The Beauceron dog has variously been known as the:
French Shorthaired Shepherd Beauce Shepherd Bas Rouge Red Stocking Berger de Beauce
Beauceron Dog History
With origins that date back to the late 1500s, the Beauceron dog is an entirely French dog breed. The name Beauceron actually stems from the plains and region around Paris known as La Beauce. The Beauceron properly came into its own as a definitive breed in 1809 when concerted efforts were underway to separate the multitude of various French herder dogs. Eventually it was decided that the shorthaired dogs would be named after the Beauce region while the longhaired ones would be named for the Brie district.
Beauceron Dog Breed
The Beauceron dog is the largest of the French sheepdogs and its heyday as such was utilized as an all purpose farm dog with herding, protection and guarding duties. In 1893 the Beauceron was registered for the first time by the Societe Centrale Canine and by 1900 it was appearing in dog shows. In 1911 the first Beauceron breed club was formed but despite that this well-recognized French dog breed remained pretty unknown outside of France.
The Beaucerons character and intelligence makes for the ideal police dog and during both world wars this dog breed was used by the French military as a messenger dog and was even employed to carry replacement ammunition belts strapped to its body. To this day the Beauceron still plays a useful role within the military, commonly being used to detect mines and explosives, a task at which it has proved to be particularly adept.
Beauceron Dog Temperament
The Beauceron is an exceptionally intelligent dog breed as befits an animal whose original purpose was to excel at multi-tasking. Beaucerons are very loyal, calm and courageous dogs that are little disposed to strangers or other animals which is unsurprising because one of their breed traits was to protect livestock and guard the farm. Overall the Beauceron is a relatively strong-willed breed that requires early socialization and a firm hand if it is not to become unruly. That said the Beauceron is invariably safe around its own family members and will go to great lengths to protect them. However they can become a little rowdy with kids and tend to want to herd them so it is wise to set boundaries.
Beauceron Dog Maintenance
The Beauceron dog is a very active animal with an extremely agile mind that needs a good dose of daily stimulus both physically and mentally. In the absence of sufficient daily stimulus the Beauceron dog has a tendency of becoming destructive because it is bored. Despite its work-dog heritage as a herder, the Beauceron is very much the family dog and it is unwise to relegate it to long periods of isolation in a kennel.
Beauceron Dog Appearance
Quite commonly the Beauceron dog is illustrated in photos with pointed or pricked up ears giving the dog an added aura of fierceness, but this is not the natural appearance of this dog breed. In fact with a growing distaste for cosmetic mutilations in dogs more and more people retain the Beauceron dog with its ears allowed to hang down in their natural state. In appearance the Beauceron dog has been likened to a cross between a German Shepherd and a Doberman Pinscher.
The body of the Beauceron dog is powerful yet athletic in appearance befitting an animal designed to herd and protect livestock. Typical of herding dogs the Beauceron does not hold its head high when moving but keeps it level with its back. The Beauceron sports a dense outer coat of medium length comprised of straight hair in conjunction with a dense undercoat the combined combination of which make for formidable weather-resistant protection. The usual color pattern of this dog breed is black-and-tan like that of the Doberman but rare harlequin form does exist too.
The Beauceron dog strangely enough possesses rear double dewclaws a throwback from more superstitious times that has persisted up until till today whereby any dog lacking this largely useless feature will be disqualified from competitions as they are now considered a breeding trademark.
Weight: 65 85 lb
Height Male: 25.5 27.5 inches
Height Female: 24 26.5 inches
More About The Dog
No comments:
Post a Comment