TRANSLATION :
Mrs Jeans-Brown with the collaboration of Mr. Triquet.
ORIGIN :
Belgium.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 25.10.2000.
UTILIZATION : Originally a true cattle dog, used to the open air and to the tough
work of rounding-up, guarding and driving cattle. Even today with a minimum of training for
maximum efficacity, it is a good all-purpose working dog and a specialised guard
of stock and property.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 1 Sheep
and cattle dogs (except
Swiss cattle dogs).
Section 2 Cattle
dogs (except Swiss
cattle dogs).
With
working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : It has always been called the
cowdog in the Belgian Ardennes and been selected for its abilities. It gets its name from the practice of
guarding and driving cattle in the region where it is active rather than from
its physical appearance. The harsh
climate, the hard specific work, the difficult terrain and the poverty of the
region have all served to fashion its type.
Only the most hardy and the most hardworking of a deliberately
restricted population were retained to drive the herds, usually consisting of
milking cows and sheep but also pigs and horses in the 19th century.
From the 19th century they were
used to track deer and wild boar, and then during the two World Wars they
became poachers’dogs.
At the end of the 19th century the drover’s dog looked like a sheep dog
with a harsh coat, but stronger, bigger and more biting. In Belgian shows classes were opened to
drovers’ dogs as an experiment to try to establish similarities of type.
On April 27th 1903, at the Liege Show, Professor Reul discovered Tom,
the first example of the ideal type of drovers’dog. (no more details provided
at the time).
In 1913 « The Society of Liege for the improvement of the drovers’
dog from the province of Liege and the Ardennes » was founded and it drew
up a proposed standard. The definitive
text was adopted by Belgium in 1923 and
published by the FCI on June 16th 1963.
The disappearance of many farms in the Ardennes plus the reduction in
milking herds considerably diminished the number of working dogs.
In about 1985, the collection of colostrum from milking herds led
cynophiles to discover a few survivors of the Bouvier des Ardennes, more or
less typical of the breed. By about
1990, some breeders set out to produce dogs which corresponded better to the
type laid down in the standard and they began from these breeding lines in the
Ardennes. Oddly enough, it was in the
north of the country that a few drovers and shepherds, astounded by the way
that these dogs drove herds, began a breeding programme, from a line
transplanted there about 1930 - a breeding programme which was out discreetly but
with care and confidence. It was only in
1996 that this breed line was discovered by the official cynophile authorities.
GENERAL APPEARANCE :
It is a hardy strong dog of medium size which makes no concessions to
elegance. It is short and thick-set with
a bone structure heavier thant its size would suggest and a powerful head.
The
adjectives short, compact and well-muscled describe it best. Its harsch tousled coat (except on the head
where it is shorter and flat), its moustache and little beard all give a
forbidding appearance. The Bouvier des
Ardennes is to be judged in its natural stance, without physical contact with
the handler and without stacking.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :
·
The length of the point of
shoulder to the point of buttock is about equal to the height at withers.
·
The depth of the chest is
about half the height at withers.
·
The head is relatively short
and the muzzle is definitely shorter than the skull which is itself a little
longer than broad.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT :
The Bouvier des Ardennes is a dog which shows much endurance and energy. It is playful, curious, agile and sociable
and its main quality is its adaptability, so that it feels at ease in every
situation. It is obstinate and extremely
courageous when it comes to defending its people, its belongings and its
territory.
HEAD : Strong, rather
short.
CRANIAL
REGION : Broad and flat, with an upper line parallel
with that of the muzzle. Frontal groove
and occipital crest are practically invisible.
Superciliary ridges are emphasised by bushy eyebrows. Cheek bones are neither prominent nor too
arched.
Stop : Pronounced but not excessive.
FACIAL
REGION :
Nose : Broad, always black.
Muzzle : Broad, thick and well-filled-in under the eyes clearly shorter than
skull. Furnished with upstanding hairs
masking the internal angle of the eye.
The sides of the muzzle and the cheeks form a continuous line.
Lips : Thin, close-fitting, always with black edges. The corner of the mouth must not be
slack. Top and bottom lips, lower jaw and
chin are all furnished with hairs about 5-6 cm long forming a moustache and
little beard.
Jaws/Teeth : The jaws are powerful.
Dentition should be complete according to the dental formula. The absence of 2 premolars 1 (2 PM1) is
acceptable and the molars 3 (M3) are not taken into consideration. The incisors in a scissor bite are set
regularly in a open arc. The pincer bite
with no lack of contact is accepted without being favoured. The mouth cavity must be as pigmented as
possible.
Cheeks : Flat but well-muscled.
Eyes : Medium size, not too wide apart, slightly oval, neither round nor
protruding, as dark as possible. The
lids are edged with black and no haw should be visible.
Ears : Un-cropped. Set high,
triangular, rather small. When
flattened, the tip should not reach further than the outer corner of the
eye. Erect, straight pointed ears are
preferred. Straight ears with tips
falling forward or half-pricked ears, folded outwards are equally acceptable.
NECK : Strong,
well-muscled, with good reach, reasonably cylindrical, slightly arched, carried
sufficiently high, without dewlap.
BODY : Powerful but not
heavy, ribs rounded rather than flat.
Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock is about the same
distance as height at withers. Short-coupled.
Topline : Horizontal, broad, powerful and tight.
Withers : Slightly pronounced.
Back : Well-muscled and well-supported.
Supple without appearing weak.
Loin : Short, broad, well-muscled, transversally quite flat.
Croup : Broad, slightly sloping but preferably horizontal.
Chest : Broad, descending to elbows, ribs well-sprung especially in top
third. The underside of the chest should
have a certain roundness transversally.
Seen from the front of the chest is quite broad.
Underline : Belly quite full with little tuck-up.
TAIL : The majority are
short-tailed with a good number born tailless.
The tail is thick and set high.
Short
tail : Follows the topline.
In
countries where docking is prohibited, the tail should be left natural.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
Overview : Powerful bone. The
well-muscled front legs are upright viewed from all angles and parallel seen
from the front.
Shoulder : Reasonably long and oblique with thick muscle. Shoulder blade and upper arm form angle of
about 110 degrees.
Upper
arm : Long, well-muscled.
Elbow : Firm, neither set in nor out.
Forearm : Straight and strong.
Wrist
(Carpus) : Firm
and clearly defined, near the ground.
Pastern
(Metacarpus) : Strong, short and very slightly sloping.
Front
feet : Round, tight, arched toes, dark, thick
elastic pads, strong dark nails.
HINDQUARTERS :
Overview : Powerful, well-muscled, with reasonable angulation, seen from rear
parallel. Standing in profile the foot
must be placed just behind the vertical line of the end of the ischium (point
of buttock).
Thighs : Very well-muscled and with prominent muscles.
Lower
thigh : Reasonably long, very well-muscled.
Hock : Near the ground, broad and sinewy.
Rear
Pastern(Metatarsus) : Seen in profile, slightly
sloping. No dew claws.
Hind
feet : Like front feet.
GAIT/MOVEMENT :
The limbs move in parallel lines, remaining in line with the body and do not
crab. A fast free walk and a lively trot
are the usual gaits. The Bouvier des
Ardennes is not usually a galloper but it can spin round instantly, whatever
its speed or gait. The trot covers the
ground well with a regular gait and an excellent rear thrust, with the topline
retained well on the move. The dog
should not amble. Because it is an
active dog, the Bouvier des Ardennes rarely remains still. When off the lead, its ability to drive herds
means that it often follows its owner, making sweeping semi-circles.
SKIN : Tight fitting,
without wrinkles, but supple. The edges
of eyelids and lips are always well-pigmented.
COAT
HAIR : The coat must allow the dog to live outside, to guard and drive
herds, however extreme its local atmospheric conditions may be.
The
topcoat must be dry, coarse and tousled, about 6 cm long over all the body but
shorter and flatter on the skull, even with the presence of eyebrows. The hair must form a moustache and a little
beard about 5-6 cm long and hide the internal corner of eye. The forearms are covered by shorter dry hair,
a little shaggy, giving them a somewhat cylindrical aspect with the addition of
short fringes on the back of the limbs.
The back of the thighs has longer hair making the breeches. The outer side of the ears is covered with
soft straight short hair with occasional longer hairs. The auditory canal is protected by longer
hairs which blend with those from the collar effect of backward sloping hairs
around the neck. The spaces between the
pads are filled with very short hairs.
The
undercoat is very dense whatever the season and even more abundant in winter,
protecting the dog from extremes of weather.
It is also present on the limbs.
Its length is about half that of the top coat.
COLOUR : All colours are acceptable except white and the colour of the
undercoat varies according to the shade of the top coat. A white mark on the chest or the tips of the
toes is acceptable without being sought after.
The coat is often formed from a mixture of grey, black and fawn hairs; a
grey coat going from pale grey to dark grey; a brownish, red or straw coloured
coat.
SIZE AND WEIGHT :
Height
at withers : 56 - 62 cm for males.
52 - 56 cm for females.
With
a tolerance of plus or minus one centimetre.
Weight : 28 - 35 kg for males.
22 - 28 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.
·
General appearance : Too
heavy, too elegant, too high off the ground.
·
Head : Poor proportions,
lack of parallel lines, too slight a muzzle, too little or too much furnishing,
Roman nose or convex nose, stop too pronounced or too slight, skull too
rounded.
·
Teeth : Badly placed
incisors. Missing one incisor (1I), one
premolar 2 (1 PM2) or one premolar 3 (1 PM3).
·
Eyes : Light, round,
protuberant or sunken.
·
Ears : Too broad at the
base, set low, rounded tips; diverging or converging if carried erect.
·
Neck : Slender, long,
stuffy.
·
Topline : Weak, long or
narrow back and/or loin; sway or roach backed.
·
Chest : Not deep enough,
underline without transversal rounding, too narrow.
·
Tail : Set too low, carried
too high, tucked under, hooked or to the side.
·
Movement : Narrow movement,
not enough drive, mincing gait, hackney action.
·
Coat : Not harsh enough,
lying flat, head furnishing too short or too full, hair too long on skull,
limbs with too much or too little furnishing, fringes on a long tail. Undercoat not dense enough, too short or too
long.
·
Colour : Too much white on
chest or feet.
·
Temperament : timid,
sluggish.
ELIMINATING FAULTS :
·
Temperament : Aggressive or
nervous.
·
General appearance : Lack of
type.
·
Nose, Lips, Eyelids : Lack
of pigment.
·
Dentition : Over or under
shot jaw, even without loss of contact (inverse scissor); wry mouth; lack of
one upper carnassial ( 1 PM4) or lower carnassial (1 M1), one molar (1M1 or 1M2
but not M3), one premolar 3 (1PM3) together with another tooth, or in total 3
missing teeth or more.
·
Eyes : Yellow, China,
wild-looking.
·
Ears : Cropped or flat
against the cheeks.
·
Tail : Vertical whip tail or
curled tail.
Coat : All trimming : hair long or very short,
straight or curly, woolly or silky, lack of head furnishing or so much that it
completely masks the eyes or even the head shape, lack of undercoat.
·
Colour : White coat or white
other than on chest or toes.
·
Size : Outside the limits
designated in 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.