WYNWARD

Old English Sheepdog

About The Breedred

Please give us some background on yourself? When and how did you start to breed Old English Sheepdogs?

I am a hobby breeder and exhibitor of Old English Sheepdogs and Norwich Terriers. I have also served a few roles my parent clubs, the Old English Sheepdog Club of America (OESCA) and the Norwich Terrier Club of America (NTCA). For the OESCA, I currently serveastheChairfortheJudgesEducationCommittee and am a member of our Southern Regional Specialty Committee. In the past, I was also on our Illustrated Guide Committee, our Code of Ethics Revision

Committee and have held various board positions. I’m also currently serving as the Nominating Committee Chair for the NTCA.

I work full time as a civil engineer and have spent my career working as a consultant, primarily focused on drinking water and wastewater treatment needs for municipal clients. First in the Midwest and now in Florida after I moved to Wellington about 11 years ago.

I grew up with Old English Sheepdogs. My mother got her first OES in 1968, purchased as a companion for our family. The puppy turned out to be what the breeder said was “pick of the litter”. Our family took her to a fun match, about 50 entries back then, and my mom was thrilled when she was best in match (or opposite I can’t remember). That hooked my mom on dog shows and that dog finished her championship in 1970. It was many years later when we had our first litter, that was in 1991.

What is the story behind your kennel and your kennel name? How many litters have you had so far and when did you breed your first litter?

There’s not much of a story behind our kennel. We have always bred with the intention of keeping something to continue with and show, and that’s difficult because our dogs have always lived in the house, so our numbers are limited. Our kennel name Wynward was chosen by my mother when we had our first litter in 1991.

I’m guessing on the number of litters of OES, it’s about 14 that we have raised here, plus we’ve been fortunate to have a few other litters with bitches we have co-owned with close friends. That’s a limited breeding program, but it results in our ninth generation of dogs that we are showing today. I think we have bred about 22 OES champions.

Where did your first dogs come from?

Our first dog came from a family that used a Lillibrad champion male, that was the first bitch my mom finished. When she came out dysplastic, my mom got her next dog from Harriet Poreda’s Greyfriar kennel.

What is your breeding policy? Do you work with other kennels, have joint ownerships, or lease dogs from other kennels? Do you prefer to have your stud dogs for yourself?

We believe in breeding to better the breed—health, temperament, and conformation. We breed only a very few bitches and allow a few other breeders to use our stud dogs. Because of the very small nature of our breeding program, it is essential that we work with other breeders who have a similar eye for a dog. We breed closely with our wonderful friends Jere Marder, Lambluv OES, and Jeri Hoppe, Foursquare OES, to benefit all our breeding programs. Jere’s generosity in sharing some of her stud dogs has certainly been a foundation for the dogs we have today.

In addition, we have chosen to purchase dogs when we wanted to strengthen aspects of what we have. In 2002, we bought a puppy bitch from Glen and Marlene Larson, Wullyweather OES, and in 2016 we imported a five-month-old dog from Eleonore Singer, Enchant OES, in Austria. This dog, Ch. Enchant Han Solo, has been a very good addition to some US breeding programs plus he was the first natural tailed OES to finish a championship in the US.

Which dog do you consider the foundation of your own breeding?

That’saverydifficultquestiontoanswer.Ican’tthink of a particular dog that served as our foundation. Looking back, it’s seeming to be a series of agonizing over stud dog picks to match what we needed to change.

What kind of selection do you prefer in your breeding program line breeding, inbreeding or outcross?

Without a kennel, it’s very difficult to establish multiple lines of dogs that can be line bred with an occasional outcross as desired. That would be my preference, but unfortunately, we don’t have that opportunity.

In making breeding decisions, for sure we try to maintain the phenotype we want. I’m always looking backward through multiple generations on a pedigree. We have never bred to the top winning dog.

It is hugely critical to work with breeders who have a similar eye for a dog that have an established genotype as well as phenotype.

What would you say was your greatest achievement as a breeder so far?

To be recognized by peers is the true test of the quality of dogs in a breeding program. In addition, it was always a dream to be the breeder/owner/handler of a dog to win the National Specialty, an all-breed Best in Show, and Best of Breed at the Garden. Our GCHB Wynward’s Remember That ROM, Bart, accomplished this, by winning the national under breeder-judge Dale Meyer and the breed at the Garden under breederjudge Walter Sommerfelt. At other nationals, Bart was also awarded by breeder-judges, winning Best of Opposite under Ray Wilkinson (UK), Select Dog under Charles Olvis, and Reserve Winners Dog under Mary Anne Brocious.

Bart was the product of just the sixth generation of our breeding program. When he won the breed at the national,wealsoco-bredwithourlongtimefriendJeri Hoppe the Best of Opposite Sex and Winners Bitch/ Best of Winners (both out of Bart’s sister Ava, Ch. Wynward Foursquare All of the Above), and Winners Dog was a Bart son. That was an unforgettable day.

We also can’t avoid mentioning that Bart’s sister, Katie, GCH Wynward’s Gotta Love That, won the

OESCA Top Twenty, under breeder-judges Davor Javor, Fiona Zammit and Dora Meyer. At the nationals Katie did her share of winning under breeder- judges, having won Best of Opposite under Martin Doherty, Select Bitch under Ray Wilkinson (UK), and Reserve Winners Bitch under Mary Anne Brocious.

About The Breed

Q: How do you interpret the standard? Do you accept that other breeders have different point of views as to what an Old English should look like, or is there just one correct type?

A: Being an engineer makes me interpret the standard as literally as I can. But unfortunately, there isn’t always a literal meaning to the words in our standard. I believe that the OES should be a square and compact dog with good substance (bone/body), have a squarely formed skull and jaw, a slight rise over a broad loin, and have good angles front and rear allowing good reach and drive with a fluid and balanced gait. And of course, a true OES has a good temperament.

I realize that other breeders may have different styles of grooming. We see a lot of Bichon trims and excessive stripping of coats. It was quite nice to see the OES Best of Breed/Reserve Best in Show winner at Crufts this year, heavily coated and with minimal trimming, yet she presented an outline fitting our standard.

I think there is only one true type that fits the standard. The key to finding this is what we are trying to emphasize in our judge’s education training—OES need to be judged with your hands, you must feel through the coat as trimming can be quite deceptive. The OES should never be judged as a profile breed.

What three qualities do you think are the most important when you look at an Old English?

First, I’d say that an OES must be square, meaning not short legged and not a reverse rectangle, have good spring of rib, good bone, substance, and width over the gently rising loin.

Second, a typical OES expression is carried by wide set eyes, an accentuated stop, width of back skull, and a broad, truncated muzzle.

Third,anOESmusthavethematchingfrontandangles to allow it to serve its function as a herding dog. Well laid-back shoulders, a good return of upper arm, and a bend of stifle into well let down hocks Is critical. Finally, I’d say that these angles allow an OES to move well. Balanced movement, equal reach, and drive, with a fluid, effortless gait is very important. And finally, the down and back shouldn’t be overlooked in favor of a “big side gait”. Sidewinding isn’t reflective of balanced movement, and wide fronts and narrow rears are not correct.

Which faults would you not tolerate in your breed?

Here’s my list of things I won’t tolerate:

• Proportions--Long and low or leggy and short backed.

• Heads--Narrow, domed back skulls, no stop, snipy muzzles, eyes that are close together.

• Bodies—Slab-sided, lack of bone.

• Topline--Level backed dogs; we must have a gentle rise over a thickset loin.

• Fronts--Ewe necked (no arch), short necks or upright shoulders with lack of layback or straight upper arm.

• Rears--Straight stifles, narrow rears.

• Coat—soft or flat coated dogs.

• Movement—dogs that are not balanced (wheelbarrow movement, kicking rears, sidewinding) or cannot cover ground. Wide fronts, pinched fronts, narrow and hocky rears.

Would you say there is a difference in dogs and type in Europe and the USA? What is the difference in AKC and FCI standards?

It’s been many years since I’ve been to Crufts or the continent. And I know that it’s not correct to judge based solely on outline, but I’d say that the Europeans seem to emphasize side gait and have a little longer bodied dog than we do in the US.

The FCI standard differs from the AKC standard in quite a few ways: calls for a roll when ambling or walking (roll is not in our AKC standard); calls for the muzzle being half the skull length (AKC standard says a fairly long muzzle); scissor bite, level bites are undesirable (AKC calls for either); pigmentation on eye rims is preferred (not in AKC standard); has a standard for the tail (not addressed in AKC standard); narrower at the point of withers than at the point of shoulder (AKC standard says narrow at the points); bend of stifle is not exaggerated (not in AKC standard); a long second thigh (AKC says well let down hocks); when trotting, exhibits a bear like roll (roll is not in AKC standard); discourages white in the jacket (AKC says with or without white markings or in reverse); calls for height of 22 inches (bitches) and 24 inches (dogs) and up (AKC says 21 inches [bitches] and 22 inches [dogs] and up).

How has the breed changed over the years? Would you say it has gone to better or worse?

I’d say that the breed has gone through many trends over the past 30 years, perhaps reflecting the style of dogs that are doing the most winning at the time.

The current OES are probably better conditioned, though perhaps have worse texture than years ago. I think we are seeing a trend to smaller dogs that can appear “bitchy”. As far as movement, the dogs seem to be sounder going away, probably worse coming in, and have better side gaits.

Can you describe an ideal Old English?

The ideal OES makes a great family member and gets to participate in a variety of activities. They love to go places and see new things. I’d say they are also very loyal and watchful for their families. We have a dog who hangs out in the yard and makes sure that he’s the last to come into the house.

Our dogs are also always doing something entertaining, for themselves and for us. An OES should also get along well with other dogs, big and small (we always have a few Norwich Terriers).

Please name three of your all-time favorite winners bred by you and three not owned nor bred by you.

That’s a difficult question, our breed has been well represented in the ring. I’d say:

Bred by us:

• GChB Wynward’s Remember That (Bart) and his littermate GCh Wynward’s Gotta Love That (Kate)

• Ch. Wynward’s Been There, Done That (Toby)—all our dogs descend from Toby, he was the start of that easy moving side gait.

Bred by others:

• Ch. Rholenwood’s Taylor Made—a striking bitch with gorgeous side gait.

• Ch. Lambluv’s The Divine Miss M—an extreme bitch, bone, body, and substance, quite sound. We bred to her brother to produce our Bart and Kate.

• Ch. Moptop’s Good Lovin—a beautiful dog, great mover.

What homebred dog of yours comes closest to your ideal?

We have a young dog who just turned two, Ch. Wynward’s Remembering That a Bart son we call Michael. He is very promising--square, bone, body, beautiful head and expression, wonderful angles giving him an easy side gait. We love his look, very bearlike, and such a character to have in our house, he can’t be missed.

What advice would you give to a new person in the breed?

Before getting into the breed, consider how much time it takes to properly raise and condition an OES for the show ring. That level of commitment and dedication can’t be overemphasized enough. An OES coat can’t be neglected and saved by last minute dematting and bathing. It’s no fun to have a dog that’s not competitive, and it’s an embarrassment to your breeder who took a chance and sold you a dog.

In addition, find a breeder/mentor that you can work with and listen to do not “poll” the Facebook world for answers. That goes for everything, including training, conditioning as well as breeding decisions.

And those contractual ties that most people have on their puppies are put there for good reasons, reputable breeders care about what happens with their dogs, so don’t complain, newbies don’t have the breed history to make sound decisions.

What would you say is the secret to continued success in breeding Old English?

That’s another difficult question. I’d say that success doesn’t come from breeding “as an island”. Success comes from working closely with those who see dogs in a similar way, with a similar eye and level of importance of various aspects of the dogs. They ideally have an established program giving them many generations of consistency. In addition, when I say working with others, that means having a close relationship that’s founded on trust and honesty.