Frequently asked questions

No question is too small or too awkward. Ask us the hard ones — what our dogs have died of, how many puppies we have had come back, whether we have ever made a placement we regret.

No, and this is the law rather than a preference. Under Lucy's Law a puppy under six months old may only be sold by the breeder who bred it, in the place it was born, with its mother present. You must come here and see the litter with Maggie or Tilly before you take a puppy home. Anyone offering to meet you at a service station or deliver a puppy to your door is breaking the law, and almost certainly not who they say they are.

We ask you to apply first — it saves us both a drive if the fit is wrong. Once your application is approved you are welcome to visit, meet the mother, and see exactly where the puppies are raised. That visit is a two-way interview and we hope you use it that way.

We match. At six weeks we assess temperament across the whole litter and pair each puppy to the household that suits it — activity level, other pets, children, whether you want to show. You tell us what your life looks like; we tell you which puppy fits it. In fifteen years this has gone wrong far less often than letting people pick by colour.

Two to four hours of brushing a week, split however you like, and a professional groom every six to eight weeks at roughly £50 to £85 a visit. A coat left alone for a month mats to the skin and has to be clipped off. This is the single most common reason Old English Sheepdogs end up in rescue, and we would rather you hear it from us now.

Yes, every one, with the Royal Kennel Club. Pet puppies are registered with endorsements — meaning no progeny may be registered and the dog may not be exported — which we will lift in writing for a show home that has completed the health testing. We explain every endorsement to you before you pay a penny, as the RKC requires. A breeder who springs an endorsement on you afterwards has broken the rules.

We are a Royal Kennel Club Assured Breeder. That means the RKC inspects us, sets the health tests we must complete for this breed, and can remove us from the scheme if we fall short — you can check our membership on the RKC website rather than taking our word for it. Every puppy we breed is registered with the RKC. PLACEHOLDER — LICENSING: complete this sentence honestly. In England a council breeding licence is required if you breed three or more litters and sell at least one puppy in any twelve months, or if you meet the 'business test' below that; Scotland and Wales have their own rules. If you are under the threshold, say so plainly. If you hold a licence, give the number, the council and the star rating.

Our contract carries a two-year written guarantee against life-limiting hereditary defects, and the full text is on this site before you ever pay us anything. You also have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that no contract of ours can reduce. Separately and permanently: if you cannot keep your dog, at any age, for any reason, they come back to us. No questions, no fee, no judgement.

Because we are going to be responsible for this dog for the next twelve years whether or not they are living with us. The application takes about ten minutes and there are no wrong answers — we are matching, not grading.