Brilliant news! HugMyDog celebrates the announcement that the Old English Sheepdog has been removed from the Kennel Club’s list of vulnerable breeds.
The Old English Sheepdog, or OES as known by their fans, are a distinctive part of the UK’s canine heritage. The large, athletic dogs with unmistakable shaggy coats are known and loved universally.
The Old English is the most substantial of sheepdogs and emerged in England from early types of herding dogs. Even today, underneath their spectacular blue and white coat, there should still be an active working dog.
The dogs were first highlighted as a breed officially at risk of extinction a couple of years ago when the Kennel Club recorded that only 98 puppies were registered in the first quarter of 2019. Happily, this has been reversed and since then there has been a surge in numbers, so much so that registrations are exceeding the national average.
Perhaps best-known as the ‘Dulux’ dog, the Old English Sheepdog first appeared as brand ambassador for the paint company over 60 years ago and has been an iconic mascot for Dulux ever since.
The original Dulux dog was Shepton Daphnis Horsa (Dash). The original Dulux ad starring Dash was voted the 51in Channel 4’s top 100 Greatest TV ads ever. When Dash retired more than 450 OES’s auditioned for the role. The current Dulux dog is Madison, owned by Ellen Wheeler from Lincolnshire. HugMyDog, the cookable range of wholefood ready meals for dogs, is a great fan of the breed. A spokeswoman said: “this is wonderful news. The UK is the country with the greatest number of registered breeds. It would be tragic if we lost even one to apathy or changing fashions. Each and every breed is precious to us. Bravo the mighty Old English Sheepdog”.
