Bouvier des Flandres
Description:
The Bouvier des Flandres is a very strong and compact looking dog and it is distinguished due to its rustic look. It has a beard, mustache, and full eyebrows. The head of this dog is flat; its ears should be high up on its head and should not be cut. The nose should look wide and full. The desired proportions of this dog are essentially square, longer ones are not the idea. The inferior line is wide and should not look retracted. The tail is nipped until the second or third vertebrae, although there are also ones that are born without a tail, which is fine as well. The shoulders of this dog are pretty long but should not look heavy. The elbows should be stuck to the body. The front legs should have strong looking thighs and should be in parallel with the hind legs. This dog is double coated; the outer coat is rough and dry and is approximately six centimeters in long; the undercoat is fine and thick. The color of this dog varies from darkish brown, gray, black. The height of the males is around sixty-two and sixty-eight centimeters and the females are around two and a half centimeters less. The weight of the males is anywhere from thirty five to forty kilograms and in the females around twenty-seven to thirty five kilograms.
Ideal owner:
The Bouvier des Flandres is admired for its abilities as a guard dog and is an excellent family dog. Despite its aggressive and corpulent looking body, it is very delicate with children. It is famous for its work as a police dog, to pulls on things, as an ambulance dog, it used to be a messenger in war, and it learns very rapidly and is very devoted.
Growth:
The size of the litter varies a lot in this breed. A newborn Flandres usually weighs around 226 to 680 grams. Avoid getting ones that are too small or too big. The ones that are excessively big many times have bone and articulation problems as well as stomach problems. If you wish to nip its tail this must be done around three days after birth. The ears are sometimes cut too and this is usually done around the seventh week of birth however find out first if there are any laws in your country about this type of thing. Most puppies are ready to go to their new home at nine weeks of age. It will usually start to show its natural instincts as a guard dog at the age of three months. Dogs that have dark coats tend to get darker with age turning almost completely black when they are older, where as the lion colored ones tend to get lighter with age. It is important to train them and teach them to socialize during their growing stage as these dogs can become problematic if they are ignored or excessively stimulated.
General health:
The Bouvier des Flandres was almost completely eliminated during the Second World War and since then the amount there are is limited. The blood relationship of the ones today has given place to some reproduction complications including endometritis and cysts on the ovaries. They can also suffer from stomach problems but these are usually fairly easy to treat although the owner will need to make sure to feed it smaller portions of food throughout the day to avoid them from happening. In general the Bouvier des Flandres is a very healthy and robust dog and is relatively free of problems with hip dysphasia and other hereditary abnormalities. There are reported cases of this breed suffering from hypothyroidism although it is not common. This dog loves working and it has a life span of over ten years. The care put into its coat must be followed through and stripping the coat is also necessary. Skin problems are rare in dogs that are well taken care of.
