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Old English Sheepdog

Old English Sheepdog genetic profile from the CanVAS Atlas. 20 dogs in the Atlas, heterozygosity 0.34. Nearest relatives, trait loci frequencies, cohort distribution.

What the atlas says about Old English Sheepdog

In the atlas, the Old English Sheepdog clusters consistently as Old English Sheepdog (100% of the 20 dogs here). Genetic diversity is high (mean heterozygosity 0.3413), reflecting either a mixed-breed cluster or breeds with broad genetic backgrounds. At the trait loci, LCORL runs lower than average (5% here vs 83%); RSPO2 runs higher than the atlas average (100% here vs 55%). Dogs here sit in a relatively sparse region of the atlas, fewer close neighbors than typical.

Ranks 83 of 107 on the bottleneck severity scale, in the upper quartile of genetic diversity. Mean heterozygosity is 0.341, notably high, indicates broad genetic background. Only 20 dogs of this breed in the atlas, modestly sampled.

Closest genetic neighbors in the atlas: Australian Cattle Dog, village dog Fiji Viti Levu, Rat Terrier, village dog Fiji Kadavu, and mixed breed.

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the genome says about Old English Sheepdog

Computed from the 14,478 research dogs in the Atlas. Methods: technical methodology.

Dogs in the Atlas
20Founders
10 from Spatola, 9 from Hayward2016, 1 from JenkinsWGS
Genetic diversity
0.34Moderate
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. Ranks 83rd most genetically tight of 107 ranked breeds.
Cluster structure
Single tight cluster
Intra-breed RMS distance: 22.55
Nearest genetic relatives
  1. Australian Cattle Dog4.15
  2. Village Dog Fiji Viti Levu6.02
  3. Rat Terrier6.95
  4. Village Dog Fiji Kadavu6.99
  5. Mix7.51
Top-10 PC corrected Euclidean. Lower = closer.
Trait genetics
Allele frequencies at named morphology loci

Frequency of the alternate allele in this breed at each locus's representative SNP. Methods + caveats in technical methodology.

Body size
IGF118%
HMGA250%
SMAD295%
LCORL5%
STC259%
ADAMTS1758%
Leg length
FGF4·CFA1885%
FGF4·CFA1283%
Coat
RSPO2100%
FGF570%
KRT7198%
MC1R75%
Ear set
MSRB388%
Skull shape
BMP3100%
SMOC275%
Add your Old English Sheepdog to the Atlas

You can add your Old English Sheepdog right now at /add/ as a Charted star. Or, if you'd rather wait for DNA uploads, leave your email and we'll let you know the moment those open.

Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · CanVAS dimensions data