[5]: 132 [6]: 59  It derives from the Shorthorn cattle of Teesside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in Northumbria (now divided between County Durham and Northumberland) in north-eastern England.

[1]: 144  In the United Kingdom the small remainder of the breed not affected by indiscriminate cross-breeding in the twentieth century is known as the Dairy Shorthorn (Original Population).

[2][8] Both it and the Northern Dairy Shorthorn are listed as "priority" – the highest category of risk – on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

[9][3] In the nineteenth century the Durham – as it was then usually known – was very extensively used for cross-breeding in many countries of the world; it has contributed to the development of more than forty different breeds.

[7] Short-horned cattle of good quality are documented on the Yorkshire estates of the Dukes and Earls of Northumberland in the late sixteenth century.

It also led to the virtual extinction of the Dairy Shorthorn: by about 2009 there fewer than 100 breeding cows, and by 2012 there were no more than 50; in that year six purebred calves were added to the herd-book.

[12] All major populations have seen an increase in interest in Milking Shorthorns by dairy producers, artificial insemination organisations, and crossbreeders.

The Dairy Shorthorn is an average-sized breed, with mature cows averaging 140 cm (55 in) tall at the tailhead, and weighing 640 to 680 kg (1,410 to 1,500 lb).

Average milk production for the breed is about 7,000 kg (15,000 lb) in an annual lactation of 305 days, with 3.8% butterfat and 3.3% protein.