Old English sheepdog heading for extinction, so sad..

[Cheeryblossom1]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9480737/amp/Old-English-sheepdog-breed-danger-dying-Britain-canine-experts-warn.html

@Dutchess1995 Awww he is so beautiful- like a big teddybear

Most Dogs were developed for working. We no longer need different varieties in every region to kill every wild animal or guard our castles. Let the redundant breeds go, we have lots of new cross-breeds which are not in-bred and deformed to suit the show ring.

@Darklane. Oh my word. What stunning dogs!

My husband used to be a “runner” for the local bloodhounds. He was given a concoction (reported to be a combination of goat pee and curry powder) to rub on his running shoes. He loved it, especially as he got to run across land he wouldn’t normally have access to. The farmer took him out to reccy the course in a helicopter, but that’s a different story!
He said he found being chased by the hounds and the horses quite exciting and could fully understand how frightening a cavalry charge would have been! The bonus was that he got paid handsomely for doing it. Which was good as he definitely needed new running shoes afterwards!

@Dutchess1995

Here's my Old English Sheepdog I think there are less around now due to their size and the thought of the grooming. Many owners Clip their coats but for me the coat is what makes them special. I don't spend more than 10m every few days giving him a brush simply because he doesn't like it but he does go to the groomers every 10 weeks which is an added cost. But he's worth it as he's very loyal if a tad vocal and a nightmare with other dogs as he just wants to jump all over them to play but I'd have another if I could find one

Oh @dutchess1995 he is absolutely gorgeous!

@MrsBungle

There’s two in my village and they’re absolutely beautiful. I just love them. I couldn’t cope with the hair though. I have a non shedding poodle!

They don't shed - no hair to deal with. We just keep ours clipped & there's no brushing to do

We had an OES - lived to 13.5. Behaved like a bouncy pup right up until a few weeks before we lost him. He just seemed to decide it was time to go. Rubbish guard dog - would lick any intruder to death. We kept him quite short because he just got so wet and muddy in the woods. As @ChampagneCommunist says, they don't really shed much. A truly loving dog. Miss him so much haven't felt able to replace him. (He did like a lot of exercise - I was certainly much healthier when I was walking him 2 hours each day!)

Some breeds, on the other hand, probably should be permitted to lapse, given the damage we have done with our selective breeding of them

Breeds which are damaged are a different matter.

The vulnerable breed list however includes plenty of robust and undamaged breeds - especially the terriers