Growing up I always wanted a Husky. Even after I learned all their ridiculous tendancies and the difficulties owning one. There was a close second one though, the Beauceron. They are such big majestic creatures and look amazing. They have a rep of being dog aggressive if not excessively socialized and a guard dog. I was curious if anyone has any experience with this breed?

I've never heard of it before now kinda looks like a doberman/gsd mix

amora wrote:

I've never heard of it before now kinda looks like a doberman/gsd mix

I was actually thinking the exact same thing.

Did you know the breed standard requires double dew claws on the hind legs
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/88/269273110_c60fea7b23.jpg

You might get better replies if you mention the breed in the title. Never heard of them

One of my friends in elementary school had one. I remember thinking it was absolutely massive. He was so, so calm and really gentle with her little brother. He didn't like new people much at first, but warmed up to you the longer you were there.

Not much experience, but I remember thinking he was really cool.

This is what one of my dog friends has to say about the Beas:

' The beaucerons I have seen really poor temperaments. These are working line dogs, imported from France with impressive working pedigrees (Ring 3 dogs, etc), with no drive. At the very least they are slow to mature. I have met one nice one, she is a French Ring II dog, which is an impressive feat for a non-malinois, however of the two of the poor-temperament dogs that I know, one is her son, one is a nephew or cousin or something, so unfortunately she (and the dogs behind her) are not producing herself so there is inconsistency in temperament and drive in the breed to be aware of. '

she is very involved in dog training and involved with Mals and i respect her knowledge when it comes to breeds with guarding/drive tendencies.

I know someone who is obsessed with this breed and she has wanted one for a long time. She has finally found a breeder and is waiting for a litter. It will be interesting to see what the dog is like.

The double dew claw thing still creeps me out. I know in cats extra toes is a sign of inbreeding I wonder if it applies here?

People I've talked to so far have said it's nurture over nature with the temperament. It seems to be geared more towards the early days, they need socialization. And not just a little, a lot, they need ot be exposed to tons of positive happy people and places fairly young. Also they aren't a forgiving breed. You get X number of strikes before you're out, so they need a strong leader. I agree with the dew claw thing being a little weird, but if it's a requirement in order to be recognized I imagine it can't come from poor breeding (unless it did back in the day and someone liked it so there was an inbreeding frenzy). I know they're a rarer breed in the US (hence some of you have never heard of them), just didn't know if anybody had come across any during shows.

Side note: Funny thing you guys mentioned the Doberman/German Shepherd appearance, I thought the same thing. Apparently the Beauceron was one of the dogs mixed in to create both of those breeds.

I've been reading and researching a little bit, and talked to the trainer I know that is really into them, and my impression is that they are sort of similar to huskies, in that, they really require a certain kind of person. We always say that the Siberian isn't for everybody, and encourage people to do their research, and it sounds like the Beauceron is the same. One thing that is fascinating to me is that they mature more slowly than other dogs. It sounds like they aren't really physically and mentally mature until they are 3 years old, and that you shouldn't expect a two year old to act like an adult dog.

Here is a link to a temperament test they do in the French shows, that is very interesting. All of them must pass this test before they are allowed in the conformation ring.
http://www.beauce.org/docs/The%20Journ%C3%A9e%20Temperament%20Test.pdf

There is a lot of information here: http://www.beauce.org/