Mary Allen
Bobtail – Old English Sheepdog
The Bobtail (also: Old English Sheepdog) has been a popular herding dog breed in England since the 18th century. The original breeding stock is unknown, but it is possible that some Hungarian or Russian sheepdogs were crossed with the original English herding breeds. Ovcharka and Pon would be obvious.
Whatever the case, this absolutely reliable dog was recognized as a separate breed as early as 1888 and the first breed association was founded for it.
Bobtail – breed portrait
Bobtail means something like “stubby tail”. It is believed that the tails of these dogs used to be shortened because there was a tax on long-tailed dogs. Today, however, tail docking is banned in many countries.
The breed first worked as drovers, guarding the sheep as they moved from place to place and helping the shepherds with the night watch. With these properties, the Bobtail had an excellent reputation in the past. Today, the Bobtail is considered a loyal and friendly house and a family dog.
Large and sometimes boisterous, this breed needs lots of space, exercise, and exercise. The Bobtail tends to loiter and dawdle more than rush and expend energy, which is why it suits someone who enjoys leisurely strolls.
Grooming is extremely important because the double coat (undercoat and top coat) can quickly become matted without daily brushing. Unfortunately, at the end of the 20th century, the Bobtail degenerated into a “fashion dog”, which was unfortunately also reflected in the quality of the fur. Today this trend has largely been reversed.
In character, the adult Bobtail is a friendly, calm, and very affectionate dog. He is nice to children and often he “shelters” his family like a mother – but you should curb this trait a little, otherwise he tends to be very “guardian”.
Bobtails take a long time to “grow up”. So some representatives of this breed keep their puppy behavior, or the youthful carelessness, up to the 3rd year of life.
Old English Sheepdog: Appearance
A stocky, muscular dog, the Bobtail resembles a bear with its swaying gait and shaggy coat. The body is rather short and compact with a curved rear part of the dog’s back. Its rather square head with the distinctive stop ends in a black nose leather with large nostrils.
The eyes are wide apart and colored dark brown, blue, or one brown and one blue. The small ears hang flat. Beneath its shaggy, stringy top coat is an impenetrable undercoat.
The color of its fur includes the most diverse shades of gray and blue, which can also be mottled. Sometimes the lower part of the paws is white. The head, neck, front of the body, and abdomen are occasionally marked with white. The tail is usually docked on the first vertebra. However, many bobtails are born with a bobtail.
Old English Sheepdog: Care
The Bobtail coat requires a lot of grooming. Thorough brushing at least once a week, especially in those places where felt easily forms, or where dirt + burrs get stuck.
During the change of coat, more frequent brushing makes sense, since “Bobbi” likes to lose a lot of hair (from which you could make a second dog right away 😉 ).
The eyes should be kept free of fur so that the four-legged friend can see through. In winter, it can prove useful to trim the fur on the soles of the feet and between the toes so that no lumps of ice form, which hinder and hurt when walking.
A complete shearing of the fur should be avoided as a matter of urgency. Since the bobtail has both an undercoat and a top coat, you run the risk of clipping the undercoat growing back much faster and thus partially or completely displacing the top hair.
Instead, you should rely on trimming for the “Bobbis”. This can be done at a dog groomer, or you can let professionals show you and then do it yourself at home.
Old English Sheepdog: Temperament and essence
For several generations, this breed was considered violent and untrustworthy. This no longer applies. While Bobtails make excellent guard dogs, they are lovable, strong-willed, intelligent, and cheerful by nature.
They make excellent playmates for children who are particularly fond of this breed. Thanks to their sympathetic nature, their good nature, and gentleness, bobtails are finding more and more followers worldwide.
Old English Sheepdog: Upbringing
These dogs must be gently but consistently raised and educated. The owner should have some dog experience. But above all: patience! Because bobtails tend to take things a little more calmly and question some commands at first.
Calmness is also an important part of training these dogs because the Bobtail often “resents” action that is too hard. Since grooming is a very important aspect of keeping a dog, getting used to it and having a positive connection to brushes and the like should take place at an early age as a puppy.
Old English Sheepdog: Accommodation
The bobtail is only suitable to a limited extent for the city apartment because it needs a lot of exercise in all weathers. The correspondingly weatherproof, dense, and shaggy coat often becomes a problem. It should be brushed and combed daily, but it can also be trimmed to a reasonable length, making grooming much easier.
Old English Sheepdog: Compatibility
Bobtails are generally compatible (with early socialization) with dogs, children, and, if they get used to them early, also with cats and other animals. Only their sometimes impetuous appearance can lead to minor misunderstandings when encountering dogs.
Old English Sheepdog: Movement
These dogs need some physical training. If you have enough time, long walks in the great outdoors will certainly not overwhelm you. Bobtails love ball games, so they don’t look bad when it comes to various dog sports.
Old English Sheepdog: Story
The Old English Sheepdog is one of the oldest dog breeds from Great Britain. Experts believe that the ancestors of the Old English Sheepdogs are a mix of the European sheepdogs Owtcharka and Bergamasco with the sheepdogs of Great Britain.
The Old English Sheepdog is now considered an original British breed. It is also often called a bobtail. Its area of application was mainly on pastures, for herding sheep and cattle, or for driving the animals to the markets. The long, dense and water-repellent fur enables the bobtail to do its work in wind, rain, or even snow and cold.
The Old English Sheepdog has always been a loyal companion to its owners. There was no tax to pay for a working dog like the Old English Sheepdog in Britain at the time. At that time the dog was docked, which means that the tail was cut off at birth.
A possible reason for the docking at that time could have been the tax waiver. At the beginning of the 18th century, the tails of farm dogs were docked to identify them as working dogs and thus exempt them from tax. This is probably where his name “Bobtail” comes from. The German translation for this is “stub tail”.
The bobtail stands out mainly because of its sheer size and lush coat of hair. In 1877, two dogs were registered in the English Kennel Club for the first time. Henry Arthur Tilley is considered one of the pioneers in bobtail breeding and various specialist books draw attention to him and his kennel “Shepton”. With his kennel, he shaped bobtail breeding for several decades.
In 1888 the first Old English Sheepdog Club was founded in Great Britain and a little later the first breed standard was established. Since that time the name “Old English Sheepdog” or “Bobtail” has been used.