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| Berger Picard (Picardy Sheepdog) |
Their ears are naturally erect, high-set and quite wide at the base. Their eyebrows are thick, but do not shield their dark frank eyes. Yes, they really do smile! Their natural tail normally reaches to the hock and is carried with a slight J-curve at the tip. Their weather proof coat is harsh and crisp to the touch, not excessively long with a minimal undercoat. Coat colors fall into two basic colors: fawn and gray with a wide range of shade variations including light fawn, dark fawn, gray, gray with black highlights, blue gray, gray red, and brindle.
Another breed with a history longer than many countries, the Berger Picard can be traced to the Franks movement into Northern France around the 9th century. Due to their regional distribution they were victims of the trench fighting in the Somme in WW1, and currently registered pedigree numbers are under 5000. However, this embodiment of the Âscruffy dogÊ, although less successful in the show ring, is ideal as both a family hound and a workerÊs companion. Clever, energetic and with a developed sense of humour, a possible downside is their tendency towards being picky eaters.
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| Berger Picard |
To bring up and prepare a Picard for its future life, it needs a well balanced owner who can give the dog reassurance in everyday life along with daily pack walks. It has to be a member of the pack, not locked away in a kennel and not to be isolated from the family. Intelligent, the Picard learns quickly but if the handler is not displaying a natural authority the dog will become stubborn and may not always want to learn. Meek or passive owners will almost certainly run into behavior issues. It is a real task to train Picards for any kind of dog-sport. These dogs are very sensitive to the voice so being harsh with them is not necessary. One needs to be patient, calm, but firm, confident and consistent.
Making the rules clear and sticking to them. It needs to be well-socialized when it is still young with close contact to friends, children, and even strangers, to give it the best possible start for a good and long life in society. If raised with other animals such as cats, rabbit pets, & geese, there is usually no problem on keeping them together. If well trained, the Picard usually will not hunt. In general it doesn’t have a strong hunting instinct. Picards that do hunt use more sight than smell. However, some lines have stronger hunting instincts. Some like to bark and do so frequently unless the humans communicate to the dog that barking obsessively in an unwanted behavior. Without this proper communication between the human and the dog the barking can become a problem if you live surrounded by neighbours. Contact with other animals is not generally a problem. Energetic, alert, loyal and sweet tempered with children. It is a fine sheep and cattle herder, and a good farm guard.
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| Picardy Sheepdog |
Berger Picard Health Problems
Hip dysplasia is known, but not common because the dog is not super heavy. During the first year puppies sometimes get eye infections due to draught or dirt getting into the eye; after one year those problems usually don’t appear any more. There are some heredity problems such as the PRA and RD. All breeding dogs, males and females, should get checked for those diseases once a year or every two years. (PRA= Progressive Retina Atrophy, RD=Retina dysplasia).
Berger Picard Living Conditions
The Berger Picard will do okay in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. It is not important how big the yard is, as long as the dog gets enough exercise during the day. However the Picard always tries to stay close to its owner and family, so even if you have a big yard and give the dog a choice to pick where it wants to be, it will rather stay inside with you than alone outside. Inside the house the Picard is usually a very quite dog, waiting for its owner to go out for a run, play and sniff around. If the dog is trained to stay on its own for some time during the day, it doesn’t cause problems. However lots of people take their Picards to work with them. They lay themselves down under a table near their owner and just wait to leave again or to go for a walk.Lots of exercise is required for this breed, including long daily walks. It will enjoy swimming, running alongside your bike, and a nice long walk. The Berger Picard makes an excellent jogging companion. Enrolling it in obedience class or in an agility skills class is an excellent way to keep it happy. They do not do well in competition because they find it almost impossible to perform consistently.
Comb and brush the thick waterproof coat only about once or twice a month – if possible only
during the shedding season; don’t wash or trim the fur, just clean it off when dirty. This breed is a light shedder and has no doggie odor.
Berger Picard Origin
This is possibly the oldest of all French shepherds, arriving in Picardy and Pas de Calais with the Celts in AD 800. The Berger Picard is named for the Picardie region in northeastern France. Some experts insist that this breed is related to the more well known Briard and Beauceron; while others believe it shares a common origin with Dutch and Belgian Shepherds. Although the Berger Picard made an appearance at the first French dog show in 1863, the breed’s rustic appearance did not lead to popularity as a show dog. The two world wars nearly caused the extinction of the Berger Picard and it is still rare.
13-14 yrs
Height: - 55-66 cm.
Weight: - 23-32 kg.
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