Bouvier des Flandres

Bouviers are big and big-hearted. They are strong and can think for themselves. The Bouvier is protective. He can sometimes be suspicious of other dogs. While he's not overly active in the house, he does need plenty of exercise. Country or suburban living suits him well.

Bouvier des Flandres breed facts

A standard of the Bouvier type was not adopted until 1912. That was accomplished by a Frenchman, Mr. Fontaine, vice-president of the Club St. Hubert du Nord.

Information you should know before owning a Bouvier des Flandres

The Bouvier des Flandres has long been prized for his remarkable abilities as an all purpose farm dog. Cattle driver, messenger, guardian, and protector, the Bouvier is a versatile dog.

He has a rough harsh tousled coat that requires regular brushing to help keep shedding to a minimum.

The Bouvier is a natural guard dog, but he is not an attack dog. He is a tolerant dog who enjoys the company of children.

Dr. Adolphe Reul, of the Veterinary School of Brussels, was the first to call the attention of breeders to the many good qualities of the Bouvier. At that time, the Bouvier was a dog of great size (about 26 inches high at the shoulder), with a heavy cylindrical body, rough gray, dark hair, and a rough appearance. It was found in Southwest Flanders and on the French northern plain. As a rule, it was owned by people who occupied themselves with cattle, for the dog's chief aptitude seemed to be cattle driving.

Most of the early Bouvier breeders were farmers, butchers, or cattle merchants not particularly interested in breeding pedigreed dogs. All they wanted was help in their work. No one is surprised that the first Bouviers were not absolutely uniform in size, weight, and color. Nevertheless, they all had enough characteristics in common to be recognized as Bouviers. They had different names - Vuilbaard (dirty beard), koehond (cow dog), toucheur de boeuf or pic (cattle driver).

The Societe Royale St. Hubert took cognizance of the breed when it appeared on the show benches at the International Dog Show of May 1910, in Brussels. The two Bouviers shown there were "Nelly" and "Rex' belonging to a Mr. Paret of Ghent. However, a standard of the Bouvier type was not adopted until 1912. That was accomplished by a Frenchman, Mr. Fontaine, vice president of the Club St. Hubert du Nord. At that time a society of Bouvier breeders, founded in Roules (West) Flanders, invited many of the most famous Belgian experts to a meeting in August of that year. Those attending drew up a standard of perfection which became the first official standard to be recognized by the Societe Royale St. Hubert.

From then on, the Bouvier des Flandres grew to be more and more appreciated, and were listed in the L.O.S.H. (the stud book of the Society Royale St. Hubert).

The breed was making rapid progress when World War I broke out. The areas where the Bouvier was most largely bred and where it was becoming popular were entirely destroyed; the people left the country and most of the dogs were lost. Many were abandoned and died, others were acquired by the Germans. However, a few men succeeded in keeping their dogs all through the war.

The dog whose progeny afterwards did much to revive the Bouvier in Belgium lived in the Belgian army as the property of Veterinarian Captain Barbry. This dog, Ch. Nic de Sottegem, was shown in 1920 at the Olympic show in Antwerp, where the judge, Charles Huge, said: "Nic is the ideal type of Bouvier. He has a short body, with well-developed ribs, short flanks, strong legs, good feet, long and oblique shoulders. His head is of a good shape, with somber eyes and an ideal courageous expression. His hair is dry and dark. The tail should not have been cut so short. I hope that this dog will have numerous progeny."

Mr. Huge's hope was realized. When Nic died in 1926, he left many descendants whose names appear in almost every pedigree. Among those worthy of mention are Prince D'Or, Ch. Draga, Coralie de Sottegem, Goliath de la Lys, Lyda, Nora, Ch. Dragon de la Lys, etc. From these dogs, gathered together one day at Ghent, a group of experts, including Charles Huge,V. Tenret,V Taeymans, Count de Hemptinne, Captain Binon, and A. Gevaert, after examining and measuring each one carefully, established a more comprehensive standard.

The Bouvier was recognized by the AKC in 1929, and admitted to the Stud Book in 1931. American fanciers imported dogs regularly from Europe until World War II. At the end of the war interest revived, and the American Bouvier des Flandres Club was established in 1963.

Is this a vulnerable breed? Yes, No	No
What size is this dog? Small, Medium, Large	Large
How much excercise is required? 30 mins a day, 1 hour a day, Over 2 hours a day	Over 2 hours a day
How long is this dog's coat? Short, Medium, Long	Medium
How much grooming is required? Once a week, More than once a week, Every day	Every day
Does this dog shed? Does shed, Does not shed	Does not shed
What area is this dog best suited to? Town, Country, Either	Either
What size house is required for this breed? Flat/Apartment, Small House, Large House	Small House
What size of garden is required? Small Garden, Large Garden, No Garden	Large garden

	General Appearance Compact body, short-coupled, powerfully built, well boned, strongly muscled limbs, giving impression of great power but without clumsiness in general deportment.
	Characteristics Lively appearance revealing intelligence, energy and audacity. Its harsh beard is very characteristic giving forbidding expression.
	Temperament Calm and sensible.
	Eyes Alert in expression. Neither protruding nor sunken. Slightly oval in shape and horizontally placed but not too close together. As dark as possible in relation to coat colour. Light or wild-looking eyes highly undesirable. Eyes always black, lack of pigmentation undesirable. Haw never visible.
	Mouth Jaws strong. Teeth strong and white with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
	Neck Strong, well muscled and thickening slightly towards shoulders. A little shorter than length of head, nape strong and slightly arched. Without dewlap.
	Forequarters Forelegs very strong and absolutely straight. Shoulders relatively long, muscular without heaviness, obliquely placed. Shoulder blade and upper arm of equal length. Elbows well set into body and parallel, turning neither in nor out. Forearms, seen from front or side, straight, parallel to each other, perpendicular to ground. Well muscled, heavy boned. Pasterns strong, fairly short, sloping very slightly.
	Body Short, strong, deep, broad, compact with very little tuck-up. Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock about equal to height at withers. Chest descends to level of elbows and is not cylindrical, although ribs well sprung. Croup extends horizontal line of back, blends imperceptibly with curve of rump; broad but not excessively so in dogs, broader in bitches. A rising croup, or one which falls away very definitely undesirable.
	Hindquarters Moderate angulation, firm and well muscled, with large, powerful thighs. Legs strong and sturdy with hocks well let down and perfectly perpendicular when viewed from rear. No dewclaws.
	Feet Short, round and compact. Toes tight and well arched. Nails black and strong. Pads thick and hard.
	Tail Customarily docked or may be born tailless. Docked: Docked to 2-3 vertebrae. Undocked: Continuing normal line of vertebral column. Carried gaily when moving. In overall balance with the rest of the dog.
	Gait / Movement Compact body, short-coupled, powerfully built, well boned, strongly muscled limbs, giving impression of great power but without clumsiness in general deportment.
	Coat Abundant, so thick that when separated by hand skin barely visible. Hair coarse to touch, dry and matt. Neither too long nor too short (about 6 cms (21/2 ins)). Unkempt-looking but never woolly nor curly, gradually becoming shorter as it comes down the legs, always harsh. Flat coat denoting lack of undercoat highly undesirable. Undercoat dense and close grained. On head shorter, outside of ears very short. Upper lip well moustached, lower carrying a full harsh beard giving forbidding expression so characteristic of breed. Eyebrows formed of backward-sweeping hairs accentuating shape of eyebrows but never veiling eyes.
	Colour From fawn to black including brindle. White star on chest permissible. White predominating or chocolate brown highly undesirable. Light washed-out shades undesirable.
	Size Height: dogs: 62-68 cms (24½-27 ins); bitches: 59-65 cms (23-251/2 ins). Weight approx: dogs: 35-40 kgs (77-88 lbs); bitches: 27-35 kgs (59-77 lbs).