In spite of the breed's name, "Old English Sheepdog", this particular dog has been breeding true only since the late 1800's.  The ancestry of this breed has been lost to time, although many breed experts suspect that either the Scotch Bearded Collie and/or the Russian Owtchar were involved in the development of the Old English Sheepdog.
    The Old English Sheepdog was created to both herd and protect sheep, with its origin being in southwestern England.  The countryside of this area is very rugged.  To work over the rugged terrain, through the wide variety of weather conditions, guarding day and night from predators large enough to take on sheep, mandated a durable, large, hardy dog.  The Old English Sheepdog possesses a moderately long, dense weather-proof coat, which serves not only as a means to endure the climatic fluctuations, but also to provide padding to help guard the dog from injuries inflicted by predators.  The rigors of herding and guarding required a dog that had the intelligence to pace itself.  The dog had to have the ability to know when to pursue a predator versus when to return to guarding the flock  It had to be powerful enough to kill attackers, yet durable enough not to be totally spent in such defense.
     During this time period a variety of herding dog breeds were in the process of being refined into the breeds we know today.  Many of the herdsmen were breeding their dogs to neighbor's dogs.  Each individual was in pursuit of characteristics that they felt would make a better herding dog. While others were striving to create dogs that were more substantially built, possessing an inherent power due to their size.  The aim was to couple the size and power in a dog, that had a high degree of intelligence, with the ability to exercise self control.
     The OES is one of the few dog breeds in which the tail is completely removed.  Historically speaking, the practice of tail removal has two roots.  First of all, tail docking was a common practice among herdsmen of England.  Herding dogs were considered working dogs and working dogs were tax exempt.  Tail docking made it easier to identify tax exempt dogs from taxable dogs.  During this time period all herding dogs were referred to as "Bobtails", or "Bobs", a nickname that has been continued to be used by fanciers of the OES.
     The second reason that OES were traditionally tail docked was that many herdsmen felt that without a tail the dogs would be less agile, due to the idea that the tail was needed for balance and to serve as a rudder.  The developers of the OES did not want a fast, agile dog that could possibly run down lambs, they preferred a dog that would direct the flock at a slower, more steady pace.
     The OES was registered by the A.K.C. in 1885.  The Old English Sheepdog was initially shown as a variety of Collie.  In 1904 the OES Club of America was formed and these dogs have been recognized as an individual breed ever since.

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