To more completely understand the legacy of today’s purebred dogs, it helps to know of the dogs in their past, and a great example of the Old Welsh Grey. This ancient goat-haired breed of sheepdog found in Wales was described as shaggy, maybe even untidy in appearance. Clifford Hubbard, author of The Observer’s Book of Dogs written in 1949, described it more vividly, if not unkindly: “An unbeautiful dog much like a small old-fashioned Bearded Collie.” Ouch. In fact, many cynologists believe that the Welsh Grey, as it was sometimes called, is an ancestor of the Bearded Collie, a most decidedly beautiful breed. 

By most accounts, the breed is now considered extinct, though some experts hold out hope that there may still be a few isolated dogs living the remote Welsh mountains. Because many Welsh farmers emigrated to Patagonia in the 20th century and took their dogs with them, it’s believe that the Old Welsh lives on in the Patagonian Sheepdog or Barbucho. We came across this video of a Barbucho working sheep (turn the volume down), a tiny dark dot at the beginning of the video, and only a brief siting of the dog (at the 5:12 mark) is allowed once he brings the sheep in – but keen eyes will see some similarities:

Image of Old Welsh Grey circa 1935