The Bouvier des Flandres as its name implies, originates from Flanders, a region that spans both Belgium and Northern France. There is no natural boundary separating French and Belgian Flanders.

Herdsmen or drovers in the Flanders region needed good dogs to work with their herds. Thus they only selected those dogs in their region with the desired behavioural and physical characteristics. The present-day-Bouvier des Flandres has directly inherited such characteristics.

In times gone by, under its designation “Bouvier des Flandres” a term meaning Leader of Flanders Bulls, it was the most widely used dog in Western Continental Europe for rounding up cattle, pulling carts and collecting milk churns.

These robust dogs with their loyal and fearless temperament, were assigned to arduous tasks during the First World War. Such tasks included tracking and searching for wounded soldiers, delivering messages from one camp to another and pulling military carts etc.

The breed almost disappeared during this period owing to the losses and destruction to which their native region was subjected. However, during these tragic times, those Bouviers that stayed on the farms were used by country folk to pull carts laden with milk from one farm to another, transport fruit and vegetables to markets, haul bales of hay and were harnessed to vehicles that carried children and old people.

Nowadays, the extraordinarily intelligent Bouvier des Flandres is a dog that stands out from other breeds. Is has an acute sense of intuition, extraordinary physical and behavioural prowess an astounding sense of smell and is incredibly alert. These qualities enable it to be used as a tracking and search dog, for delivering messages and deterring poachers.

As farms have become increasingly mechanized the initial tasks to which the Bouvier was put have evolved. Today, the Bouvier des Flandres is primarily employed as a guard dog for private properties and farms and a defensive animal by the military and police force.

It has a highly developed sense of protecting the family and an extraordinary aptitude for being in the company of children and old people. Furthermore, it excels as a sporting dog in the most exacting events. It also is widely used by the Armed Forces as a rescue, tracking and search dog. Not only are Bouviers used as guide dogs for the blind, but they also make excellent pets.

PEOPLE OFTEN SAY :

 ANYONE WHO HAS LIVED WITH A BOUVIER

WOULD NEVER SETTLE ON ANOTHER

BREED

THE BREED STANDARD PEDIGREE BELGIUM - FRANCE

W.C.O CLASSIFICATION (World Canine Organisation) Group 1: Sheep and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs) Section 2 : Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs) with test for working dogs

GENERAL APPEARANCE

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS

BEHAVIOUR – TEMPERAMENT

HEAD

SKULL AREA

Stop : The stop is more apparent than real, due to upstanding eyebrows

FACIAL REGION

Nose : The nose should taper in to produce a slightly convex line at its tip. It should be large, black, well developed, round at the edges, with flared nostrils.

Muzzle : broad, strong, well filled out, tapering gradually toward the nose without ever becoming snipy or pointed..

Lips: tight-fitting and strongly pigmented.

Jaws/Teeth : The jaws are powerful and of equal length. The teeth are strong, white and healthy, with the incisors meeting in a scissors bite. The dentition should be complete

Cheeks: Flat and lean with flattish zygomatic arches

Eyes: Should have a frank and energetic expression. They should neither protrude nor be sunken in the sockets. Their shape is oval with the axis on the horizontal plane, when viewed from the front. Eye colour should be as dark as possible in comparison with coat colour. Yellow or light eyes are to be strongly penalized, along with a walleyed or staring expression. The eye rims are black without lack of pigment and the haw is barely visible.

Ears: If cropped, they are to be a triangular contour and positioned straight. They should be placed high and be alert.. It is recommended they be in proportion to the size of the head.

If ears are not cropped, they should be positioned high and above the level of eyes/. The flaps should fall vertically. The fold should never exceed the the upper line of the skull.

Shape and carriage: Ears should be fairly long and triangular in shape. They should be slightly rounded at their tip and fall flatly onto the cheek except at the junction with the skull where they should turn outwards slightly. They should not curl, must be in proportion with the size of the head and covered with very short hair.

NECK

The neck should stand out and have sufficiently a proud carriage. The neck is strong and muscular, widening gradually into the shoulders. Its length should be slightly less than that of the head. It should be powerfully built and slightly convex. There should be no dewlap.

BODY

Body or trunk powerful
broad and short

Top line: Back short, broad, well muscled with firm level top line

Withers: should protrude slightly

Back: short, broad, well muscled with firm level top line. It is supple and flexible with no sign of weakness.

Trunk: broad and short and well muscled. It is supple and flexible with no sign of weakness.

Croup : The horizontal line of the back should mould unnoticeable into the curve of the rump. It should be wide but not excessively so for dogs but more developed for bitches. A sunken or slanted croup is a serious fault.

The chest is broad, with the brisket extending to the elbow in depth. It should not be cylindrical. The first ribs are slightly curved, the others well sprung and very well sloped nearing the rear, giving proper depth to the chest. Flat ribs or slab sidedness is to be strongly penalized. The distance between the fore of the breastbone and the last rib should be extensive, i.e. approximately 7/10ths. of height measured at withers.

Bottom Horizontal Line: The abdomen is only slightly tucked up towards the stomach, which is only slightly raised. The loins should be short, especially so for dogs.

TAIL

It must be set relatively high and align normally with the spinal column.

Dogs born tailless should not be penalized.

The tail should be docked during the week following birth leaving two or three vertebrae. In countries where docking is forbidden, full-length tails are allowed.

FORE AND HINDQUARTERS

FOREQUARTERS

Overview : Strong boned, well muscled and straight. They should appear perfectly straight when viewed from the front.

The shoulders : are relatively long, muscular but not loaded, with good lay-back. The shoulder blade and humerus are approximately the same length.

Arms : Moderately oblique.

Elbows : close to the body and parallel. Elbows which are too far out or in are faults.

Forearms : viewed either in profile or from the front are perfectly straight, parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. They are well muscled and strong boned.

Carpus : exactly in line with the forearms. Strong boned.

Metacarpus: strong-boned and quite short. Should be very slightly curved towards the front.

Pasterns:  Short, rounded and compact, neither oriented overly outwards nor inwards. Toes close and well arched; strong black nails. Thick tough pads.

 HINDQUARTERS

Overview : Firm with prominent muscles on which the dog stands steadily. They should be parallel with the front legs when viewed rear.

Thighs : wide and muscular. they will be straight and perfectly parallel to each other. The thigh-bone should be neither too straight no over curved. The buttocks should be set low and be well enveloped and firm.

Knee : Set near or very near to an imaginary straight line starting from the highest point of the thigh (tip of iliac bone) and keeping perpendicular to the ground.

Legs : Moderately long and well-muscled. They should be neither straight nor over inclined.

Hocks : strong, rather close to the ground. When standing and seen from the rear, they will be straight and perfectly parallel to each other. In motion, they must turn neither in nor out.

Metatarsi : hardy and lean, rather cylindrical and perpendicular to the ground when standing. If born with dewclaws, they are to be removed.

Hind feet : Rounded, compact with toes close and well arched, strong black nails. Thick tough pads.

GAIT

The whole of the Bouvier des Flandres must be harmoniously proportioned to allow for a free, bold and proud gait. The reach of the forequarters must compensate for and be in balance with the driving power of the hindquarters. The back, while moving in a trot, will remain firm and flat. In general, the gait is the logical demonstration of the structure and build of the dog. It is to be noted that while moving at a fast trot, the properly built Bouvier will tend to single-track.

SKIN

Should adhere well without excessive flabbiness. The edges of lids and lips should always be very dark.

Qualities of coat : A tousled, double coat capable of withstanding the hardest work in the most inclement weather. The outer hairs are rough and harsh, with the undercoat being fine, soft and dense. The coat may be trimmed slightly only to accent the body line. Over-trimming which alters the natural rugged appearance is to be avoided. Topcoat must be harsh to the touch, dry, trimmed, if necessary, to a length of approximately 21Ú2 inches lA coat too long or too short is a fault, as is a silky or woolly coat. It is tousled without being curly. On the skull, it is short, and on the upper part of the back, it is particularly close and harsh always, however, remaining rough. Ears are rough-coated.
Undercoat a dense mass of fine, close hair, thicker in winter. Together with the topcoat, it will form a water-resistant covering. A flat coat, denoting lack of undercoat is a serious fault.

Coat Colour : From fawn to black, passing through salt and pepper, grey and brindle. A small white star on the chest is allowed. Other than chocolate brown, white, or parti-colour, which are to be severely penalized, no one colour is to be favoured.

- 62 à 68 cm for the males
- 59 à 65 cm for the females

Give or take 1 cm.

For both sexes the ideal weight is the average of the two extremes given above, i.e. 65 cm for males and 62 cm for females.

Weight: Approximate values
               From 35 to 40 kg for males

DEFECTS

DEFECTS: Any non-compliance with respect to the above will be considered as a defect and penalized according to the severity of such non-compliance.

SERIOUS DEFECTS :

. Dogs with Mastiff appearance, overly heavy animals

. Dogs with excessively long bodies (slight deviation allowed for females) dogs that are overly lean

. Dogs with overly massive heads, overly prominent stop, overly prominent frontal groove, very prominent zygomatic arches

. Convex skull, narrow skull, very prominent occipital crest, major defect with respect to linearity of forehead and skull

. Overly long muzzle,

. Flabby, thick and hanging lips,

. Jaws: crossbite – malocclusion,

. Small teeth that are unhealthy and badly aligned,  
                                         
. Washed out protruding eyes – atypical expression,

. Un-cropped ears that curl or have folds,

. Cylindrical neck, tuft.

DEFECTS THAT WILL ELIMINATE DOG :

. Excessively shy or dangerously aggressive dog

. Obvious failure to comply with Breed standard such as: bare patches on nose or noses that are other than black

. Snipy muzzle

. Pronounced upper or lower prognathism

. Incomplete dentition other than no PM1

. Eyes of different colours or eyes that are sunken in their sockets

. Entropion, ectropion, bare patches on pigmentation of lids

. From fawn to black, passing through salt and pepper, grey and brindle Other than chocolate brown, white, or parti-colour, which are to be severely penalized

. Sizes not compliant with breed standard