^© The Kennel Club - Unauthorised Reproduction of Text and Images Prohibited

The Kennel Club Picture Library - © Pedigree Petfoods

General Appearance
Compact body, short-coupled, powerfully built, well boned, strongly muscled limbs, giving impression of great power but without clumsiness in general deportment.

Characteristics
Lively appearance revealing intelligence, energy and audacity. Its harsh beard is very characteristic giving forbidding expression.

Temperament
Calm and sensible.

Head and Skull
In proportion to build and stature general impression is of massiveness, accentuated by beard and moustache. Head clean cut. Skull well developed, flat, somewhat longer than wide. Proportions of skull to muzzle are 3:2. Stop shallow, but appears deep due to upstanding eyebrows. Muzzle broad, powerful, well boned, straight in upperline, sloping slightly toward nose which should never become pointed. Circumference measured just in front of eyes approximately equal to length of head. Nose should be very well developed, thus extending the foreface in a slightly convex line towards its tip, rounded at edges, always black. Nostrils wide. Cheeks flat and clean.

Eyes
Alert in expression. Neither protruding nor sunken. Slightly oval in shape and horizontally placed but not too close together. As dark as possible in relation to coat colour. Light or wild-looking eyes highly undesirable. Eyerims always black, lack of pigmentation undesirable. Haw never visible.

Ears
Set on high, very flexible, triangular and in proportion to head.

Mouth
Jaws strong. Teeth strong and white with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck
Strong, well muscled and thickening slightly towards shoulders. A little shorter than length of head, nape strong and slightly arched. Without dewlap.

Forequarters
Forelegs very strong and absolutely straight. Shoulders relatively long, muscular without heaviness, obliquely placed. Shoulder blade and upper arm of equal length. Elbows well set into body and parallel, turning neither in nor out. Forearms, seen from front or side, straight, parallel to each other, perpendicular to ground. Well muscled, heavy boned. Pasterns strong, fairly short, sloping very slightly.

Body
Short, strong, deep, broad, compact with very little tuck-up. Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock about equal to height at withers. Chest descends to level of elbows and is not cylindrical, although ribs well sprung. Croup extends horizontal line of back, blends imperceptibly with curve of rump; broad but not excessively so in dogs, broader in bitches. A rising croup, or one which falls away very definitely undesirable.

Hindquarters
Moderate angulation, firm and well muscled, with large, powerful thighs. Legs strong and sturdy with hocks well let down and perfectly perpendicular when viewed from rear. No dewclaws.

Feet
Short, round and compact. Toes tight and well arched. Nails black and strong. Pads thick and hard.

Tail
Previously customarily docked or may be born tailless.
Docked: Docked to 2-3 vertebrae.
Undocked: Continuing normal line of vertebral column. Carried gaily when moving. In overall balance with the rest of the dog.

Gait/Movement
Powerful, driving, free and easy; ambling permitted but not desirable.

Coat
Abundant, so thick that when separated by hand skin barely visible. Hair coarse to touch, dry and matt. Neither too long nor too short (about 6 cms (21/2 ins)). Unkempt-looking but never woolly nor curly, gradually becoming shorter as it comes down the legs, always harsh. Flat coat denoting lack of undercoat highly undesirable. Undercoat dense and close grained. On head shorter, outside of ears very short. Upper lip well moustached, lower carrying a full harsh beard giving forbidding expression so characteristic of breed. Eyebrows formed of backward-sweeping hairs accentuating shape of eyebrows but never veiling eyes.

Colour
From fawn to black including brindle. White star on chest permissible. White predominating or chocolate brown highly undesirable. Light washed-out shades undesirable.

Size
Height: dogs: 62-68 cms (24½-27 ins); bitches: 59-65 cms (23-251/2 ins). Weight approx: dogs: 35-40 kgs (77-88 lbs); bitches: 27-35 kgs (59-77 lbs).

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Last Updated  - September 2007

Glossary of Canine Terms

Health Information

The Kennel Club operates health screening schemes with other organisations.  Some are clinical veterinary screening schemes and some are DNA screening schemes, which may be relevant to this breed.

The current health screening requirements and recommendations for Kennel Club Accredited Breeders of this breed show what is required and recommended for the sire and dam of any litter of this breed bred by an Accredited Breeder.

Breed specific summary results from the Purebred Dog Health Survey in 2004 are available.  Individual summaries are only available where the breed response rate was greater than 15%.

Recommended Reading

All the below publications are available to order from the Online Shop.

	Kennel Club Breed Standards Kennel Club Breed Standards are available for most breeds indicating the qualities which competition judges normally take into account and the standard or model which breeders endeavour to achieve. The Breed Standards can be purchased by group.
	The Kennel Club Illustrated Breed Standards Containing full descriptive standards for 192 breeds, as well as representation for the six Kennel Club recognised breeds that are currently without standards, this beautifully illustrated volume is a must for all dog enthusiasts. This third edition has been completely revised and updated by a panel of experts and incorporates the very latest standards for breeds in each group.

Breed Clubs and Societies

• BOUVIER DES FLANDRES CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sec. Mrs H M Irving. Tel No: 01362 820425

Date:

Categories:

Discover Dogs, Working Group 

This article has been read 17128 times.