Lancashire Heeler

Breed characteristics

Size: Small
Exercise: Up to 1 hour per day
Size of home: Flat/ Apartment
Grooming: Once a week
Coat length: Short
Sheds: Yes
Lifespan: Over 12 years
Vulnerable native breed: Yes
Town or country: Either
Size of garden: Small/ medium garden

It is thought that the breed is the result of a cross between the Welsh Corgi and the Manchester Terrier dating back to the time when cattle were herded from Wales to the markets in the Ormskirk area. Indeed, the breed has been very popular in that area long before recognition from The Kennel Club and was known as the Ormskirk Heeler or the Ormskirk terrier. The breed is a happy combination, inheriting the distinguishing thumbs marks on the front legs from the Manchester and the lowness to ground and heeling instinct from the corgi. Lively, intelligent and long lived the Lancashire Heeler has gained some well-deserved popularity as a family dog.

Read the breed standard

Images for this breed

Whether you're considering buying a Lancashire Heeler puppy or breeding from your dog, it's important to understand the health issues that may affect the breed and how they can be managed or avoided.

Pre-breeding Health Screening

Good Practice schemes and tests

We strongly recommend that breeders, at a minimum, conduct these tests before breeding, as evidence indicates these conditions are a significant concern in the breed.

Prioritising genetic diversity
Eye testing using the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme

Best Practice schemes and tests

These tests address conditions that are still significant for the breed, though they may not be as critical as those listed under Good Practice. They might be less common or newly identified, and research is ongoing to determine their full impact.

To support the breed’s health, responsible breeders should ensure they complete all tests in both categories. Following our Best Practice guidelines means completing both the Good Practice and Best Practice tests for your breed.

DNA test for Collie eye anomaly/ choroidal hypoplasia (CEA/CH)
DNA test for Primary lens luxation (PLL)

Find out about a particular dog's results

Please visit our Health Test Results Finder to discover the DNA or screening scheme test results for any dog on The Kennel Club's Breed or Activity Register.

You can also view the inbreeding coefficient calculation for a puppy's parents, or for a dog you're thinking of breeding from.

DNA Testing Services

To support your health testing journey, we offer a breed-specific package tailored to your breed's unique health needs. This package provides important information about potential health risks, helping you make informed decisions. Click here to find out more and access the tests relevant to your breed.

Breed Health & Conservation Plan

The Breed Health and Conservation Plans

Our breed health and conservations plans (BHCPs) use evidence and data to help us understand the health issues found in each pedigree dog breed. These plans help breeders and owners identify health and welfare problems and use information, health tests and health schemes to avoid passing on those problems to future puppies. They also support and provide breeders with tools and specialist expertise to help manage genetic diversity, understand the impacts of close breeding, and find the best ways to preserve the population of their breed.

Working together for the breed

We’ve worked with breed clubs and breed representatives to gather all available evidence to help us determine the priority concerns for the breed and decide how we can work together to manage and reduce these problems.

The full evidence base is available at the discretion of the breed clubs, however if you would like to seek access to the full report, please contact our health team.

Health (The Kennel Club)

More about health

If you have any concerns about a particular health condition in your breed then you may wish to speak to your vet or you could contact your breed health co-ordinator.

Breed health co-ordinators are individuals working on behalf of breed clubs and councils who are advocates for the health and welfare of their chosen breed. They acts as a spokesperson on matters of health and will collaborate with The Kennel Club on any health concerns the breed may have.

To contact your breed health co-ordinator please email:

Elaine Syrett

Breed watch

Category 1

Currently no points of concern specific to this breed have been identified for special attention by judges, other than those covered routinely by The Kennel Club breed standard.