Beauceron. French Shepherd

The French Shepherd Beauceron is a fairly large, sturdy dog ​​with a short coat, black and tan coat or harlequin. Intelligent, with a medium temperament, he can be aggressive. He learns willingly and quickly. Requires an experienced guide.

Nature

Shorthair French Shepherd Beauceron, called in his homeland “bass rouge”, or red stocking, is a close relative of the long-haired briard. Originally used as a shepherd and hunting dog, today it serves as a guardian and friend of the family.

The French Shepherd Beauceron is a dog of great temperament, lively and lively. Has a balanced, stable character and strong personality. He sometimes behaves impulsively, but he is never aggressive for no apparent reason. He is disciplined and patient.

He gives his whole family great affection, attachment and loyalty. He likes children and is very protective of them. He accepts the animals he lives with, but can be aggressive towards foreign quadrupeds.

Beauceron. Skills

Lovers of the breed call Beauceron “gentilhomme campagnard” (“earthly nobleman”). As a dog working with a herd, he had to fulfill many tasks. He was supposed to protect animals from predators day and night, if necessary, chase sheep to the pen, drive them from one place to another and prevent their destruction of crops.

As a result of reduced breeding, his role as a farm dog has been greatly reduced. He found employment in other fields at that time. He became a dog of military units, during both world wars he served as a meldon dog. In times of peace, he is a guide for the blind, guardian of industrial facilities works in the police and customs services in the detection of drugs.

Beauceron is a vigilant watchman. He calmly assesses the course of events and when required, the situation is ready to intervene. He always reacts adequately to the threat and does not behave unpredictably. After proper training, it perfectly fulfills the tasks of a guard dog.

Beauceron. Training and education

For the owner, he is ready to do everything, he tries to guess his intentions and carry out the order before he hears them. He performs all tasks enthusiastically and without hesitation. Despite the opinion of a hard and confident dog, he has a sensitive nature. You don’t have to raise your voice to make him obey.

Especially puppies require gentle behavior. They should be brought up consistently and firmly, but never by force. In the future, brutal treatment may affect their psyche. They should be socialized and supported from an early age.

He is intelligent, smart and attentive. He is happy to learn and likes to cooperate with a guide. As a very active and energetic dog, it requires a lot of movement, does not tolerate boredom and inaction. He can participate in obedience competitions, guard dog competitions and agility.

Who is this race for?

It is very important to establish a close relationship with your pet and to establish the correct hierarchy from the beginning. This is not a dog for meek or too nervous people. The owner should be a strong, resolute and physically fit man, able to subordinate the animal.

A rural or suburban environment will be most suitable for him. He can live in a block, provided that we provide him with the right amount of intense exercise.

Beauceron. Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• stubborn and dominant
• can be aggressive towards other dogs
• requires careful upbringing and socialization
• needs a lot of movement and activity
• slowly matures

Advantages

• excellent guard dog
• good watchman
• loyal and attached to the owner
• healthy
• you can do dog sports with him

Health

Dogs of this breed live on average 10-13 years and are resistant to diseases. However, due to their size, they are susceptible to ailments of large breeds, i.e. torsion and enlargement of the stomach and joint degeneration. So they require good nutrition.

You must also watch out for their characteristic double “wolf claws” on their hind legs, because during play and walks they are exposed to damage.

Feeding

The French Shepherd Beauceron is not demanding in terms of nutrition. Only during the growth period, it needs high-quality and well-balanced food. We feed an adult dog twice a day, place the bowl on a platform and provide rest after a meal. Doing so will reduce the risk of stomach enlargement and torsion, a condition that plagues most large breeds.

Care

The care of a French Shepherd Dog is not complicated. It is enough to comb the dog once every 2 weeks, more often during the molting period.

Beauceron. History

Beauceron French Shepherd comes from lowland shepherd dogs guarding herds in the agricultural areas of the Paris Basin. The name of the breed comes from the land of Le Beauce. Some cynologists, however, believe that his history can date back to the Neolithic era and is a descendant of a dog from Tourbieres, whose remains were unearthed in the French Jura.

The first mentions of an old French dog, used for hunting large animals (bears and boars) and for guarding cattle can be found in documents from 1387. Gaston Phoebus, Count de Foix, described them as a mastina – a short-haired dog with a gray coat with dark spots and dark V-shaped mark on the head. It had fur 2-6 cm long, trousers on hind legs and a short or long tail (wrapped at the end in the shape of a hook).

Similar descriptions can also be found in “La Mason Rustique” from 1578. In the 18th century a certain Buffon calls a dog guarding herds of cattle matin (from now on this term is used). Until the Great French Revolution, there are no records about other varieties of shepherd dogs.

In 1809, in Roznik’s Agricultural Book, for the first time, two types were distinguished: a lowland sheepdog and a mountain sheepdog. The first worked in the open, was quite light and busy, had a long coat, and his task was to guard and herd sheep.

The second was to protect against predators animals grazing in forests and on mountain pastures. He was strong, bold and brave, able to attack and defeat the wolf. He had a short, thick coat and black or red coat.

1896 turned out to be particularly important for shepherds. A commission was established then, which established the names for both varieties: long-haired was called Berger de Brie (briard), short-haired – Berger de Beauce.

The first beauceron entered in the French pedigree book was the bitch BERGERE de la Chapelle. A standard was soon developed that unified the appearance of short-haired shepherds and made them considered a separate breed. The created Club Francais du Chien de Berger regularly organized competition for watchdogs. From the beginning, attempts were made to maintain their usability and not allow degradation only to the role of an accompanying dog.

In 1991, Jerzy Wieczorek imports GRYFA des Loupus de Saint Ignace, and a few months later Tadeusz Sochacki imports the bitch HEIDI DOLLS des Vaillants D’Oslark. After this pair puppies are born with the nickname “Red Stocking”. Both farms have already ceased operations. Dogs brought in from France, Hungary and the Czech Republic in the following years gave rise to several new kennels. The breed enjoys moderate popularity.

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French Shepherd Beauceron – group I FCI, section 1, reference number 44

• Country of origin: France
• General appearance: Large, solidly built, strong, well-muscled, but not heavy; body length slightly exceeds the height at the withers. Characteristic double “wolf claws” on hind limbs, called spurs.
• Height: Dog 65-70 cm, bitch 61-68 cm.
• Coat: Short, thick and hard hair, smooth fitting, three to four cm long. Undercoat short, delicate, dense, fluffy and compact, invisible from under the cover layer, preferably in mouse color. Slightly fringed coat on the thighs and bottom of the tail.
• Color: Black and tan: black must not be faded, tan and tan should be in a squirrel color; the marks are on the head (spots above the eyes and on the cheeks), throat, forechest (two large spots preferred), limbs (up to 1/3 of their length) and under the tail. Harlequin variety: the coat consists of evenly distributed black and gray spots (with a predominance of black). Burning like a black variety. A small white spot on the chest is acceptable.
• Head: Well carved and harmonious, flat or slightly rounded skull, slight furrow, occipital protuberance clearly visible. Stop poorly marked. The muzzle must not be narrow or pointed. Black nose. Scissor bite.
• Eyes: Slightly oval, horizontally set. Chestnut color, dark hazel, but not lighter. In the harlequin variety, blue eyes are allowed.
• Ears: Set on high, carried straight. Copied – slightly tilted forward, the middle of the ear passes through the line being the extension of the sides of the neck. Natural – half raised, they cannot be standing. They should be flat and fairly short.
• Body: Straight back, clear withers, broad and long chest, its cross-section should be 1/5 of the height at the withers. Loins: Short, broad and well-muscled. Croup slightly sloping.
• Forequarters: Straight, oblique and medium-long shoulders, muscular forearms, strong, round feet.
• Hindquarters: Seen from the back and front, the thighs are large and well-muscled, the lower legs are strong. An almost vertical metatarsus with the lower leg creates a clearly obtuse angle. Mandatory double claws. Feet like forelimbs.
• Tail: Long, low, reaching at least to the hocks, slightly curved in the form of the letter “J”. It cannot be tilted to the side and raised above the ridge in motion.

Interesting facts

On the hind legs, the beauceron has characteristic double wolf claws that do not disturb the dog in everyday life. Correct claws are those in which you can extract two separate fingers with fingernails. These fingers may be slightly fused and may not have full bone “scaffolding”.

Double wolf claws on the front paws, no double wolf claws on the hind legs (e.g. one claw or one finger with two nails) or an excess (e.g. triple) is a disqualifying disadvantage of a breeding dog.