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Old English Sheepdog

Old English Sheepdog Dog Breed

Aliases: Bobtail, OES, Bob

Life Span: 10 -12 years
Litter Size: 4 - 8 puppies, average 6 puppies
Group: Herding, AKC Herding, Working
Recognized By: CKC, FCI, AKC, UKC, ANKC, NKC, NZKC, APRI, ACR
Color: Black/White, Grey/White, Grey, White markings, Black markings
Hair Length: Long
Size: Large
Shedding: Heavy Shed
Male Height: 22 - 24 inches (56 - 61 cm.)
Male Weight: 65 pounds (29 kg.)
Female Height: 20 - 22 inches (51 cm.)
Female Weight: 60 pounds (27 kg.), although some can grow to over 100 pounds (45 k
 General info courtesy of terrificpets.com. Additional information about this breed can be found on their website.

Thyroid Disease - High Risk

The Old English Sheep Dog ranks #3 among all breeds for autoimmune thyroiditis prevalence. There is a high risk of obtaining a dog that will develop thyroid disease. For this reason you should make sure you, or your breeder, are testing all dogs before breeding.  It may even be a good idea to test dogs that you don't plan on breeding so that any instance of disease can be traced back to breeding pairs and eliminated.

 Rank Among Breeds  Number of Dogs Tested  Percent of Dogs With Disease
#3 924  21.9%

You can download the full report (on all breeds) by the Michigan State University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health. Here

Other Health Problems

While the Old English Sheepdog is a naturally healthy and hardy breed, and fares well with an ample amount of exercise and fresh air, the dog is prone to some special medical conditions including:
  • Hip Dysplasia: Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) can cause mild to severe lameness.
  • Cataracts: problems with the eyes and vision 
  • IMHA: Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.
  • Epilepsy: a neurological seizure disorder. There is no test for this.