THE OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG

CLUB OF SCOTLAND

The Club's History, (1932 - .....)

By Lew and Margaret McWilliam

Chapter One

The first written record of Old English Sheepdogs in Scotland can be traced back to 1878, although it is thought that the ancestors of these dogs existed in Scotland as workers for hundreds of years prior to that date. These working dogs would have belonged to farmers, shepherds and drovers and as working dogs there would have been no need for written details such as pedigrees or Kennel Club records. Some dog historians believe that the ancestors of these workers may have been descended from the Russian Owtcharka, which reached Scotland by way of the Baltic sailing ships, and was crossed with the Old Highland, Scotch or Bearded Collie. However, it is the authors opinion that the bobtail is a pure strain - a breed of its own.

It was the late 19th century, however, before breed pioneers laid down the first blueprint which was later to become known as the official breed standard. The names of these pioneers are now well recorded for posterity in breed specialist books, and include such men as Dr. George Macgill - an expert breeder and judge of all manner of livestock including Old English Sheepdogs. Dr. Macgill was born and brought up on his father's farm at Ardwell near Stranraer before attending Edinburgh University and qualifying as a doctor. After living and working in England, he retired to his native Wigtownshire where he involved himself with all manner of livestock Another pioneer was Dr. Edwards-Ker who helped establish the breed in those early days. Dr Edwards-Ker recalled "when quite a lad I remember seeing an old grizzle and white sheepdog lying outside a farmhouse here in Suffolk, which three weeks or a month before was purchased in Dumfries; the dog worked a herd of bullocks all the way from his Scottish home to the eastern corner of Suffolk by road. After remaining comfortably for a fortnight, in his new quarters, one day he was missing and no tidings could be gleaned of him in the neighbourhood, and no wonder, for within the week his Suffolk purchaser received a letter informing him the old dog was safe back in Dumfries". Although a Suffolk man the name Ker is common in the borders of Scotland. The clan Kerr or Carr is the only left-handed clan in Scottish history and the phrase 'Carrie Fisted', derived from this clan, is ~ common Scottish description of a left-hander. The principal division of the Kerr family became known as the Kers of Cessford, near Kelso, of whom the Duke of Roxburgh is now chief.

The largest use of the pre-standard bobtail was thought to be in southern Scotland, and in particular the borders, where almost every town grew up around the market place and where cattle raiding and sheep stealing were to be the cause of constant conflict. The river Tweed - Scots for twill - twists and turns through this huge pastoral landscape making itself fully available to all the woollen mills which have become renowned for quality garments down throughout the years. When the whole economy of the borders depended on these mills and on the sheep which supplied the raw material then its only natural that the finest sheepdogs would be used to protect their flocks - the finest being the Bobtail.


In 1881, The Kennel Club stud book listed the breed as "English Short Tailed Collie" which is an obvious contradiction of terms since most dictionaries and encyclopaedias describe the colley or collie as "a dog pertaining to Scotland - usually a sheepdog". The word collie is derived from the Scots word coally meaning dark or black like. Is it possible that the word 'English' may have been used in its broadest sense? We note that in the sportsman's Cabinet of 1803, "The breed is propagated and preserved with the greatest respect to purity in the Northern parts of the Kingdom. as well as in the Highlands of Scotland. where in the extensive tracts and uncultivated wilds their services exceed description". In 1882 The Scottish Kennel Club listed the breed under Sheepdogs (English, Old Fashioned, Short Tailed). It is a pity that the words 'Old Fashioned', were later rearranged to 'Old English' for the definition of 'Old Fashioned' in dictionaries and encyclopaedias is "being made from the root" or 'Original', and thus we have the 'Original British Sheepdog' from which others descend, including our own modern bobtails.


It is thought, however, that 'Old Fashioned Sheepdogs' may have existed in Europe as early as the 15th century. The first pictorial evidence of what is thought to be a 'bobtail-like character' in England is in the famous painting of the Duke of Buccleugh by Gainsborough. 1771. However, it is reported that at least two earlier paintings by Van Eyck and Durer may suggest that dogs of a similar appearance to the original bobtail have existed in other European countries long before this date. George Louis Leclerc - the count de buffon - wrote "That of the 37 varieties or races of dogs, 17 are subject to change by the influence of climate, but the shepherds dog (Sheepdog) he calls the root of the tree". He further suggests that hounds, although very different, are probably descendants of sheepdogs because sheepdogs would be more useful for the protection of livestock which must surely have been the purpose of the first dog. This seems to be a rather unusual suggestion since hounds of various types have been depicted and mentioned in Egyptian writings and even the Bible contains references to them. However, shepherding is one of mans earliest occupations and it is perhaps possible that the sheepdog. along with his master and charges. made his way to Britain via Europe on a similar route to the' Stone of Destiny.