FCI-Standard No 191/ 27. 09. 2002 /GB
BOUVIER DES FLANDRES
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 cleanly 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 to 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.
Rear 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 tight 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 outercoat 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.
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).
ELIMINATING
FAULTS :
Aggresive or overly shy.
Obvious lack of
type.
Unpigmented nose
or of any colour other than black.
Pointed muzzle.
Pronounced over-
or undershot bite.
Any missing teeth
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.
Any dog clearly
showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B.: Male
animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.
