The Cumberland sheepdog is an extinct dog breed related to the
border collie
The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...
and other old working collie types. It is claimed to be one of the ancestors of the
Australian shepherd
The Australian Shepherd is a breed of herding dog from the United States. The name of the breed is technically a misnomer, as it was developed in California in the 19th century. It is believed to have its origins in sheepdog breeds from northwe ...
and in the early part of the 20th century some Cumberland sheepdogs were being referred to as border collies and may have been absorbed into the latter breed.
History
Cumberland sheepdogs were described in ''Dogs In Britain, A Description of All Native Breeds and Most Foreign Breeds in Britain'' by Clifford LB Hubbard, 1948.
Conformation
Hubbard described the breed as much like the
Welsh sheepdog
The Welsh Sheepdog (, ) is a breed of herding dog of medium size from Wales.
Like other types of working dog, Welsh Sheepdogs are normally bred for their herding abilities rather than appearance, and so they are generally somewhat variable in bui ...
and old working
collie
Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many type ...
types. It worked quietly, quickly and low-to-ground. The head was rather broad and flat, tapering to a medium-length muzzle. The ears fell over to the front or were semi-erect and rather small. The body was fairly long and extremely lithe, with light but muscular legs and a low-set tail carried at the trail. The coat was fairly heavy and quite dense. Cumberland sheepdogs were black with white blaze, chest, feet and tip of tail. Height was about 20 inches and weight ranged 40–50 pounds.
See also
*
List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties and dog type, types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds ...
*
List of extinct dog breeds
The following is a list of extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capa ...
References
* Hubbard, Clifford LB. 1948. Dogs In Britain, A Description of All Native Breeds and Most Foreign Breeds in Britain.
3 Cumberland Sheepdogs (photo)
{{British dogs
Extinct dog breeds
Herding dogs
Dog breeds originating in England