1927 OESCA Standard
Ch.Victor Cavendish
DOB 1897
| The early Bobtails in the late 1800s worked in the southwestern
counties of England and Wales. Most of these dogs were between 17 and 23
inches and 45 to 60 pounds. Through the careful breeding of early
fanciers such as Freeman Lloyd and the Tilley brothers from the 1880s
on, the breed became firmly established. Their influence continued all
through the 1950s. The Tilley’s Shepton Kennels existed for over
100 years, carried on by Henry’s daughter Florence Tilley. Freeman
Lloyd was instrumental in bringing some of the best breeding stock into
the US. He founded the Old English Sheepdog Club of America in 1904 and
it was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1905.
In the 1920s, new fanciers came into the breed, who were unfamiliar with the Bobtail as a worker. Although the breed was never used in the US as a farmworker, the founding club members all had complete knowledge of the Bobtail as a worker and his working environment. Due to this circumstance, it was decided at 1926 Meeting that they would take a closer look at the 1905 Standard. This was not approached lightly. There was concern that the breed was getting too big and loosing it’s type. In Cassell’s Book of the New Dog (1924) , in the Old English Sheepdog chapter, this was discussed: “Height is a crucial question which has led to much controversy. Some years ago the attempt to gain additional bone and substance led to the breeding of many large sized animals, who gained these desirable adjuncts at the expense of general symmetry. Breeders, in securing size, frequently lost compactness, and the prize lists for a season included animals too long in the back, too slack in the loin, and too high off the ground.” A special meeting was held at Westminister 1927,and a Committee was formed to review the Standard. It was Chaired by Mrs. Wilbur Kirby Hitchcock. The committee members were P.Hamilton Goodsell, Morris Kinney and Walter Graham, all breeders and judges. Freeman Lloyd, who had authored the 1905 Standard was asked for his views as well as breeder here in the US and England. Freeman Lloyd wrote in a letter on March 23, 1927 about the breed’s background in the late 1800s in England. He wrote “ I have observed that Bobtails have been getting very big, not to say oversized during the last 15 years, or perhaps more. I declare that many Bobtails are oversized, and there is no reason for a big Bobtail.” The committee thought that the Bobtail should be taller than 22 inches for dogs and 20 inches for bitches, and no taller than 25 inches. They first suggested that a dog more than 25 inches was objectionable. That was then changed to that any dog over 26 inches was a disqualification. The final sentence added in the 1927 Standard was “A height of twenty-six inches or over for dogs or bitches to be considered objectionable and not to be encouraged.” The Committee’s recommendations passed unanimously at the 1927 Meeting. This decision had an immediate impact on one kennel’s top winning dog. Mrs. Laura Dohring bred two litterbrothers, Ch.Cliffwold Sweet William and Ch. Cliffwold Minstrel Boy. In December 1926, Mrs. Hitchcock wrote “I believe that Minstrel Boy on account of his smaller size, is more the the desired type Sheepdog, than his better known brother Sweet William.” At the time of this decision, Sweet William was a multiple BIS winner. He was 26 inches at the shoulder and his litter brother Minstrel Boy was 24 inches. Breeders of the day considered both brothers to be very good dogs, but considered Minstrel Boy to be the better of the two, considering Sweet William to be of incorrect type becauseof his size. If not for Sweet Williams’s good qualities, the Standard committee would have recommended a height limitof 25 inches or to disqualify any dog over 26 inches. Even though Sweet William would not have been disqualifyable by the addition of a height limit, Mrs Dohring decided to stop showing Sweet William, bringing him out only at Specialties. She then showed Minstrel Boy, who also went on to become a BIS winner as well. She also never used Sweet William. |
| OESCA Standard 1927
SKULL: Capacious and rather squarely formed, giving plenty of room for brain power. The parts over the eyes should be well arched and the whole well covered with hair. JAW: Fairly long, strong, square and truncated. The stop should be well defined to avoid a deerhound face. ( The attention of judges is particularly called to the above properties, as a long narrow head is a deformity.) EYES: Vary according to the color of the dog, dark brown preferred, but in a glaucous or blue dogs, a pearl, wall or china eye is considered typical.(A light eye is most objectionable.)* NOSE: Always black, large and capacious. TEETH:Strong and large, evenly placed and level in opposition. EARS: Small, and carried flat to side of head, coated moderately. LEGS: The forelegs should be dead straight, with plenty of bone, removing the body a medium height from the ground, without approaching legginess, and well coated all around. FEET: Small, round; toes well arched, and pads thick and hard. TAIL: Should not be any. When not natural born bobtails, however, puppies should be docked at the first joint from the body and the operation performed when they are three to four days old. NECK AND SHOULDERS: The neck should be fairly long, arched gracefully and well coated with hair. The shoulders sloping and narrow at the points, the dog standing lower at the shoulder than at the loin. BODY: Rather short and very compact, ribs well sprung and brisket deep and capacious.Slabsidedness highly undesirable. The loin should be very stout and gently arched, while the hindquarters should be round and muscular and with well let down hocks, and the hams densely coated with a long thick jacket in excess of any other part. COAT: Profuse, but not so excessive as to give the impression of the dog being over-fat,** and of good hard texture, not straight but shaggy, and free from curl.Quality and texture of coat to be considered above mere profuseness. Softness or flatness of coat to be considered a fault. The undercoat should be a waterproof pile, when not removed by grooming or season. COLOR:Any shade of gray, grizzle, blue or blue-merled with or without white markings, or in reverse. (Any shade of brown or sable to be considered distinctly objectionable, and not to be encouraged.) HEIGHT: Twenty-two inches and upwards for dogs and slightly less for bitches, Type character and symmetry are of the greatest importance, and are on no account to be sacrificed for size alone.A height of twenty-six inches or over for dogs or bitches tp be considered objectionable and not to be encouraged. GENERAL APPEARANCE:A strong compact-looking dog, of great symmetry, practically the same in measurement from shoulder to stern as in height, absolutely free from legginess or weaselness, profusely coated all over, very elastic in his gallop, but in walking or trotting he has a characteristic ambling or pacing movement, and his bark should be loud with a peculiar pot casse ring in it.Taking him all around, he isa profusely but not excessively coated ,thickset, muscular, able-bodied dog with a most intelligent expression, free from all Poodle or Deerhound character. Soundness should be considered of greatest importance. * Judges’ attention-this refers to the yellow or amber colored eye ** Judges’ attention-it must be remebered that our breed is a working dog. Too often a dog with a coat trailing on ground has been put over the dog of superior soundness with less but neverthless the desired working coat. |
| Scale of Points 1927
Skull................................................................................5 Eyes................................................................................5 Ears................................................................................5 Teeth.............................................................................. 5 Nose...............................................................................5 Jaw.................................................................................5 Foreface.........................................................................5 Neck and shoulders....................................................... 5 Body and loins...............................................................10 Hindquarters..................................................................10 Legs...............................................................................10 Coat(Texture, Quality and Condition).............................15 General Appearance and Movement.............................15 |
Ch.Boldwood Blossom DOB 1922