We’re dedicated to giving you the very best in information about the health, temperament, working ability, and conformation of the Lancashire Heeler, a vulnerable breed originating in the west of England. Please reach out if you want to know more!
Introduction to the Breed
Lancashire Heelers are a wonderful breed. A well-bred Lancashire Heeler likes people and can be as charming as any breed in existence. They bond well with their owners and are easy to train.
They are a herding breed, likely the world’s smallest of the type. Like other herding breeds, they are smart, active, and athletic. Also like other working breeds, they need a job. Since we do not need many farm dogs anymore, present-day owners find that they bond well with their dogs when training them for dog sports and other activities. Without a job, though, an exuberant young Heeler will find her own things to do and may become a real nuisance.
There are a lot of dogs that are bred for companionship, that are content to sit on the sofa and watch TV with their family. Lancashire Heelers, though, are a lot of dog in a small package. They are powerful, courageous, and energetic. These dogs were originally developed centuries ago to be agricultural helpers. Lancashire Heelers were developed from other breeds, but no one is sure which ones. Every guess has its supporters and its critics.
Legend has it that they emerged in northwest England, in Lancashire County, from a cross of two other useful breeds: a Corgi and a local terrier. Like Corgis, they easily learn to work cattle, and like the terriers, they excel at vermin control on the farm. In any case, a distinct and highly useful form of dog emerged that bred true: the Lancashire Heeler.
As farms became more mechanized, farmers did not need these little dogs as much and stopped breeding them. In the mid-twentieth century, someone asked, “What happened to those little black and tan dogs that used to be everywhere?” At that point, some people realized that the breed was at risk of disappearing, so efforts began to rebuild the breed. Most, if not all, Lancashire Heelers alive today descend from fewer than 16 animals.*
Generally, Lancashire Heelers are a healthy, low-maintenance breed.* A wonderful feature an owner will notice right away is that these dogs are nearly waterproof, and their coats require very little grooming.
The typical upper limit of lifespan for Lancashire Heelers is about 15 years.
Recognition of the Breed as a Working Dog
Working breeds are breeds that do specific sorts of work. People did not originally select for appearance as much as for traits that allowed the dogs to excel at their expected tasks. Lancashire Heelers were late to be included in the Kennel Club. For example, the KC did not recognize Border Collies until 1976. At that point, the KC created a “closed studbook.” (A closed studbook includes registrations only for the offspring of registered parents.) In the case of our dogs, for a puppy to be registered, documented registrations must trace back at least three generations. The Kennel Club recognized Lancashire Heelers in 1981 and closed their register in 1989. By 2006, Lancashire Heelers were recognized as a “vulnerable” native breed. (For more on dog breeding, see our page on the genetics of dog breeding).
In the United States, the United Kennel Club recognized the Lancashire Heeler in late 2009. In Europe, the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognizes Lancashire Heelers on a “provisional basis,” publishing its official standard for the breed in 2016. The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized the Lancashire Heeler at their April board meeting in 2023. The breed will move into the herding group to become the 201st
The AKC breed standards are here.
Lancashire Heelers are Rare
Lancashire Heelers are rare worldwide. No one knows how many Lancashire Heelers exist now, but the number is almost certainly fewer than 10 thousand worldwide. In the United States, there are probably fewer than 300 alive today. The AKC database contains the names of a little more than 300 registered Lancashire Heelers having at least a three-generation pedigree, but an unknown number of them are no longer living.
Just by itself, their small numbers place Lancashire Heelers at risk. Small numbers of living dogs mean that the genetic pool is shallow. As much as anything, their small population is what puts the breed at risk. On the other hand, Their small numbers imply an opportunity to eliminate many of the known genetic diseases in the breed.
References
- Lancashire Heeler Community. ‘Health of the Lancashire Heeler’, 2019. https://www.lancashireheelers.org/lancashire-heeler-health/health-overview.
- Mäki, K. ‘Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of Worldwide Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and Lancashire Heeler Dog Populations’. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 127, no. 4 (26 February 2010): 318–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2010.00851.x.
- Summers, Jennifer F., Gillian Diesel, Lucy Asher, Paul D. McGreevy, and Lisa M. Collins. ‘Inherited Defects in Pedigree Dogs. Part 2: Disorders That Are Not Related to Breed Standards’. The Veterinary Journal 183, no. 1 (January 2010): 39–45.
- Wikipedia Contributors. ‘Dog Breeding’. In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, 26 October 2022.