Millennials, and those born after them, will howl with laughter (or shake their heads) at the commercial below that some of us will actually remember:

We’ve borrowed the Certs’ tag line: “Two, two, two mints in one” to segue into a brief discussion of the Lancashire Heeler because many cynologists are of the opinion that the Lancashire is “two, two, two breeds in one.” This smallest of the droving breeds is believed to have descended from a type of Welsh Corgi used to drive stock in northern Wales to the Lancashire market, evident in both the breed’s “low rider” build (helpful when dodging a swift and potentially lethal kick to the head by a recalcitrant cow), and its working style of nipping and ducking to get stock moving (leading to one nickname for the breed, the “nip and duck” breed.

The breed’s coloring and sleek build, a lighter head construction, and prowess as a ratter also hints at at the ancestry of a black and tan terrier common among butchers in West Lancashire, a dog many believe was a Manchester Terrier. There is little in the way of documented history to prove it one way or the other.

So why is the Lancashire Heeler sometimes referred to as Ormskirk Heeler or Ormskirk terrier? Because when cattle were herded from Wales, they were often driven to markets in the Ormskirk area where the breed was quite popular. Also, because it was believed that the dogs were the result of a cross between the Welsh Corgi and the Manchester Terrier, they were sometimes known as the Ormskirk Terrier.

Firmer footing for the breed in the UK might have been due to Gwen Mackintosh (of the Mackintosh toffee family) who took a shine to a Heeler owned by a relative back in the 1960s. Her interest in the dog fancy made it natural for her to keep records when she began a breeding program for the breed, something that would come in handy when she and fellow breed enthusiasts formed the Lancashire Heeler Club in 1978. A breed standard was written, and efforts began towards Kennel Club recognition which came in 1981.

The Heeler is a recent addition to the AKC’s Herding Group, but with only 108 registrations in 2023, the Kennel Club has the Lancashire Heeler on its Vulnerable Breeds list where it’s been since 2003.  Let us hope that enough people who’ve done their homework will be enchanted by the breed’s famous smile and marvelous temperament to help put strengthen breed numbers.

Image by Vera RevaL/Adobe Stock Photo