In January 1985 a multiple-best-in-show-winning Old English sheepdog, Champion Daralin Talisman's King Boots, was brought before a district judge in Birmingham, Michigan. Boots, eight years old and 100 pounds, stood accused of mauling to death Gertrude Monroe, 87 years old and 95 pounds, in her house the preceding month. Katherine Schwarb, Monroe's daughter and Boots' owner, told Judge Edward Sosnick that her mother had landed on the dog after suffering the massive heart attack or stroke that caused her death. Boots had bitten Monroe only once and only in self-defense at that, said Schwarb, 60.
The prosecution contended that Boots had bitten Monroe eight times about the head and neck after she had accidentally tripped over him. Monroe, the prosecution also claimed, had died from those bites. The county medical examiner agreed, adding that his autopsy had disclosed no evidence of a heart attack or stroke. The prosecution, therefore, wanted Boots destroyed by lethal injection because he was a vicious dog. During the hearing Schwarb's housekeeper, Judith Piet, 22 years old and 257 pounds, testified that Boots had bitten her after she had tripped over him in 1984, causing a head wound that wanted several stitches to close. Schwarb claimed that Piet had sustained the injury when she hit her head after falling over the sleeping dog.
Judge Sosnick decided that Boots' life could be spared as long as he was relieved of his testicles and 16 of his 42 teeth and kept under house arrest by the Schwarbs. Michigan Humane Society Director David Wills called the dentistry "cruel and unusual punishment." Seven months later Boots died suddenly of unknown causes. He had been in good health up to the time of his demise.
Forever Youngish
What cruel irony that King Boots' hearing splattered the Old English sheepdog's reputation with garish paintballs. The sheepdog is justifiably revered, in the words of one observer, as "a playful, affectionate, fun-loving 'clown,' who delights in frolicking with his family and neighborhood children." Indeed, Old English sheepdogs - and, hopefully, their people - enjoy an adolescence that "often extends to approximately age three" and a playful demeanor that survives "well into [their] golden years."
During the breed's early history temperament was often less placid than it is today, a fact that made the Old English sheepdog a good herding dog in places where wolves feasted on flocks of sheep. As the breed evolved from a herder to a drover, its temperament improved.
Drovers Come Lately
The Old English sheepdog's early years are not so early as its name implies. Old English the language was spoken from the 7th through the 12th centuries, but Old English the breed was not known until seven centuries later. According to breed authority and historian John Mandeville, dogs resembling today's Old English sheepdog were first exhibited at shows in Great Britain in the mid-1800s. Even then the ancestry of the dogs was cloudy if not entirely obscure. A painting of a Duke of Buccleuch, on which engravings produced in 1771 were modeled, shows the duke with his arms around the neck of a dog that resembles present-day Old English sheepdogs.
Unfortunately paintings don't have captions, so little is known about the dog or its function at that point in history.
Some observers claim that Old English sheepdogs were first developed in Devon and Somerset counties and the Duchy of Cornwall in the west of England. The breeds from which the sheepdog sprang are not identified, though some people maintain that Scotch bearded collies played a significant role in the sheepdog's development. Others claim that a Russian dog called the Owtchar also contributed to the Old English gene pool.
By the beginning of the 18th century, accounts appeared describing a "drover's dog" that was employed to drive sheep and cattle into city markets. Such dogs were exempt from taxes, and their owners docked the dogs' tails to document their occupation.
Docking the tails of many kinds of livestock dogs was a common practice among herdsmen. The name bobtail, by which the Old English sheepdog is popularly known today, was applied to any of the herding dogs whose owners had had the dogs' tails removed. Another reason for docking tails, allegedly, was that some stock dogs had inherited the inclination to chase game from their remote ancestors and could be seduced easily to chase game instead of attending to their duties. Herdsmen believed that dogs used their tails as rudders and that removing the tail decreased a dog's maneuverability. Whether or not tail docking discouraged dogs from chasing game is a matter of conjecture, but when the word bobtail was first used in reference to dogs, in 1843, it could have been applied to most of the dogs employed as stock workers.
For all the references to "Sheepdogs, Short-tailed English" in 19th century English chronicles and literature, there was no official standard describing what these dogs should look like. Nevertheless, by the 1890s the Old English sheepdog was beginning to emerge as an identifiable breed in England, yet even then it was called the "Short-tailed English Sheepdog" and was lumped in, more or less, with collies at dog shows. Collies, in those days, were known as rough-coated sheepdogs or smooth-coated sheepdogs, depending on their coat type.
Only in America
Bobtails were accepted for registration by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1885. As they had been in England, they were shown as a variety of the far more popular collies. Before long, however, bobtails began to acquire a popularity of their own in this country; and American interest in the breed caused the English to reconsider their blase attitude toward the ragged, no-tailed dog from the pastures. American enthusiasm for bobtails also helped to increase their market value, and prompted the English to become more serious about the breed. As Old English breeders gave more thought to the bobtail's appearance, especially as it appealed to American buyers, the breed began to gain the respect of dog fanciers in its homeland. Stockmen no longer selected dogs simply on the basis of their working ability or the presence of the highly prized "wall" or blue eye. This unusual eye condition, stockmen believed, was an antidote against blindness. People no longer put much stock in this canard, but many bobtails retain wall or glass eyes or eyes of two different hues, one blue, the other brown.
Life Among the Lions
William Wade, a wealthy industrialist from Pennsylvania, promoted the "new sheepdogs from merrie olde England" in the United States. He purchased several sheepdogs in England and brought them to this country, then he hired Freeman Lloyd, who had written the first official standard for the breed in England, to draft a pamphlet extolling the sheepdog's virtues. Wade had the pamphlet printed and distributed in New York City, which was then the mecca for pedigreed dogs.
J. Pierpont Morgan, another lavishly prosperous American, also developed an interest in bobtails and added to their prestige. Wade's and Morgan's attention to sheepdogs represented the first wave of interest among wealthy and influential Americans on the East Coast, where keeping an Old English sheepdog became de rigeur. The high point of the breed's social prominence occurred in 1904, when Old English sheepdogs owned by the Morgan family, the Vanderbilts and other social lions were exhibited at the Westminster Kennel Club show. The first champions in the breed were recorded by the AKC that year, and the Old English Sheepdog Club of America was organized.
The Beast of the East
The Old English sheepdog remained an eastern status symbol through the 1950s. Relatively few dogs were bred or seen west of Philadelphia. The picture began to change rapidly, as so many other pictures did, in the 1960s. Americans of ordinary social status began to discover the amiable temperament, sense of humor and uncanny intelligence and courage of this amusing dog. Said discovery was augmented by the appeal of owning a dog that was most often seen on the estates of America's wealthiest families.
Consequently AKC registrations of Old English sheepdogs began to rise, from a few hundred a year in the 1950s to 15,000 annually in the mid-1970s. The rich man's status symbol had taken up residence in family rooms across the country. The fact that average Americans were not financially able to employ help to care for such big, hairy dogs eventually dimmed the breed's star and trimmed registrations. Last year the AKC enrolled 2,132 new Old English sheepdogs, a number that ranked 60th among the 145 breeds then recognized by the AKC.
Not a Wash-n-Wear Breed
The Old English sheepdog, as breed aficionado and author D.R. Segal has written, "requires more attention than any other animal on Earth with the possible exception of a thoroughbred horse. If an Old English Sheepdog does not get the kind of attention he requires, he turns into something that resembles a split bale of cotton. People ask how many minutes per day are required to keep an Old English Sheepdog in respectable repair. The answer is 'all of them.'"
According to Segal a neglected sheepdog is "a stinking, miserable slob" that wears much of what he eats in his whiskers, has an affinity for stepping in his water bowl, and, if he is not trimmed properly, for bumping into things.
"Every sheepdog I have ever seen would not know what to make of a sheep if he were to meet up with one," said Segal. "Very likely he would lick it and trip over an imaginary hole in the ground. They do, however, like to herd. What they like to herd is people, and they have a sneaky way of herding people into little groups without them realizing it."
There's no practical reason for cultivating the long coat fashionable in the show ring, but even hair of a sensible length demands more brushing and/or trips to the groomer than some people are willing to provide. Brushing is a matter of necessity, not choice. What's more, the Old English sheepdog sheds, and owners who are not diligent with the brush will have mountains of hair with which to contend.
The penalties for neglecting a bobtail's coat are skin problems. Excess hair not removed from the paw pads and the insides of the ears can also cause irritation and infection. Most bobtail owners learn to combine their regular combing chores, which consume at least four hours a week, with watching television or listening to music.
Big-Dog Needs
Although the bobtail is a big dog that needs big-dog exercise, it is not a self-starter in this regard. Given acres in which to run, the average sheepdog is apt to use less of that space than a breed one fourth its size. Thus bobtail owners must play an active part in their dogs' exercise regimens.
A placid attitude is not without benefits, however, and it allows the bobtail to adapt amazingly well to most any environment. He is capable of living a full and enjoyable life in town as well as country. In addition the bobtail can adapt to the rigors of the North's coldest temperatures just as easily as he can to the hot and dry desert climate of the Southwest.
Equable though he may be, the Old English sheepdog is not a lazy beast who cares for nothing in life save food and snoozing. Should someone threaten a bobtail's family, a ferocious guardian emerges from that great mound of hay. The bobtail is completely and totally committed to his loved ones, and though he would much prefer to be a lover than a fighter, no one, but no one, trifles with his people.
Given the care and commitment it requires, the Old English sheepdog can bring great humor and devotion to a household. Once a British peasant, then an American aristocrat, the bobtail now belongs exclusively to those who are prepared to love him best.
Needles in the Haystack
The Old English sheepdog is a muscular, thick-set dog that weighs between 60 and 100 pounds and stands 22 to 26 inches or more at the shoulder. The American Kennel Club standard for the breed dictates that "any shade of gray, grizzle, blue or blue merle with or without white markings or in reverse" is acceptable. "Any shade of brown or fawn," however, is "considered distinctly objectionable and [is] not to be encouraged."
Despite its size, the breed enjoys good health and an average life span of 10 to 15 years. This is not to say it is entirely without problems, one of the most common of which is hip dysplasia, a malformation of the hip joint resulting in a poor fit between the head of the femur bone and the hip socket, in which the femoral head normally lies. This condition can be alleviated by surgery. The best way to avoid buying a puppy at risk for hip dysplasia is to ask if both the puppy's parents are certified free of this disease. If they are not - and if the breeder will not show you the certificates to prove it - keep looking.
Veterinarians have also reported a sufficient number of cases of "wobbler syndrome" in Old English sheepdogs to cause concern. This malady is a cervical vertebral instability (CVI) characterized by malformation of the lower spine. CVI can be managed medically. Restricted activity and cage rest for up to one month, as well as pain-control medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs, are the treatments usually prescribed. If medical management offers no improvement or the dog's condition gets worse, surgery may be necessary.
Deafness and eye problems, including cataracts, are not uncommon among Old English sheepdogs. Thus, buying puppy from a breeder who screens all breeding stock for inherited problems is a must.
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