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Old English Sheepdog

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 16

Old English Sheepdog.

AKC standard: a shepherd's or drover's dog, with the agility for those demanding tasks. AKC history: employed primarily as a drover, moving cattle over country roads from pasture to town markets, not strictly a sheepdog. UKC: herding and droving dog about 200 years old; docked tail traced to a tax exemption for working dogs. RKC: seen as a drover's dog for driving cattle; the Old English is the most substantial of sheepdogs and should still be fit to work flocks. FCI utilization: sheepdog, without working trial. Westminster: herding and drover's dog.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

12.1YRMedian lifespan11.9 to 12.5, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
60–101LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 60 to 101 lb; breed bitches 60 to 100 lb.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayRKC: more than 2 hours per day. AKC breed page: some regular physical activity, with a wide variance in activity level, and an 'off switch' indoors; AKC energy level 3 of 5. dogbreedinfo.com: a daily walk, jog or run. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21 to 24 in · bitches 20 to 22 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

The standards print minimums only, so the ceiling comes from non-registry sources. dogbreedinfo.com's 20 in low is under every registry minimum (AKC 21, UKC and FCI 22) and is kept in the span as a labelled editorial figure.

Weight

dogs 60 to 101 lb · bitches 60 to 100 lb

Breed clubAKC breed history

No standard sets a weight. The AKC, Westminster and DogTime figures are breed-wide and count in both sex rows.

Coat

AKC: profuse but not excessive, good hard texture, not straight but shaggy and free from curl; waterproof pile undercoat; natural outline and texture never changed except trimming of feet and rear for cleanliness. Color any shade of gray, grizzle, blue or blue merle with or without white; brown or fawn objectionable. UKC and FCI: grey, grizzle or blue body with white head, neck, forequarters and underbelly; UKC disqualifies albinism. RKC: long coat. AKC history: shepherds sheared the coat yearly and used it for yarn

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

Shedding

RKC: sheds yes. AKC breed page: shedding level 3 of 5. AKC standard: the waterproof undercoat pile is lost to grooming or season. dogbreedinfo.com: sheds in small amounts

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · AKC standard: profuse coat of good hard texture, shaggy and free from curl, with a waterproof undercoat pile; hams densely coated with a thick long jacket. FCI 16 and UKC: profuse, harsh, shaggy outer coat with a waterproof pile undercoat

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1990

Derived from the coat descriptions (2 = heavy double, long coat). The standards require the natural coat; a clipped pet coat would sit warmer.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

12.1 years (11.9 to 12.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Dogs Trust figure is a median across UK dogs, mostly pets. The AKC page prints a 10 to 12 year band and Westminster and DogTime print 12 and 10 to 12; those bands are not used here. The breed is not among Teng 2022's 18 breeds.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day. AKC breed page: some regular physical activity, with a wide variance in activity level, and an 'off switch' indoors; AKC energy level 3 of 5. dogbreedinfo.com: a daily walk, jog or run

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than 2 hours = 150. The AKC page prints no minutes and describes a lower need than the RKC band; the disagreement stands in the text.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day (large house, large garden suggested). AKC breed page: requires some physical activity, wide variance between dogs, has an off switch indoors. dogbreedinfo.com: developed for hard work, needs a daily walk, jog or run

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC breed page trait scores (1 to 5): energy level 3, mental stimulation needs 4, playfulness 4, trainability 4, adaptability 4, barking 3

Breed clubAKC breed history

AKC editorial scores on a 1 to 5 band, not C-BARQ means.

Grooming load

4 of 5 · RKC: grooming every day; long coat; sheds. AKC breed page: thorough grooming down to the skin, over the whole dog, at least weekly, and 'puppy trims' still need regular brushing; owners should be ready to spend the time or pay a groomer for several sessions each month. dogbreedinfo.com: combed and brushed through to the undercoat at least three times a week, machine-clipped about every two months if not shown

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: every day = 4. The AKC page's several professional sessions a month point toward 5; the sources are not reconciled to one number.

Grooming

RKC: every day. AKC breed page: at least weekly down-to-the-skin grooming of the double coat, plus professional sessions several times a month; feet kept clipped. dogbreedinfo.com: brushed through to the undercoat three times a week at least, clipped every two months if not shown

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: a shepherd's or drover's dog, with the agility for those demanding tasks. AKC history: employed primarily as a drover, moving cattle over country roads from pasture to town markets, not strictly a sheepdog. UKC: herding and droving dog about 200 years old; docked tail traced to a tax exemption for working dogs. RKC: seen as a drover's dog for driving cattle; the Old English is the most substantial of sheepdogs and should still be fit to work flocks. FCI utilization: sheepdog, without working trial. Westminster: herding and drover's dog

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

The FCI utilization line says sheepdog; the AKC history, RKC and Westminster call it a drover. Not a gun dog; hunting traits are omitted.

Also used on

Wikipedia (editorial): agility, obedience, rally, showmanship, flyball, tracking and herding events; basic herding instinct can be tested at noncompetitive herding tests and trained for herding trials. AKC history: coat sheared yearly in some pastures for yarn; show dog since 1865 in England; AKC registered the first in 1888

EditorialWikipedia

The AKC page lists no herding program for the breed in the sections read; Wikipedia is the only source for the herding-test and trial activity.

Field trial standard

FCI classification: Group 1, Section 1 Sheepdogs, without working trial. Wikipedia (editorial): herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests, and dogs with basic instincts can be trained for herding trials

Breed clubFCI-Standard N 16, 2026

No stock-work trial standard specific to the breed was read; omitted from any ranking.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

18.9% · 18.9% dysplastic of 12,643 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 80.1% normal; mild 10.4%, moderate 7.5%, severe 1.0%; breed rank 58 on OFA's list. Wikipedia: a veterinary teaching hospital database study found 11.1% hip dysplasia against 3.52% overall

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is probably higher. OFA's all-data table prints no start year.

Elbow dysplasia

4.7% · 4.7% abnormal of 1,205 OFA elbow evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 95.0% normal; grade 1 4.0%, grade 2 0.7%, grade 3 0.1%; breed rank 86 on OFA's list

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is probably higher. OFA's all-data table prints no start year. Only 1,205 dogs, so the figure is less settled than the hip figure.

Most common disorders

AKC breed page: screen for hip dysplasia, eye conditions (PRA and hereditary cataracts), autoimmune thyroiditis, cardiac anomalies and hereditary deafness; DNA tests exist for cerebellar ataxia and primary ciliary dyskinesia, and for drug sensitivity and exercise-induced collapse. Wikipedia (editorial): predisposed to allergic skin disease, demodicosis and gastric dilatation volvulus (odds ratio 4.8 in a 1,934-case review). RKC: Breed Watch category 2; vulnerable native breed

EditorialAKC breed history

Registry and encyclopedia prose, not a counted prevalence table. A VetCompass or Kennel Club survey figure was not found.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 4; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC breed history

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
OES, Bobtail

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your old english sheepdog, on the record.

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