They are smart and easily adapt to any environment, are very flexible, and agree with the owner in everything. The Old English Shepherd Dog is distinguished by love for people and a cheerful disposition. In a home environment, she can be a good watchman.
The Old English Sheepdog is often referred to as the “Dulux dog”; this is because, since the 1960s, it has been the well-known mascot of Dulux brand paint, appearing in television commercials and advertisements in print.
Different dogs have appeared in the advertisements, but they all look very similar given the fact that most were chosen from a certain pedigree line; actually, many of the Dulux dogs have won “Best in Show” prizes.
The most famous Dulux dog was Fernville Lord Digby, affectionately referred to as Digby; he was given diva treatment and made his owner famous as well
The famous English dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse was given the task of training Digby and his stunt doubles.
The dog Alfie, from the movie Serpico, was an Old English Sheepdog. This movie was based on the true-life story of a New York City policeman named Frank Serpico, who battled corruption within the police force. The main character was played by Al Pacino.
The famous American television show for preschoolers, Sesame Street, starred a playful Old English Sheepdog named Barkley. Barkley was owned by a deaf librarian, played by Linda Bove, who was one of the first characters on television to introduce children to sign language and issues regarding the deaf community. Barkley, one of the larger puppets on Sesame Street, appeared frequently on the show until the end of the 1990s.
Jim Henson (who created the puppets for Sesame Street) participated in another project involving Old English Sheepdogs. Indeed, he created puppets for and directed the big-screen movie, Labyrinth, a fantasy film released in 1986. There were two Old English Sheepdogs in the movie, Merlin and Ambrosius; the movie stars David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
The children’s movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang features an Old English Sheepdog named Edison.
The comic strip family in For Better or For Worse originally had an Old English Sheepdog named Farley. The creator of the comic strip, Lynn Johnston, modeled the cartoon dog after her own Old English Sheepdog named Farley, after Farley Mowat, a famous Canadian conservationist, and author.
Reverend Lovejoy in the hit TV cartoon series, The Simpsons, owns an Old English Sheepdog.
Paul McCartney owned a Sheepdog named Martha, who apparently was the inspiration for his song “Martha My Dear”, though the actual song is probably about one of McCartney’s love interests. The 1993 live album, “Paul is Live”, actually features one of Martha the dog’s puppies on the cover.
Max, from Disney’s animated feature, The Little Mermaid, is an Old English Sheepdog that belongs to Prince Eric.
The Disney movie The Shaggy Dog, released in 1959, and its sequels and remakes (the last one being released in 2006) all-star an Old English Sheepdog. Actually, the story involves a human being magically transformed into this shaggy breed.
Yet another television production involving Jim Henson and an Old English Sheepdog was Fraggle Rock. In it, the human in the series, who the Fraggles consider a Silly Creature who lives in Outer Space, owns an Old English Sheepdog named Sprocket.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt owned an Old English Sheepdog named Tiny.
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