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OES's love ALL children. They are herding dogs and so want to round them up. They just need to be trained not to nip at their heels. My 2 kids learned to walk by holding on to my sheepdog for balance. They are very gentle dogs.
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luckyted
Jun 12, 2009
I too agree with eHow pets. Our OES is fantastic with our two sons. My husband also had two OES and they were both great with my two step sons. In fact we decided on this breed because of how gentle and amazing they are with kids. I have never known a more gentle and kind dog!! -
oestessa
Oct 05, 2008
My OES is rescued and is 10 years old. We just got "Tessa" a couple of days ago. I think the previous owner was going to put her down, after takinh her to the vet yesterday, she is in great health.....other than a weight problem we need to knock off 15-20 lbs on the old girl. Her tooth is broken and she will be getting it pulled in 2 weeks. We love her death and she gets along great with the other 2 dogs and our old cranky 14 year old cat. **I think when people get into these bigger breads, they need to be commiting for life, there are high maintance for grooming (she has matts and tar stuck to her all over the place, pleople need to be aware when they take on pets, these are life commitments, it's very shameful to see, I have 2 rescued dogs from previous owners that did not want them, how can this be? Would they do this to there children? Then again.......maybe they would??"**** B
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oestessa
Oct 05, 2008
My OES is rescued and is 10 years old. We just got "Tessa" a couple of days ago. I think the previous owner was going to put her down, after takinh her to the vet yesterday, she is in great health.....other than a weight problem we need to knock off 15-20 lbs on the old girl. Her tooth is broken and she will be getting it pulled in 2 weeks. We love her death and she gets along great with the other 2 dogs and our old cranky 14 year old cat. **I think when people get into these bigger breads, they need to be commiting for life, there are high maintance for grooming (she has matts and tar stuck to her all over the place, pleople need to be aware when they take on pets, these are life commitments, it's very shameful to see, I have 2 rescued dogs from previous owners that did not want them, how can this be? Would they do this to there children? Then again.......maybe they would??"**** B
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oestessa
Oct 05, 2008
My OES is rescued and is 10 years old. We just got "Tessa" a couple of days ago. I think the previous owner was going to put her down, after takinh her to the vet yesterday, she is in great health.....other than a weight problem we need to knock off 15-20 lbs on the old girl. Her tooth is broken and she will be getting it pulled in 2 weeks. We love her death and she gets along great with the other 2 dogs and our old cranky 14 year old cat. **I think when people get into these bigger breads, they need to be commiting for life, there are high maintance for grooming (she has matts and tar stuck to her all over the place, pleople need to be aware when they take on pets, these are life commitments, it's very shameful to see, I have 2 rescued dogs from previous owners that did not want them, how can this be? Would they do this to there children? Then again.......maybe they would??"**** B
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Anne Wanchic
Aug 23, 2008
I have to agree with our eHow pets editor - Old English Sheepdogs are GREAT with small children. We have 2 beautiful sheepdogs and they are wonderful with our 14 month old daughter, who is just learning to run and play with them. They have licked her precious head since she was even a few days old. I have found them to have the sweetest and gentlest nature with her. - Anne:)
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Anne Wanchic
Aug 23, 2008
I have to agree with our eHow pets editor - Old English Sheepdogs are GREAT with small children. We have 2 beautiful sheepdogs and they are wonderful with our 14 month old daughter, who is just learning to run and play with them. They have licked her precious head since she was even a few days old. I have found them to have the sweetest and gentlest nature with her. - Anne:)
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tbone1977
Sep 30, 2007
Note that sheepdogs don't do well with small children. The main reason people give up their sheepdogs is that the dogs and their kids don't get along. The second reason is that sheepdogs require too much grooming. I don't know where you got this information from. The OES is a very gentle dog, and loves children. True they may knock little kids down when playing (even adults, they can get over 100 lbs) or with their herding instincts. Now the rest of the information is very true. BTW, before you say "I don't know what I am talking about." I have been around this breed of dog for thirty years.
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tbone1977
Sep 30, 2007
Note that sheepdogs don't do well with small children. The main reason people give up their sheepdogs is that the dogs and their kids don't get along. The second reason is that sheepdogs require too much grooming. I don't know where you got this information from. The OES is a very gentle dog, and loves children. True they may knock little kids down when playing (even adults, they can get over 100 lbs) or with their herding instincts. Now the rest of the information is very true. BTW, before you say "I don't know what I am talking about." I have been around this breed of dog for thirty years.
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Malapertia
Sep 11, 2007
My OES , Einstien is awesome. I have 3 other dogs and have had several throughout the years, and he is the smartest, most loyal and loving yet. He is very gentle with the other dogs (the smallest being a 3 lb chihuahua)He just the greatest. I highly recomend anyone getting this breed. The brushing does suck though.
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Malapertia
Sep 11, 2007
My OES , Einstien is awesome. I have 3 other dogs and have had several throughout the years, and he is the smartest, most loyal and loving yet. He is very gentle with the other dogs (the smallest being a 3 lb chihuahua)He just the greatest. I highly recomend anyone getting this breed. The brushing does suck though.
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boji4us
May 24, 2007
I have a 9 year OES...and she is the light of my life. Goofy and loves to cuddle. She has always been wonderful with both my son, and now my 2 year old granddaughter. She has always been in good health...however, for some odd reason, her left eye is dilated and she can't move it. I took her to my vet immedialty and she has been put on Prednisone. My vet examined her eye and cannot find anything that looks wrong exept of course, the dilation. My vet thinks my OES could have injured herself in the backyard or something...and may have some neurlogical (sp) problems. I haven't noticed any bumps or injury's on her. She will be on Prednisone for 2 weeks and then if she isn't better, I will take her back in. I love her very much and don't want anything to happen to her. Has anyone ever heard of this problem before? The vet ruled out a stroke and Glaucoma.
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boji4us
May 24, 2007
I have a 9 year OES...and she is the light of my life. Goofy and loves to cuddle. She has always been wonderful with both my son, and now my 2 year old granddaughter. She has always been in good health...however, for some odd reason, her left eye is dilated and she can't move it. I took her to my vet immedialty and she has been put on Prednisone. My vet examined her eye and cannot find anything that looks wrong exept of course, the dilation. My vet thinks my OES could have injured herself in the backyard or something...and may have some neurlogical (sp) problems. I haven't noticed any bumps or injury's on her. She will be on Prednisone for 2 weeks and then if she isn't better, I will take her back in. I love her very much and don't want anything to happen to her. Has anyone ever heard of this problem before? The vet ruled out a stroke and Glaucoma.
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Reznor
Apr 05, 2007
As a groomer, please know that this is a breed which should be groomed every 4-6 weeks if you are not doing it at home. Be prepared to pay $60-100 for this. This is NOT a low maintenence breed, you must be committed to brushing and regular grooming or the dog will be a matted mess.
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gallatea
Jan 18, 2007
Also, if you don't plan to show your OES, giving them haircuts is also common sense. I think it's quite cruel to keep them in full coat during the summer. It's winter now and my pup is always panting indoors when he plays with 70 degrees, I can only imagine him in 95 outside in summer. I plan to have him trimmed for summer. I did this with my last OES. If they are super short, you do not have to brush them at all in summer. I can go 4 months after a haircut without brushing. I just bath them. They do get stinky. Mild shampoo only for babies and they are quite fine with it. Mine loves his baths. His ears get quite greasy and stinky, so this is another way to make sure he's just clean all over. Brushing them does cut the stink a bit too.
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gallatea
Jan 18, 2007
Also, if you don't plan to show your OES, giving them haircuts is also common sense. I think it's quite cruel to keep them in full coat during the summer. It's winter now and my pup is always panting indoors when he plays with 70 degrees, I can only imagine him in 95 outside in summer. I plan to have him trimmed for summer. I did this with my last OES. If they are super short, you do not have to brush them at all in summer. I can go 4 months after a haircut without brushing. I just bath them. They do get stinky. Mild shampoo only for babies and they are quite fine with it. Mine loves his baths. His ears get quite greasy and stinky, so this is another way to make sure he's just clean all over. Brushing them does cut the stink a bit too.
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gallatea
Jan 18, 2007
Prepare for a nippy puppy even at 8 weeks. It's a natural phase. No dog should be taken home at 6 weeks - read & research before you buy. That is common sense. My pup is now 7 mo's and his mouthy stage is well over, but working dogs tend to be mouthy as pups, so this has nothing to do with the breeder. Puppies are a lot of work no matter what. Other than that, when an OES matures - post 2 years, they are WONDERFUL with children and small pets. I adopted my first OES and from the get go in a strange home, she was awesome with my parrot and my nieces and nephews who were toddlers. I would say people have problems more so because of their size and if the dog is a puppy not a dog - a slight bump by a 80-100lb. dog-puppy can knock a 3 year old over. If you want a better prognosis for success, adopt a mature OES that you test out with your kids 1st.
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Jun 30, 2006
The biggest suggestion I have for people thinking about getting an OES (Old English Sheepdog), would be to make sure you find a reputable breeder. I made the mistake of getting an OES from a breeder that didn't provide a health guarantee. Make sure you find a breeder that deals with OES's only. Our breeder dealt with several different breeds and didn't really know all there is to know about the breed. OES's need to spend longer time with their litter mates than other breeds. We took home out OES at 6 weeks. Big mistake. He should have been with his mother and litter mates at least until 8 weeks. They learn social skills during that time. Our dog could not stop biting for over a year, and that was the reason. If he had been trained by his mother and other puppies, he would have outgrown this nasty habit much quicker.
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Feb 25, 2006
My Old English Sheepdog, Luke, is 9 months old. I have him bathed, brushed and his ears cleaned once a week. I clean his eyes several times a day. He is an inside dog that gets walked daily.
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Feb 25, 2006
My Old English Sheepdog, Luke, is 9 months old. I have him bathed, brushed and his ears cleaned once a week. I clean his eyes several times a day. He is an inside dog that gets walked daily.
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Nov 22, 2005
My eight year old Old English Sheepdog has been wonderful with my children (who are now 7 and 2). We have never had any problems with any child and our dog. Even when we had infants laying on blankets on the floor, he would carefully step around the babies. Now that the kids are older, he loves to play with them. His favorite game is hide and seek.
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Nov 22, 2005
I get so tired of hearing people say that Old English Sheepdogs and kids don't mix. This is not true in my experience! I've had sheepdogs from the age of 4 on, and they were wonderful companions to grow up with. Now we have two three year old Old English Sheepdogs with our 4 year old daughter and they are wonderful with her. There are so many breeds that I would never trust with children, but the Old English Sheepdog is not one of them. This is not to say that common sense must not prevail. No dog should ever be left unattended with children too small to protect themselves. Old English Sheepdogs are famous for knocking kids over and then tackling them with licks, which the dog finds very fun but the kid does not. And anyone who runs in the presence of an Old English Sheepdog is fair game for tackling - an Old English Sheepdog will take you out - but always in fun, never in anger. This is quite simply one of the best breeds in the world.
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Nov 22, 2005
For a number of years we did Old English Sheepdog Rescue and I have 3 children. We had our own dog who lived to 13 years. Presently we have 3 Old English Sheepdogs and they have always been very wonderful and protective of my children. Sheepdogs, if properly bred and trained, are natural nannies. Always make sure to never leave a small baby or toddler around a dog without supervision as dogs will protect themselves if the child hurts them.
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Nov 22, 2005
I also have an oes and kids a 2year old and a 5 year old. My dog has always been great with my kids .But never leave any dog alone with young kids.
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Nov 22, 2005
My sheepdog, now 13 years old, has always been good around children. She is very protective of the smaller ones, but other than that she is great and knows when she needs to stay away. I have found sheepdogs to be very smart and very loving and all they want to do is please their owners!
