Many people tend to ask why this breed is so prevalent in all parts of the world. Well, this article will answer that question.
The Beauceron is most loved for its love of working. It was originally bred to herd but it has so many other skills as well. Many of these will be covered in this article.
Are The Beauceron Good Guard Dogs?
One great characteristic about these dogs is that they are very friendly around familiar people.
However, when they see a stranger nearby, these dogs bark very loudly to scare them away. This makes the Beauceron a great guard dog.
They will guard you when you are home and when you are away, these dogs will guard your whole compound.
What makes the Beauceron a good service dog?
The Beauceron has, for many years, been used as service dogs. They have a great sense of smell, which enables them to be good trackers of predators or people.
The military uses them in the detection of fatal land mines and IED’s in warzone areas where military personnel is serving.
On the other hand, law enforcement personnel like the police also use the Beauceron dog breed to track down runaway suspects or in investigations to find concealed contraband and harmful substances.
Are Beauceron Dogs A Dangerous Breed?
To burglars, coming into contact with this dog should be their worst nightmare. They have a strong jaw which can get a grip of whatever they bite.
However, around their owners, they like to play with the whole family. Since they have their herding traits, these dogs can herd children sometimes when playing.
Quick Facts About The Beauceron
- Weight: 70 to 110 pounds
- Lifespan: 10 to 14 years
- Height: 24 to 27.5 inches
The Beauceron is muscular and anhave a dstrong appearance. This is the characteristic that makes the Beauceron good for.
This dog breed was originally produced in France. It was originally bred as a herding breed and could protect livestock from predators like wolfs.
Today these dogs are available in many homes around the world and they make great family companions. In France, they are called Berger de Beauce, which means sheepdog from Beauce.
History of the breed
The Berger de Beauce was bred to be a herding dog and livestock guarding dog.
It originally dates to as far back as 1578. The breeders noted that the Beauceron was fast and had a muscular appearance.
It has, since then been given the crown for being the largest of the French sheepdogs.
It was very versatile in the amount of activities it could do. The Beauceron was used as a guard dog. It was also used as a police search and rescue dog, messenger dog as well as a mine detection dog.
In 1893, this breed was first registered and after that, the breed began to increase in terms of popularity around France and surrounding regions.
People started owning them as pets and soon, its traits as a sheep-herding dog began to disappear.
It later made its way to the USA where it was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 2007.
Today, a lot of these dogs are used today as service dogs in the military/police and as pets in many homes around the globe.
Physical Appearance
Like in many dog breeds, male Beauceron breeds appear to be much larger than female ones.
The height of males ranges from 25.5 inches to 27.5 inches while in female, the height range is from 24 inches all the way up to 26.5 inches.
Despite the fact that males are taller than female ones, both the male and the female Beauceron breeds have the same weight range of 70 pounds to 110 pounds.
Beauceron dogs have a double coat which consist of a fluffy undercoat and a much harder outer coat.
Their color can either be black with grey markings or Grey color with tan markings. Such markings usually appear on the chest and the collar.
Are the Beauceron Breeds Friendly? (Temperaments)
The Beauceron dog is the type of dog that will get along with every family member.
On top of that, if they grow up with other pets such as cats, they can get along very well with them.
They must also be trained to socialize with other dogs so that they should be less aggressive to them as they get older.
Beauceron dogs are an active breed.
The dog’s energy never seems to run out. Choosing to buy an active dog like this means that you have to be an active person yourself.
This is because this dog needs to be exercised a lot. You need to take them on runs and play with them every day to drain away some of that energy.
Important Facts about this unique breed
Beauceron are easy to train
These dogs are very intelligent which makes them easy to train. For the best results, always have some treats with you so that you can reward the dog when he does a trick right. Having a treat speeds up the training process.
Beauceron have a prey drive
They will often be seen chasing squirrels, rodents or even other smaller pets like cats around the compound.
However, you can train your dog to be more social around other pets but you must do this while they are at a young age.
A Balanced Diet – Food Requirements For Beauceron Dog Breed
Like a lot of other dogs, the Beauceron breed must be given a balanced diet to keep it healthy.
A balanced diet contains well measured amounts of nutrients that are balanced.
Giving your dog a particular mineral more than the required amounts can lead to health problems.
Vegetables
Vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and carrot are edible for your dog. They contain vitamins A which helps in vision and other vitamins like K, B1, B6 and K.
However, vegetables should only be about 10% of your dog’s overall diet. You can even give vegetables to your dog as treats.
Water
Water must be made available to your dog at all times. Consider buying a water bowl and make sure it always contains water to keep your dog hydrated throughout the day.
You must note that younger Beauceron dogs should be given more food in a day as compared to older ones.
Puppies that are between the ages of 8 and 12 weeks old, for instance, should be fed 4 times a day while Beauceron breeds that are over 1 year old should be fed once a day.
Exercise Requirements For Beauceron
As the Beauceron grows, so does its activity levels. They are very active and alert dogs.
Such dogs need to be exercised and these exercises must be both mental and physical to keep the dog from being bored. If the dog is bored, it may develop an unstable behavior.
NOTE: the amount of exercises to be given to your dog must be more than just a walk down the street.
You must play with it for at least 45 minutes. Their favorite game to play is fetch. They also like to run so a long run will be enough as a physical exercise for them.
Beauceron Dogs Are Low-Maintenance Breeds (Grooming)
When we speak of grooming, then the Beauceron would be put in the “Least maintenance” Category.
If you want a dog that won’t take much of your time to maintain then, by all means, go for this breed.
This is because the breed has a short double coat which shed very little. However, during the spring seasons, these dogs tend to shed a lot so they must be brushed more in those shedding seasons to remove the dead hair.
They must have a bath at least once in every 2 to 3 months which may seem very convenient to many dog owners.
On top of that, their nails but be trimmed once a month and their ears checked on a weekly basis.
Health Concerns For Beauceron
It is a common concept that mix breeds are dogs that have a lot of health issues and pure breeds have less issues.
Despite the fact that these breeds are pure breeds, they do tend to develop health issues as well that can as well be fatal.
Older Beauceron breed tend to have more health conditions than younger ones. Let’s take a look at some of the health issues associated with Beauceron dogs.
Allergies
Allergies can be caused by an inhalant, contact with the skin, insect bites and most commonly, when dogs ingest a food that their bodies do not tolerate.
Some of the symptoms of allergies are sneezing associated with a running nose.
If the allergies were triggered by contact with a toxic substance or by an insect bite on the skin, it leads to excessive itching which eventually leads to scratching and inflammations on the skin.
Dermatomyositis
This is a condition which leads to the inflammation of muscles and /or the blood vessels.
This can causes congestion in the body which can eventually lead to organ failure and even death. However, it is treatable is the dog is taken to the vet during the time when the symptoms are still new.
Hip Arthritis
This is a common condition that affect large dog breeds like the Beauceron dog. In this issue, the dogs hit joint develops arthritis which causes the dog to become lame.
This is because it affects the way the dog walks or even stop the dog from walking at all.
Cataracts
This is an eye problem that causes the dog’s eyes to become cloudy. If not treated in time, the cloudiness gets denser and this eventually leads to blindness.
Beauceron breeds much go for regular checkups to make sure that they do not have this or any other eye problem.
TIP: Make sure that before you buy the dog, your breeder should provide you with papers indicating that the dog was taken through checkups or that its parents passed such tests.
Heartworms
Beauceron breeds are more prone to have heartworms when they are in an area that has a high population of mosquitoes.
Areas such as valleys or places that are located close to still waters usually have a large number of mosquito thriving grounds. Take your dog for checkups regularly during the wet seasons.
The vet will most likely prescribe a medicine that you can give to your dog monthly to keep your Beauceron from developing heartworms.
The Lifespan Of Beauceron Dog Breed
With proper medical care and a suitable diet, Beauceron breeds have been recorded to live as long as 10 years all the way up to 14 years of age.
