ESBC Blog
Information & Updates for English Shepherd Enthusiasts
Lines and Webs
The evaluation of sire and dam lines is important because of its relationship to genetic diversity in the breed. The number of distinct sire and dam lines is a reflection of the breadth of the foundation for the breed; each line traces back to a unique sire or dam...
Dam Line Update
English Shepherds have a relatively large number of distinct dam founder lines available. Our studies have identified 39 dam lines by pedigree; analysis of genetic data reveal at least 16 maternal haplotypes in the breed. For a comparison, a 2015 study of 368...
Sire Line Update
The ESBC’s 2019 breed report included an overview of sire and dam lines in the breed. As noted in that report, sire and dam lines represent unique genetic content that is transmitted only by those pedigree lineages: from fathers to sons, and from mothers to...
How Many English Shepherds Are There?
Breed Census There are several different ways to look at population size. One is to do a head count: how many dogs are there in the breed? The simple answer to this is, no one knows how many English Shepherds there are – but, based on what we can see from...
English Shepherd Breeders
The social media theme of “too many dogs” has a corollary, the lament that there are “too many breeders.” This lament seems to reflect a variety of concerns. One is a sense that there is inadequate health screening in dogs being bred, the idea being that the lack of...
Too Many Dogs?
If you follow English Shepherd groups on social media, you have probably heard people fretting that there are "too many dogs." It is becoming a common refrain: there are too many breeders, too many litters, too many puppies, shelters and rescues are flooded, breeders...
Lines and Webs
The evaluation of sire and dam lines is important because of its relationship to genetic diversity in the breed. The number of distinct sire and dam lines is a reflection of the breadth of the foundation for the breed; each line traces back to a unique sire or dam...
Dam Line Update
English Shepherds have a relatively large number of distinct dam founder lines available. Our studies have identified 39 dam lines by pedigree; analysis of genetic data reveal at least 16 maternal haplotypes in the breed. For a comparison, a 2015 study of 368...
Sire Line Update
The ESBC’s 2019 breed report included an overview of sire and dam lines in the breed. As noted in that report, sire and dam lines represent unique genetic content that is transmitted only by those pedigree lineages: from fathers to sons, and from mothers to...
How Many English Shepherds Are There?
Breed Census There are several different ways to look at population size. One is to do a head count: how many dogs are there in the breed? The simple answer to this is, no one knows how many English Shepherds there are – but, based on what we can see from...
English Shepherd Breeders
The social media theme of “too many dogs” has a corollary, the lament that there are “too many breeders.” This lament seems to reflect a variety of concerns. One is a sense that there is inadequate health screening in dogs being bred, the idea being that the lack of...
Too Many Dogs?
If you follow English Shepherd groups on social media, you have probably heard people fretting that there are "too many dogs." It is becoming a common refrain: there are too many breeders, too many litters, too many puppies, shelters and rescues are flooded, breeders...