Briard Shepherd

Description:
This dog has a good size to it, is attractive, and has lovely long hair. a male Briard should not be less sixty two centimeters in height or over sixty eight centimeters; females should be anywhere from fifty six to sixty four centimeters. Just like all strong build shepherd dog, this dog has a lot of strength but should not look coarse. It should not look heavy but should look somewhat square, slightly taller than it is in length. The head of this dog looks somewhat long and must be sufficiently wide without looking heavy. The head should look like two rectangles of equal length and unite; the wider section forms the skull, the other the muzzle. The long hair on this dog adorns and almost hides its head. The eyes are horizontally situated, barely visible through the hair and should be dark. The ears should be well separated and open and should be highly inserted. The ears are usually nipped and should stand tall and parallel. If the ears are to be kept natural they should not fall downwards but rather be slightly elevated in an alert mode. Make sure to find out about the rules in the country you live in concerning nipping an animal's ears though. The muzzle of this dog has a beard and a mustache, which should look somewhat wide; the nose should always be black. The body is slightly inclined, from the wichers towards its back, which should look straight. The lumbar region should be wide and the hindquarters should be somewhat inclined. The tail should not be docked and should have an abundant amount of hair on it and should have a hook shape on the end of it. The hind legs have double dewclaws, which should not be cut. The coat should feel dry to the touch and somewhat wavy; the undercoat should feel fine and thick to the touch. The color of this dog's coat should be uniform, preferably dark and it should not have any spots, on occasions they might have a white spot on their chests.

Ideal owner:
This dog is a protector by nature, is an excellent family dog and has a very strong instinct to protect its "flock". It has a tendency to becoming more close to one member of the family and there are cases in which it protects the kids from getting reprimanded by his or her parents! Obviously it likes children. At adolescence this dog might become very dominating so a firm but loving education and training is required. As with all other perky breeds, this dog really likes testing its owners; therefore make sure to be more attentive and so that your dog becomes manageable and obedient. During adolescence this dog is like a child going through puberty and will really try to impose its authority. This breed needs a lot of human contact and fellowship during its whole life.

Growth:
At around eight weeks a Briard Shepherd should weigh around three to five kilograms. It grows very rapidly and at three months it might weigh up to twelve kilograms. An adequate nutrition is vital to assure its correct growth. Fully maturity though will not be reached until it is around three years of age, although it usually reaches its maximum height at the age of one year. If the owner is thinking about nipping its ears it will need to get done at five weeks of age. Socialization and training is very important to getting and maintaining the potential of this breed. This dog often times changes coat color as it ages. Dark puppies become lighter until they are about a year old, which is when they obtain their golden brown color. This color generally darkens again and the coat becomes wirier with age. Black puppies might get grey hair in between their coats when they mature.

General health:
In general the Briard Shepherd enjoys of excellent health. This dog needs a lot of exercise to satisfy the great amount of energy it has as a work dog. The amount of care its coat requires is also considerable, although they do not need any special type of grooming. Brushing its coat often will avoid its coat from matting and is important to keep it clean without knots so as to avoid dermatitis and other skin problems. There was a time when this breed has a lot of problems with hip dysphasia, however thanks to conscientious breeders this problem has reduced tremendously. Always ask the breeder to show you X rays so as to discard hip dysphasia. Progressive retina atrophy has also been reported in this breed but it is not frequent. The most serious problem in this do is stomach problems and the owner needs to follow and strict feeding program and make sure to be careful when the dog does exercise. Hypothyroidism has also been seen in this breed, as well as night blindness and certain heart and blood abnormalities. The life span of a Briard Shepherd can be anywhere from ten to twelve years.