Beauceron

The Beauceron (also known as the Berger de Beauce or the Bas Rouge) is a French herding dog that originated in the late Middle Ages from the agricultural region southwest of Paris, France. Over its long history, this breed has played many roles, including a soldier, bodyguard, shepherd, police dog, search and rescue dog, and companion. When herding livestock, its preferred strategy is to remain wide of the herd or flock, rather than up close, to avoid scaring or spooking them.

The Beauceron’s physical features include an athletic frame, a long and prominent snout, naturally floppy ears, and double dewclaws on the back legs. The short and thick double coat of fur, which consists of a hard outer coat and a woolly undercoat, is normally colored black and tan with an occasionally mottled appearance known as a harlequin. The harlequin coat mixes black, gray, and tan together in a fascinating mottled package. The ears are sometimes made straight and erect by cropping them, but this practice is no longer allowed in many countries.

3 Pros And Cons Of Owning A Beauceron

Size And Weight

The Beauceron is a fairly large dog with a muscular and athletic frame and tall shoulder height.

Common Health Issues

While the Beauceron does have a good lifespan of around 10 to 12 years, it is prone to developing several health problems, including allergies (beef, milk, cereals, chickens, etc), eye conditions, cancer, an enlarged heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, a defective cartilage condition called osteochondritis dissecans, and a developmental disorder called canine hip dysplasia, in which the hip joint comes loose from the socket. Another potentially dangerous condition is called gastric dilation, or simply bloating for short. This occurs often in breeds with deep chest cavities when excess gas causes the stomach to swell up and then twist and turn. Symptoms include excess salivation, retching or vomiting, a swollen abdomen, shortness of breath, and a rapid heart rate. If this occurs, seek medical attention immediately, because it can lead to life-threatening complications.

To improve your dog’s overall quality of life, a veterinarian should perform annual examinations to check for common health issues. Avoiding many of these conditions by doing business with trusted breeders is possible. If asked, they should provide proof that they’ve given their dogs a thorough health evaluation.

Temperament

The Beauceron is a smart, spirited, fearless, and gentle breed. While not necessarily given to overindulgent signs of affection, they are quite friendly and like to stick close to their owner. They also tend to encroach on your personal space by crawling up in your lap or jumping on you if not properly trained (which, given their size, can be quite difficult to deal with). Because of their wariness of strangers, loyal temperament, and strong herding instincts, they generally make good watchdogs and guardians around the home.

They also have very high physical and mental needs and should not be left alone for hours at a time. If left to its own devices, the Beauceron might cause some destruction in your home.

How To Take Care Of The Beauceron

The most important thing to keep in mind with any Beauceron is the amount of time you will need to spend attending to its mental and physical needs. For this reason, it is probably not a good choice for casual dog owners. Prior dog experience is recommended but not necessarily required. These dogs do prefer plenty of space as well. It may do okay in an apartment, but you need to make sure there is a yard or park around your home to ensure it has enough exercise and playtime.

The Best Dog Food For Beaucerons

This dog will probably need around 2.5 cups of food per day, although the exact amount will depend on its size, age, and activity level. Meals should be divided up throughout the day and kept separate from exercise time to reduce the possibility of life-threatening bloat.

Another consideration is the breed’s propensity for allergies. Fortunately, there are many limited-ingredient and allergy-control diets out there to alleviate food sensitivities in dogs.

Maintenance And Grooming

Owners will need to set aside a good deal of time every week for grooming and maintenance. For most of the year, the Beauceron should require no more than weekly grooming with a medium bristle brush and mitts or gloves. When the shedding season begins, however, grooming should take place almost daily to remove all of the loose and dead hair around the coat. Bathing should occasionally be done to clean its fur, but not too often to strip away natural oils.

Another important aspect of its care should be regular nail trimmings every month or so to prevent them from clicking on the floor, which can be uncomfortable for your dog. Clean out the ears on occasion with a simple cotton swab and cleansing solution. Finally, brush their teeth regularly with a kind of appropriate dog-specific toothpaste.

Training

Owners should have few problems with training this breed. Intelligent, responsive, and obedient, the Beauceron can learn a vast number of different commands and rules in a short amount of time. However, because of their sensitive nature, they do not respond very well to negative or harsh training methods. Owners should strive to be consistent, positive, and fair while training this breed.

Exercise

The seemingly endless motor is one of the most notable features of the Beauceron. It will probably require at least an hour of vigorous exercise every day in the form of long walks, fetching, running, and playtime. It also excels at flyball, tracking, agility trials, obedience events, and herding.

Puppies

Beauceron puppies are known for being a little over-exuberant; they like to jump on people and grab things in their mouths. These behaviors need to be discouraged early on if you want to prevent them from developing into bad habits later on as an adult. Puppies will need to undergo a thorough process of training and socialization in their first few months of age. Daycare, professional training programs, and visits to the dog park can all help in this regard.

Crate training is also a very useful tactic. While it is not strictly necessary, a crate can help your puppy adapt to its new home and also with housebreaking.

The Beauceron And Children

While this isn’t the most affectionate breed, the Beauceron does enjoy being around children. Especially if it’s raised with kids from an early age, it will be very loyal and protective of them. The one thing to look out for is their size. Since these dogs are very physical, they might knock down or disturb younger children. Adults should always supervise interactions between their dog and their children.

Dogs Similar To The Beauceron

The Beauceron bears a very strong resemblance to the following breeds of herding dogs:

• Briard: The Briard is a large herding dog that originated from the Brie region near Paris. It is characterized by long, wavy, and shaggy hair with solid black, fawn, and gray and blue colors accepted. While it might be hard to tell under all that hair, the Briard is actually a close relative of the Beauceron.
• Rottweiler: People who have never seen a Beauceron before will sometimes mistake it for a Rottweiler or Rottweiler mix. With the Rottweiler’s massive size, strong herding instincts, short but thick double coat of fur, and black and tan color scheme, it’s easy to see how someone can make that mistake.
• Berger Picard: This large herding dog, which originated from the Picardy region of France, looks a lot like the Briard thanks to the long shaggy hair, colored fawn or brindle. It is lively, intelligent, easy-going, sensitive, assertive, and a little reserved around strangers.

Famous Beauceron Dogs

The Beauceron is best known in its native France, where it’s been kept by celebrities and famous cultural figures. Writer and actress Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, who wrote the 1944 novella “Gigi,” once owned a Beauceron. This breed has also made a small impact on the international scene. It has been featured in numerous films, including the 1979 Bond movie “Moonraker” and the 2002 Martin Scorsese film “Gangs of New York.”