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TRANSLATION:
Mrs. Jeans-Brown. Revised by Dr. R. Pollet, with the collaboration of R.
Triquet and John Miller.
ORIGIN:
Belgium-France.
DATE
OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD:
25.10.2000.
UTILIZATION:
Originally the Bouvier des Flandres was used as a herding dog, as a
draught dog and as churning dog. The modernisation of farm equipment has
affected these first tasks and nowadays the Bouvier des Flandres is
above all used as a guard dog for the estate and the farm, as a defence
and police dog. Its physical and behavioural aptitudes, its great
qualities of scent, initiative and intelligence warrant its use as a
tracking dog, a messenger dog and a gamekeeper’s dog.
CLASSIFICATON
F.C.I.:
Group 1: Sheepdogs and Cattle dogs (except Swiss Cattle dogs).
Section
2: Cattle dogs (except Swiss Cattle dogs).
With working trial.
BRIEF
HISTORICAL SUMMARY :
As its name indicates, the Bouvier des Flandres (Flanders Cattle Dog) is
native to Flanders, to both Belgian and French regions of that name,
since they are not divided by any natural frontiers. The cowmen and
drovers of stock in Flanders needing good dogs to drive their herds,
only selected from the local dogs available those specimens which
possessed the required physical and behavioural qualities. The present
day Bouvier des Flandres has inherited these qualities.
GENERAL
APPEARANCE:
Sub-brachymorphic. Short and compact body, strong and well-muscled
limbs. The Bouvier des Flandres gives the impression of power, but
without clumsiness.
The Bouvier des Flandres is to be judged in its natural stance, without
physical contact with the handler.
IMPORTANT
PROPORTIONS:
Length of body from point of shoulder to point of buttock should be
approximately equal to height at withers.
Proportions of length of skull to length of muzzle are 3 to 2.
BEHAVIOUR
/ TEMPERAMENT
:
The Bouvier des Flandres has the calm, thoughtful character of a
sensible, but fearless dog. Its lively look indicates intelligence,
energy and audacity. It is essential that the Bouvier des Flandres
should retain its aptitude for work. Any change which could harm this
must be penalised.
HEAD
: The
head has a massive appearance, still more accentuated by the beard and
moustache. It is in proportion to the body and stature. Its clean cut
lines are obvious to the touch.
CRANIAL
REGION:
Well-developed and flat, slightly less broad than long. Toplines of
skull and muzzle are parallel. Frontal groove hardly denoted.
Stop:
Only slightly pronounced; more apparent than real, due to upstanding
eyebrows.
FACIAL
REGION
:
Nose:
Nose continues the muzzle in a line which is slightly convex towards its
end. It must be well-developed, rounded at the sides and always black in
colour. Wide-open nostrils.
Muzzle:
Broad, powerful, well-boned, straight in its upper line, narrowing
towards the nose, but never becoming pointed. Its length should be
shorter than the skull by 2 : 3. Circumference measured just below the
eyes should be approximately equal to length of head.
Lips:
Well-fitting and strongly pigmented.
Jaws/Teeth:
Jaws must be powerful and of equal length. Teeth are strong, healthy,
white and evenly set. Scissor or pincer bite. Dentition must be
complete.
Cheeks:
Flat and clean, zygomatic arches are not very protruding.
Eyes:
Frank and energetic expression, neither protruding nor sunken. They
should be slightly oval in shape, set horizontally. Colour should be as
dark as possible in relation to coat. Light and wild-looking eyes should
be strongly penalised. Lids black, without the slightest indication of
unpigmented areas. Haw should never be visible.
Ears:
Cropped in triangle, carried upright, set high, very mobile; a crop
proportioned to the head size is recommended.
Un-cropped ears:
Position:
Set high, above eye level, flaps falling vertically. The fold must not
stand higher than the top of the skull.
Shape
and carriage:
Half-long, forming an equilateral triangle, slightly rounded at tip,
lying flat against cheeks, except the slight lift-up at top of ear set;
neither folded nor curled; in proportion with head size; covered with
very short hair.
NECK:
Should spring clearly from the shoulders and is carried sufficiently
upright. Strong, well muscled, widening gradually towards the shoulders.
Length slightly shorter than length of head. Nape powerful and slightly
arched. No dewlap.
BODY:
Powerful, close-coupled and short.
Topline:
Upper line of back and loins horizontal, tight and firm.
Withers:
Slightly raised.
Back:
Short, broad, muscled and well-supported, with no sign of weakness, yet
remaining flexible.
Loins:
Short, broad, well muscled; must be flexible, with no sign of weakness.
Croup:
Must follow as closely as possible the horizontal line of the back and
blend imperceptibly into the curve of the buttocks. Broad but not
excessively so in males, more developed in bitches. A croup which falls
away or a goose rump is a serious fault.
Chest:
Broad and well let down as far as level of elbows, but not cylindrical.
The first ribs are slightly arched, the others rounded and well-sloped
to the rear, giving the desired length of chest. Flat ribs to be
severely penalised. The distance from the point of the breast-bone (manubrium)
to the last rib must be considerable, about 7/10 of the height at the
withers.
Underline:
The underside of the chest rises very slightly towards the belly, which
is only slightly tucked up. Flanks must be short, especially in males.
TAIL:
Set relatively high, the tail must continue the line of the
backbone.
Some dogs are born tailless and must not be penalised for this.
The tail should be docked in the first week of birth leaving 2 or 3
vertebrae.
In countries where docking is banned, the whole tail is admitted.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS:
Overview:
Front legs have strong bone and are well-muscled. Perfectly straight and
parallel seen from the front.
Shoulders:
Relatively long, muscled, without being heavy, moderately oblique.
Shoulder blade and humerus are approximately of the same length.
Upper arm:
Moderately oblique.
Elbows:
Close to body and parallel. Elbows turning in or out, in a natural
stance or on the move, are considered a fault.
Forearm:
Whether seen in profile or from the front, they must be perfectly
straight, parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. They
must be well-muscled and with good bone.
Wrist (carpus):
Exactly in line with forearm. Only the pisiform bone juts out at the
back of the wrist. Strong bone.
Front
pasterns (metacarpus):
Strong bone, quite short, sloping forward very slightly.
Forefeet:
Short, round, compact, neither toeing in nor toeing out. Toes should be
tight and arched, with strong and dark nails. Thick and hard pads.
HINDQUARTERS:
Overview:
Strong, with pronounced muscle, upright and perfectly parallel seen from
the rear. Must move in the same planes as the front legs.
Upper thighs:
Broad, well-muscled, parallel in direction to the median plane of the
body. Femur must be neither too straight nor too sloping. Buttocks well
let down, trousered and firm.
Stifle (Knee):
Set approximately on an imaginary straight line from the highest point
of the hip (iliac crest) perpendicular tot the ground.
Lower thighs:
Moderately long, well-muscled, neither too straight nor too
sloping.
Hocks:
Rather close to the ground, broad, tight. Seen from behind they should
be straight and perfectly parallel when standing. On the move they
should turn neither in nor out.
Back
pasterns (metatarsus):
Strong and lean, rather cylindrical, perpendicular to the ground when
the dog is in a natural standing position. No dewclaws.
Hind feet:
Round, solid, toes well closed and arched, with strong black nails.
Thick hard pads.
GAIT/MOVEMENT:
The whole of the Bouvier des Flandres must be harmoniously proportioned
to ensure free, true and proud movement. Walking and trotting are the
normal gaits, although one does also encounter amblers. At a normal trot
the Bouvier des Flandres covers its traces i.e. covers the front pad
marks with the rear.
SKIN:
Tight fitting; no excessive slackness; the edges of the eyelids and lips
are always very dark.
COAT:
HAIR:
The coat is very abundant, the outer coat forming with the dense
undercoat a protective layer perfectly adapted to the sudden climatic
changes in this breed’s native land. The hair must be coarse to the
touch, dry and matt, neither too long nor too short (about 6 cm.),
slightly tousled but never woolly or curly. Shorter on the head and very
short on the outside of the ears. The inner part of the ear flap is
protected by medium long hair. The upper lip carries a moustache and the
chin a full beard, giving the forbidding expression so typical of this
breed. The eyebrows consist of raised hairs, accentuating the shape of
the superciliary ridges without ever veiling the eyes. The coat is
particularly harsh and rasping on the upper part of the back. It
shortens very slightly on the limbs but remains harsh. A flat coat
should be avoided because it denotes a lack of undercoat. The undercoat
is a padding made up of fine dense hair which grows beneath the outer
coat and together with the topcoat it forms a waterproof covering.
COLOUR:
The Bouvier des Flandres’ coat is usually grey, brindle or overlaid
with black. A completely uniform black is also accepted, without being
favoured. Light-coloured, so-called washed-out coats are not acceptable.
A white star on the chest is tolerated.
SIZE
AND WEIGHT:
Height
at withers:
62-68 cm for males,
59-65 cm for females,
with a tolerance of plus or minus 1 cm.
For both sexes the ideal size is the middle range, i.e. 65 cm for males,
62 cm for females.
Weight:
approximately 35 - 40 kg for males
27
– 35 kg for females.
FAULTS:
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and
the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in
exact proportion to its degree.
SERIOUS
FAULTS:
-
Timid dog.
-
Molossoid appearance, too heavy a dog.
-
Body obviously too long (slight tolerance for females) or too
light.
-
Too massive a head, marked stop, pronounced frontal groove, very
prominent zygomatic
arches.
-
Domed skull, narrow skull, very prominent occipital crest,
important lack of parallelism between
the toplines of skull and muzzle.
-
Muzzle too long, pinched nose.
-
Loose, thick or overlapping lips.
-
Wry jaw; malocclusion of teeth.
-
Small, unhealthy or poorly set teeth.
-
Light eyes, bulging eyes, untypical expression.
-
Uncropped ears which are curled or folded.
-
Cylindrical neck, dewlap.
-
Back very sagging, very arched.
-
Very faulty stance, obviously camped stance, sickle hocks.
-
Silky coat, lack of undercoat, puffed up coat, shiny,
over-groomed.
-
Lack of head furnishings.
-
Simultaneous faults in pigmentation (nose, lips, eyelids).
DISQUALIFYING
FAULTS:
-
Overly shy or dangerously aggressive dog.
-
Obvious lack of type.
-
Discoloured nose or of another colour than black.
-
Pointed muzzle.
-
Pronounced over- or undershot bite.
-
Any missing tooth other than one P1.
-
Wall eyes or wild expression.
-
Entropion, ectropion, unpigmented eyelids.
-
Coat chocolate brown, white, pepper and salt, washed-out colour
and any other pale fawn going
from light to red, even with black
overlay.
-
Height at withers outside the range of the standard.
N.B.:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
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