Old English Sheepdog

More than almost anyone expects. A full coat requires several hours of line-brushing to the skin every single week or it mats into a painful felted pelt within 2-3 weeks that often must be shaved off. The realistic, humane choice for most pet homes is a short kennel clip professionally maintained every 6-8 weeks at roughly $90-$150+ per visit. Budget that money and time before you buy — under-grooming an OES is a genuine welfare problem, not a cosmetic one.

Typically 10-12 years, which is normal for a large breed but shorter than many owners hope for given the dog's playful nature. Lifespan is most often limited by orthopedic disease (hip and elbow dysplasia and the arthritis that follows), immune-mediated blood disorders, certain cancers, and bloat. The practical levers are buying from a breeder who screens hips, elbows, eyes, and runs the breed's available DNA tests, keeping the dog lean from puppyhood through old age, and knowing the emergency signs of bloat cold so it is treated within the narrow window that survival actually depends on.

Yes — a well-bred, well-socialized OES is one of the more genuinely child-friendly large breeds: gentle, patient, tolerant, and steady. The one caveat is herding instinct: the dog may try to bump, nudge, or circle running children to "move" them, which can knock over a toddler. Supervise, redirect the herding with training and exercise, and the breed is an excellent family dog. Its size alone means young children should always be supervised around it.

You can keep it in a short clip year-round, but never shave it down to the skin. The dense double coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and shaving to bare skin removes that protection, risks sunburn, and can damage how the coat regrows. Keep at least a half-inch in a kennel clip, exercise in the cool parts of the day, provide shade and water, and watch closely for overheating — heat is a real risk for this breed.

Neither, with context. They are athletic and need about an hour of daily exercise and mental work, but they are calmer and steadier than most herding breeds — not hyper. They are intelligent but can be independent and willful, so training succeeds with early socialization, consistency, and positive methods rather than repetition or force. An under-exercised, under-trained OES becomes destructive and noisy, so the workload is real even though the temperament is easygoing.