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| Two uncropped Beaucerons: one in each of their accepted colors: harlequin (merle) and black and tan |
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| A cropped show Beauceron in Poland |
Today, the beauceron is commonly used in the same way that German shepherds are: as a rather utilitarian breed that can do search and rescue, police work, canine sports, and act as a service dog. Temperament-wise, the breeds is supposed to be fearless, yet gentle. Though it is popular in France, the breed is unusual in other parts of the world. Other names for the breed include Beauce dog, Beauce Sheepdog, Berger de Beauce, and Red-Stocking. The latter comes from the red that is seen on the breeds' lower legs. Though the usual colors are black and tan or herlequin, other colors were once also rather common, such as solid tan and solid black.
The biggest health issue in the breed is hip dysplasia, but many other conditions are also common enough to be of note. Other joint issues, bloat, eye problems, cancer, and numerous other health issues are known to occur in the breed.
Sources are the American Beauceron Club, About Beaucerons, Your Purebred Puppy, Fédération Cynologique Internationale, and the American Kennel Club. Images are from Wikimedia Commons under a Creative commons license or are copyright free: one, two.
Beautiful dogs. We had a dog in rescue (when I was active) that was marked so similar to the merle colour. If these guys were smaller I would think that that's what he is!
ReplyDeleteI agree. If that dog also had the double dewclaws, I would definitely suspect some sort of relationship!
ReplyDeleteactually, the breed has only three health issues, hip dysplasia, PLL (primary lens luxuriation) and bloat. anything else is super rare and I have never herd of a dog having it. these three health issues are rare however, and it is important to get a dog through a breeder that health tests. for anyone wanting a puppy or thinking about it, my suggestion to you (i have owned many beaucerons) 1) feed a raw diet so your dog never gets these health issues and lives 30%-100% longer than average and stays super healthy for his entire life 2) DON'T CROP THE EARS!!!!!! it has been proven over and over again that dogs feel the phantom pain for their entire lives, but they are very stoic and have learned to deal with the pain by acting either hyper or aggressive. IF YOU CANT LOVE A DOG THE WAY GOD (or whoever or whatever you believe in) CREATED HIM, THAN YOU SHOULD FIND A DIFFERENT BREED!!!! DON'T RUIN A PUPPY'S LIFE BECAUSE YOU THINK CHOPPING A PUPS EARS OFF THEN STICKING A ROD WITH TAPE DOWN THEIR EAR CANAL AND WRAPPING DUCT TAPE ON THE OUTSIDE "LOOKS GOOD" (it doesn't look good by the way, it looks cruel.) 3) crate train the dog. trust me, when you go to bed or leave your house and you come back or wake up and don't find scratch marks on your door and furniture and instead find your dog waking up from a nap in his crate, you will be glad you crate trained him. 4) compete in AT LEAST two dog sports such as IPO and agility. these animals are smart ant they need to be mentally and physically challenged DAILY. if you don't have that time, don't get a beauceron.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's it. Have a nice day!=)
Ear cropping is not cosmetic, but corrective surgery. No animal on earth developed flopped ears. Man's indiscriminate breeding created the unhealthy and handicapped flop ear.
ReplyDelete