you want to keep the long fur, ask a professional dog groomer or the breeder of your puppy to show you how to care for it correctly. And start to get the puppy used to it from day one as a fully grown OES that struggles against grooming is no fun at all.
Start by detangling the undercoat and removing any debris of it and slowly and gently work your way up to the top coat. If the dog is young and/or not used to being groomed by you, it is best to do several short sessions each day instead of one long one once a week. Also take care of the hair on the paws and between the toes as these are favorite spots for mats and knots to develop. And last but not least, use a hairband, or similar, to keep the hair out of your dogs eyes. Otherwise its field of vision might be impaired and the eyes can get irritated by the hair. On the positive site, some people collect the hair they groom out of their dogs, spin it to yarn and make themselves jumpers from it
Common Health Problems
Due to their thick coats these dogs are easily affected by heatstroke and, to a lesser extend, dehydration. Avoid exercising them when temperatures are high and always offer enough fresh, cool water to drink. Other frequent ailments that affect this breed are hip dysplasia, eye problems like cataracts, skin problems and allergies. Some of these can be avoided by buying only from reputable breeders that screen all their stock for health problems, proper care and diet, especially during the puppy stage and regular grooming to avoid skin problems and infections.
Price and Costs
Puppy prices start at $500, but puppies from proven show or working lines can be much more expensive. Being a large dog, feeding costs can be also high, especially if you feed a high quality premium dog food or prepare your own. Add to this the costs of grooming, either in form of the grooming tools you need or to pay for a professional to do it for you and you see that this is not a ‘cheap maintenance’ breed.
Fun to Know
In England and Australia this breed is also known as ‘Dulux Dog’, a brand of paint that the OES has been a mascot of for over 50 years.
Summary
A great dog, fun to have around and generally good with kids and other animals. It needs a light hand and patience in training and does best in the country home or with a large garden or yard to roam around. The Old English Sheep Dog can show herding tendencies, especially towards kids and livestock, something which can be advantageous or not, depending on the circumstances.