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- Hi, I'm Lauren Trathen and my experience with
the Beauceron breed currently is that,
I am a Beauceron breeder, handler, and trainer.
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I've been involved with the Beauceron breed now,
for going on five years.
The breed standard for Beauceron's:
Their weight should be proportionate to their body,
they are a medium dog in all aspects.
For height, the females in the Beauceron breed are
24 inches to 26 and a half inches,
and the males are 25 and a half inches
to 27 and a half inches.
They should be an overall balanced dog.
They can come in either the black and tan known as
the noir et faux, or they can be in the harlequin color.
Which is a gray mixed into the pattern of
the black and red of the normal Beauceron.
The most specific thing about the Beauceron breed standard
that will identify a Beauceron is their Bas Rouge,
which is the red stockings that they trademark have
on their legs but also, their double dewclaws
which should be fully formed and firmly attached
to their back rear feet.
The history of the Beauceron,
the very first mentionings of a Beauceron type description
is back in 1578.
And than fast forwarding in time,
in 1893 was the first time the Livres Origines Francais,
of the French origin book of recognized
the first Beauceron was in 1893.
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The original purpose, they were bred for many, many years
to be a driving and herding dog for cattle or sheep,
outside of the Paris region, in the region of La Bouche.
Which is why they were called Berger de Beauce,
shepherd of the Bouche region.
They were meant mainly to herd sheep and cattle,
and to also protect the homestead and guard the family.
In later years they were used in both wars overseas
in Europe, sending messages to the front lines,
due to their unwavering ability to not hesitate on a
command from their handler.
As far as the clubs are aware for the Beauceron their are
no known mixes that went into making the Beauceron.
We are not entirely sure of its origins.
It's just one of those very old breeds.
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In today's day and age, the main breeds that we know of
that the Beauceron has gone into creating would be:
the Catahoula Leopard Dog,
and also the widely known Doberman Pinscher as well.
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In today's day and age the Beauceron can excel in
many, many differnt areas.
They are a very versatile working dog.
There are many Beauceron's out there doing dock diving,
herding, trick training, rally, obedience, weight pull,
cana cross, anything that a dog could do,
a Beauceron could absolutely do it.
In terms of excelling at any sort of sports,
they truly excel in herding, lure coursing,
and definitely obedience work.
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The Beauceron can be a very good pet for an active person
who wants to be very involved with their dog,
who will stimulate their dog not just physically
but also mentally.
In terms of that, I believe a Beauceron can be an
amazing pet for a very dedicated owner.
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To keep my Beauceron's healthy and happy,
I make sure to feed them obviously a quality diet,
and we get out and we exercise.
But mainly taking my dogs out to herding.
And um, you know exercising their instinct that they have.
Training and working them mentally keeps them not just
physically in shape, but also mentally strong.
The food that I feed my Beauceron and the amount that
I would feed a Beauceron would vary depending on the
type of dog I had before me, and how much exercise I've
been giving that dog.
But generally anywhere between three and a half to
five and a half cups of food.
Depending on what quality and kind of food you're feeding
would be about you would be giving a Beauceron who's fairly
mentally stimulated and physically throughout the week.
For a Beauceron that is physically fit in my ideal opinion,
I would like to see the last rib be visible on their dog.
A lot of coverage on their hips.
And I'd also like to see a lot of nice
muscling around the chest.
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The Beauceron breed is best suited to live with somebody
in their home, with a larger yard.
Or someone who has access to a lot of space and can get
their Beauceron out to stretch their legs.
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Apartments not out of the question for a Beauceron,
as long as the owner is dedicated in making sure that the
dog gets out and gets exercise.
The Beauceron can be very good for a multidog home.
They generally are very tolerant
and playful with other dogs.
But there have been known same sex aggression cases.
So it really depends on the individual Beauceron and
perhaps the lines they have come from or the history
that, that specific dog has.
So you should always be very careful when introducing
your Beauceron to your household.
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The temperament of the Beauceron according to the standard
is that they should be aloof and very confident.
They should never back down from a threat.
And their appearance should be frank and alert.
The socialization of a Beauceron and its training is
incredibly important.
At a young age the Beauceron should be
heavily socialized with as many situations as possible.
Including in the day time and at night.
It is very important to make sure that your Beauceron
sees as much of the world as possible before they go
through fear periods and before they reach adolescents.
In terms of training, your Beauceron should
receive lifelong training.
It should be definitely leash trained,
and obedience training.
It should be able to accept a stranger
that you ask it to accept.
It does not have to be incredibly friendly or lab like,
but it should be able to accept a stranger.
The breed is actually rather difficult to train because
they are incredibly intelligent.
They will attempt to be one one step ahead of you,
in all of your training.
They don't enjoy repetition, so you have to keep it fresh
for a Beauceron and have to keep it interesting.
A healthy Beauceron should get anywhere between two to four
hours of exercise as an adult.
As a young puppy I would break that up into 30 minute
increments throughout the day, but nothing too strenuous.
The life expectancy of the breed is about
13 to 14 years at max.
There are some older Beauceron out there,
but that's about the general age.
The main health issues facing the Beauceron is DCM.
It's Dialated Cardiomyopathy.
It also affects Doberman Pinschers.
It's a disease of the heart.
There's also hip dysplasia and osteochondritis.
So it's just mainly the DCM, the hip dysplasia, and
the OCD that we're mainly seeing in the breed
in terms of health concerns.
In the Beauceron breed we have had couple of cases of
Pano in puppies where they grow to fast,
a little too quickly.
So I would make sure that you're not over feeding your
Beauceron puppy and that you're not giving it a lot of
extra stimulants in order to make it grow very fast.
I would keep your Beauceron puppy at a nice trim weight.
Without it being too heavy nor too thin.
The cleaning and grooming requirements for a Beauceron
are almost non-existent.
They are a wash and wear breed.
You could very easily bath this dog and not need to
bath it again for another month, month and a half.
Unless you know, you out encounter a skunk
or get incredibly dirty.
They really, their coat takes care of itself.
The Beauceron does shed extensively.
So at least twice a year, I would do a blowout on the coat
and do a good brushing.
But outside of that there's not very much maintenance
needed for the coat.
The ideal owner for a Beauceron would be somebody
who is dedicated, engaged, and active.
They're a very slow maturing breed.
So it has to be a very dedicated person,
who's willing to wait for them through their maturity.
Which can take three to four years.
A person who has a Golden Retriever, will have a more
mature dog than somebody who would own a Beauceron.
And they would need to be dedicated to making sure that
they go at their dogs pace and not push their Beauceron
too far or too fast.
Because they are so slow in maturing,
while still being a lot of dog for a lot of people.
The Beauceron can be either be inside
or outside someones home.
But primarily, they would like to be so much with
their family, they're not the type of dog that you should
have as a solely outside dog.
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Today we went herding at, ActionK9sports in Escondido.
Moagly, is a recently turned two year old Beauceron
that we imported from Hungary,
from the Guardiens du Chaso kennel.
Where most of his ancestors have been herding dogs.
He's a more mature dog and is further along in his career.
He's been herding for about little over a year.
Is much more mature in his style, slower dog,
thinks about what he's doing before he does it.
And just has a lot of raw talent.
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Ocean who I affectionately call Oce,
is actually the daughter
of the dog in the previous documentary videos you may.
I bred this puppy and she's shown
an amazing talent for herding.
We have been herding now for about a month and a half.
We usually don't start dogs this young,
but she's actually shown a lot of talent.
As you can see in the videos,
Oce is still a little bit excitable.
We're still learning how to change directions
and stop, and listen to the sheep,
and listen to our handler.
So she's definitely a work in progress.
All of my memories that I have of Beauceron's
are incredibly special to me.
I have actually been to France to the National Televas.
And I've seen 600 Beauceron's all in an area together.
And being amongst this breed is incredibly, incredibly
heart warming and special to me.
The dogs themselves are such characters.
They keep you laughing while also giving you a very
general sense of safety.
I love this breed with all of my heart.
I hope to never be without a Beauceron
for the rest of my life if I can manage it.
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