Old English Sheepdog

There are quite a lot or theories when it comes to the origination of these dogs. One of the theories is that these dogs are related to a poodle and a deerhound. Other theories, however say that these dogs are related to dogs such as the Briard and the Bergamasco. These dogs were mainly developed in England, more specifically on the western parts of England. These dogs were developed by a few farmers as an answer to the need for a quick little dog that would be a good sheep herder and a cattle driver as well. Because of this main purposed of theirs, they became highly popular among all farmers and were used largely on agricultural farms.

The farmers for the purpose of getting tax exemption started to soon dock the tails of these dogs, so that they would be recognized as dogs that were used for work related purposes. It is because of this, that the dogs get their nickname, “bobtail”. Each spring, along with the sheep coat, even the coats of these dogs were sheared to make very cosy and warm blankets and clothing. Because these dogs a have the ability to tolerate cold weather very well, they are also used widely as reindeer herders. These dogs are highly talented. However, a few of their talents are as follows, herding, watch dog and retrieving.

These dogs are very compact and strong dogs. They are square in shape. Their top line is slightly lower at their shoulders and higher towards their back end. They have a very deep and a broad chest. They have a very large head which comes to a well defined, clear and a definite stop. They have a nose that is black in color. Their teeth generally meet to form a level bite or maybe even a scissor bite. Their eyes come in a lot of colors. They may be brown in color, blue in color or as in some cases they may have one eye of each color. They have a pair of medium sized ears, which are carried quite flat to their heads.

They have extremely straight pair of front legs and a pair of muscular and round hind legs. Their legs ended to form small sized feet that generally pointed forward or were round in shape and had well arched little toes. These dogs were sometimes born without a tail or sometimes have a amputated tail. They are double coated animals. The outer coat, if naturally allowed to grow would grow very long in length. The outer coat is very shaggy in nature. The outer coat has a good and hard texture. The inner coat on the other hand, even though has all the similar featured of the outer coat, is very soft. Their inner coat is water proof as well. Their coats may come in a variety of colors. Some of them may be gray in color while the other may be grizzle in color. Some dogs are known to be blue gray in color while some are blue merle in color.