Beauceron

Herding Dogs Group
Official U.K.C. Breed Standard*

Copyright 1994, United Kennel Club, Inc.

HISTORY

The Beauceron, or Berger de Beauce, is relatively unknown outside of its native France, although the breed is gaining popularity in the United States. It is a cousin of the Briard, and before the French Revolution both were used mainly as livestock guarding dogs. After the French Revolution, the breed developed into a herding dog. Since the French farmer was not concerned with anything but the working ability of the dogs, it wasn't until the late 19th century that a clear distinction was made between the two breeds - the long-haired variety was called the Briard, and the short-haired was called the Beauceron.

The Beauceron was recognized by the United Kennel Club on January 1, 1994.

GENERAL APPEARANCE

The Beauceron is a large animal with a rustic look and a powerful, muscular build; without heaviness. Appearance emphasizes effortless movement and a direct and fearless manner.

The conformation of the Beauceron is balanced, harmoniously constructed, with no exaggerated lengthening or shortening of the different elements.

Faults: Too elegant. Lack of power. Shy.

CHARACTERISTICS

The Beauceron's expression is that of a shepherd, being direct but never vicious, timid or worried. The temperament must be wise and bold, fearless, and always ready for work. All dogs that are aggressive without reason, timid, or overly suspicious must be disqualified.

HEAD AND SKULL

The head is carried proudly. It is long, being about 2/5 of the height (measured at the withers). The width of the skull and the height of the head are slightly less than half the length of the head.

The well-chiseled head has harmonious lines, showing no signs of weakness. The moderate stop is placed equally between the top of the head and the tip of the nose. The skull may be flat or slightly arched. The furrow between the eyes is slight. The occiput is well marked. The muzzle, which is neither narrow nor pointed, shows a slight convex line at the tip of the nose. When viewed in profile, the muzzle is roughly parallel to the topline of the skull. The fight lips are always well-pigmented. The upper lip must firmly cover the lower lip. The slight flews at the comer of the mouth are always firm.

Faults: Skull too flat or too rounded. Stop too marked or insufficient. Muzzle too hooked, too heavy.Lips too tight. Comers of the mouth thick and flabby. Lack of pigmentation.

TEETH
A full complement of strong, white teeth meet in a scissors bite, with the upper teeth lightly touching the lower teeth.
Serious Faults: Two missing incisors. Two missing canines. Two missing molars. Three missing small premolars.
Faults: Yellow or decayed teeth. One missing incisor. One missing canine. One missing molar.

EYES
The eyes are always dark, never being lighter than dark hazel even if the markings are light in color. The eyes are always round, with an oval-shaped opening.
Faults: Slightly slanted eyes. Slightly protruding. Eyes which are not fully opened. Eyes slightly lighter in color than dark hazel. Dogs having a worried expression in their eyes.

NOSE
The tip of the nose is well-developed and is in proportion with the muzzle, being neither narrow nor too large. It is always black and always in line with the upper lips when viewed in profile.
Faults: Snippy nose. Crooked nose. Too large. Too protruding.

EARS
The ears are carried high. They may be cropped or left natural. Between two dogs of equal quality; preference is to be given to the dog with cropped ears. Cropped ears are erect, never converging nor diverging, and point slightly forward.
Uncropped ears are flat and rather short. They are not set close to the head. The length of the uncropped ear must be equal to half the length of the head.
Faults: Soft, lacking fiber. Poorly carried. Too long. Cropped ears with poor set.

NECK

The muscular neck blends smoothly with the withers.
Faults: Thin neck. Heavy neck. Dewlaps.

FOREQUARTERS

Forequarters are straight when viewed from front back or side. The shoulder is sloping and of medium proportional length.

FORELEGS
The forearms are clean and muscular.
Faults: Weak shoulder. Shoulder a little too straight or too sloping. Double dewclaws on forelegs.

BODY

Body length, from the top of the withers to the point of the rump, must be greater than the height measured at the withers, by 1 cm (3/8") to 1.5 cm (5/8") for the male, and 1.5 cm (5/8") to 2 cm (3/4") for the female.

The chest is wide and deep. The circumference of the chest is to be greater than one and one-ft of the height measured at the withers' The brisket reaches the tip of the elbow. The floating ribs are long and flexible.

The withers are well-marked. The back is straight The broad loin is well-attached. The rump slopes slightly at the point of attachment of the tail.

Faults: Body too long or too short. Rat rump. Rump too sloping. Slight faults in angulation.

HINDQUARTERS

Hindquarters are straight when viewed from the front, back or side.

HIND LEGS
The hind legs are carried back slightly. The stifle is moderately angulated. The rear pasterns are of medium length, one-quarter the height of the dog (measured at the withers), and form an open angle with the leg. The vertical hocks are aligned slightly behind the tip of the rump. There must be double dewclaws on the inside of the hind legs. They are well defined, placed close to the foot, and distinct from one another.

Faults: Dewclaws placed too high. Underdeveloped or fused dewclaws.

FEET

The strong feet are round. Pads are hard, yet elastic. The nails are always black.
Faults: Feet not sufficiently tight. Pads too soft. Pads lacking elasticity.

TAIL

The tail is not docked. It is carried low and straight down, reaching at a short or 'tucked-up* trot A dog that will break into a run at slow least to the tip of the hock. It is in the shape of a hook at the tip. speed. A dog that paces/ambles (considered a fatigue gaft).
Faults: Tail set in slightly off-center. Straight tail. Tail hook too tight.

COAT

The Beauceron is double-coated. The undercoat is very short fine, dense and downy and should not show through the guard hairs. It is preferably light gray.

The hair on the head is short, from 1/8" to 3/4," from the forehead to the crown, respectively. On the body, it is rough, short, thick and coarse, laying close to the body, being 1.18 inches to 1.57 inches long.

Faults: Hair too long on the head. Fringes not thick enough or too light in color. Coat too sleek or tending to wave (the coat is said to wave when the hair is close-laying but shows very slight kinks).

COLOR

The acceptable colors are Black and Rust (Bas Rouge) (bicolor) and Harlequin (tricolor).

Black and Rust bicolor (Bas Rouge)
The black is deep. The bright rust markings appear above the eyes; on the side of the muzzle, fading off on the cheeks and never reaching under the ear-, on the chest (where tw8 spots are preferred to solid markings across the chest); on the throat; under the tail; on the feet up to the hocks and wrist On the limbs, the markings should become progressively narrower upwards. On the outside, they should not go higher than a third at the leg. They will blend higher on the inside of the leg. A few white hairs on the chest are permissible.

HARLEQUIN (grey, black and rust)
The coat has grey and black patches distributed evenly over the body, more black than grey. The bright rust markings are identical to those on the bicolor.

Faults: Black color not sufficiently deep. Markings not sufficiently blended into the black coat Markings too light or too dark in color. Markings too sparse or too prevalent Small white mark on the chest. On the Harlequin, gray shading too light or too prevalent.

HEIGHT

Males: height ranges from 25-1/2 inches (65 cm) to 27-1/2 inches (70 cm).
Females: height ranges from 24 inches (61 cm) to 26-3/4 inches (68 cm).

MOVEMENT

Judging the movement of the Beauceron cannot be overemphasized in the show ring. The action of the Beauceron must be free and supple, with the customary evaluation from both front and behind the dog. Furthermore, it is essential that the dog be viewed from the side, especially in the extended trot. The Judge must look for a long, outreaching movement, with the feet skimming right above.

DISQUALIFICATIONS

Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Under-developed testicle(s). Extreme viciousness or shyness. Too heavy appearance (chest too cylindrical, too potbellied). Too thin appearance Pack of chest, too tucked-up). Heights outside of the maximum or minimum limits. Three missing incisors. Three missing canines. Three missing molars. Four missing premolars.

Head lacking in type. Length: head should be 2/5 of height at with-ers and in proportion with the body Heads much smaller or coarser are disqualified. As well as the head which lacks a stop or one with an excessive stop. The skull must possess harmonious lines and not show weakness (i.e. - too rounded or too flat). Muzzle too narrow (pincher-like) or too short (pug-like). Ups too loose. Ups with an excessive amount of tissue, giving an enlarged or pendulous appear-ance. Lack of pigmentation in lips.

Undershot bite. Overshot bite. Set of teeth too incomplete or faulty. Impossibility of examining the mouth. Split nose. Nose color other than black. Eyes very light Eyes not set on head properly or very slanted, not oval. Ears that do not fit the description.

Body too long. Body too short. Lacks symmetry in overall body structure. Lack of angulation. Angulation is such that it destroys symmetry of dog and will not permit for normal gaits and movement. Short tail. Ratty tail. Tail carded up on itself or on dog's back.

Overly abundant hair on head which does not lie flat and gives a shaggy appearance. The hair on the head cannot be in excess of one (1) inch in length. Hair on body too long or too short. Hair should give an overall smooth appearance on the body. It should not exceed two (2) inches in length or be less than 3/4 inches.

Lack of feathering. Hind leg feathering should be between one (1) inch and 2-1/4 inches. Lack of undercoat. Undercoat showing through guard hairs. Hair that stands up straight. Wavy coat (a wavy coat is neither curly, flat nor sleek).

Splay feet. Feet not allowing a normal action. Single dewclaws on hind legs or lack of dewclaws.

White patch on chest. Markings too prevalent. Markings on parts of the body not mentioned. Markings contrasting too sharply with other color of coat In the Harlequin, too much grey, black on one side with grey on the other, markings smudged with grey, head all grey. Any sign of color weakness or degeneracy, such as bare patches, lack of pigmentation, or faded coloring. Black and grey hair should blend uniformly, presenting a merled appearance. Movement not characteristic of a shepherd dog. The dog that cannot properly execute the walk, trot extend-ed trot, and gallop gaits that are required of a working, herding animal.

** NOTE:

This information has been contributed by, and is property of The United Kennel Club, Inc. and is gratefully used here with permission.

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