The Beauceron Breed Standard

The Beauceron, also called Beauce shepherd, is a large and powerful dog with a solid bone structure, rustic, well chiselled and muscled without bulkiness. The tail is always long, slightly feathered, forming a "j" in its shape. The coat is smooth and short on the head and legs, short, thick and firm on the body, with a good undercoat.

He should be judged as a whole, being harmonious in its proportions, exhibiting the strength, endurance and agility required of a herding dog. As a herding dog, the Beauceron is an endurance trotter.

The current official breed standard

FCI - Standard N°44 / 19.12.2001 / GB
Origin: France
Date of publication of the current standard: 29.11.2001
Use: Sheepdog and guard dog
Classification FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale): Group 1: Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs). Section 1: Sheepdogs. With working trial.

General appearance: The Beauceron is big, solid, rustic, powerful, well built and muscular, but without bulkiness.
Disqualification: too light boned.

Important proportions: The Beauceron is medium in all its proportions. The length of the body from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock should be slightly greater than the height at the withers.
The head is long: 2/5 the height at the withers. The height and width of the head are slightly less than half its total length. The skull and muzzle are of equal length.

Behavior and temperament: Franc approach and self-assured. The expression is candid, never mean, timid or worried. The character of the Beauceron should be gentle and fearless.
Disqualification: aggressive or overly shy.

Head: The head is well chiseled with harmonious lines. Seen in profile, the top lines of skull and muzzle lie roughly in parallel planes.

Cranial region:
Skull: Flat or slightly rounded from one side to the other. The median groove is only slightly marked; the occipital protuberance can be seen on the summit of the skull.
Stop: The stop is only slightly pronounced and is equidistant from the occiput and the end of the muzzle.

Facial region:
Nose: Proportionate to the muzzle, well developed, never split and always black.
Disqualification: Split nose, of a colour other than black, with unpigmented areas.
Muzzle: Neither narrow nor pointed.
Lips: Firm and always well pigmented. The upper lip should overlap the lower without any looseness. At their juncture, the lips form very slight but firm flews.
Jaws and teeth: Strong teeth with a scissor bite.
Disqualification: Overshot or undershot with loss of contact, absence of 3 or more teeth (the first premolars not counting).
Eyes: Horizontal, slightly oval in shape. The iris should be dark brown, and in any case, never lighter than dark hazel even if the tan is light coloured. For the harlequin variety, walleyes are admissible.
Disqualification: Eyes too light, or walleyes (except for harlequins).
Ears: The ears are set high. They are carried upright if cropped, neither convergent nor divergent, pointing slightly forward. The well carried ear is one whose middle falls on an imaginary line in prolongation of the sides of the neck.
Uncropped ears are half-pricked or drop-ears. They shouldn't be plastered against the cheeks. They are flat and rather short. The length of the uncropped ear should be half the length of the head.
Disqualification: Uncropped ears totally upright and rigid.
Any dog born after May 1st, 2004 can no longer have its ears cropped, as the practice of ear cropping has been banned in most European countries.

Neck: Muscular, of good length, united harmoniously with the shoulders.

Body:
Topline: The back is straight and strong. The loin is short, broad and muscular. The croup is well muscled and slightly sloped in the direction of the attachment of the tail.
Withers: well defined.
Chest: The girth of the chest is greater than the height at the withers by more than one fifth. The chest is well let down to the point of the elbow. It is wide, deep and long.
Tail: Whole, carried low, it reaches at least to the point of the hock, without deviating, and forming a slight hook in the form of a " J". In action, the tail can be carried higher, becoming an extension of the topline.
Disqualification: Shortened tail or tail carried over the back.

Forequarters:
Upright and parallel when viewed from the front and in profile.
Shoulder: Sloping and moderately long.
Forearm: Muscular.
Feet: Large, round and compact. The nails are always black. The pads are hard but nevertheless resilient.

Hindquarters:
Upright and parallel when viewed from behind and in profile.
Thigh: Wide and muscular.
Hock joint: Substantial, not too close to the ground, the point situated roughly at 1/4 the height at the withers, forming a well open angle with the second thigh. Metatarsals (Rear Pasterns) : Vertical, slightly further back than the point of the buttock.
Feet: Large, round and compact.
Disqualification: Rear feet turned excessively to the exterior.
Dewclaws: By tradition, shepherds are much attached to the conservation of double dewclaws. The dewclaws form well separated "thumbs" with nails, placed rather close to the foot.
Disqualification: Simple dewclaws or absence of dewclaws on hind legs.

Gait and movement: Supple and free. The limbs move well in line. The Beauceron should have an extended trot with long reaching movement.

Coat: Short and smooth on the head and the lower legs; on the body, it should be coarse, dense and lying flat, 3-4 cm in length; the buttocks and the underside of the tail are lightly but obligatorily fringed. The undercoat is short, fine, dense and downy, preferably mouse grey, very close, and can't be seen through the top coat.

Colour:

1. Black and tan (Black with tan markings): "red stockings". The black is pure black and the tan, red squirrel coloured. The tan markings are distributed as follows:
   • Spots over the eyes.
   • On the sides of the muzzle, diminishing gradually on the cheeks, never reaching under the ear.
   • On the chest, preferably two spots.
   • Under the neck.
   • Under the tail.
   • On the legs, disappearing progressively while rising, without covering in any case more than 1/3 of the leg and rising slightly higher on the inside.
2. Harlequin (blue-mottled with tan markings): grey, black and tan, the coat being black and grey in equal parts, the spots well distributed, with sometimes a predominance of black. The tan markings are the same as for the black and tan.
   A faint white spot on the chest is tolerated, but shall be no larger than 5 cm2 (1 square Inch).

Disqualification: Coat: Colour and texture other than those defined by the standard. Complete absence of tan markings. Shaggy coat. Well defined, quite visible white spot on chest. For the harlequin variety: too much grey, black on one side and grey on the other, head entirely grey (absence of black).

Size: Height at the withers:
     Males: 65 - 70 cm (25.5 - 27.5 In.)
     Females: 61 - 68 cm (24 - 26.75 In.)
Disqualification: Size outside the standard limits.

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.

Note: Males should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Disqualifying faults:

• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Size outside the standard limits.
• Too light-boned.
• Eyes too light, or walleyes (except for harlequins).
• Split nose, of a colour other than black, with unpigmented areas.
• Overshot or undershot with loss of contact, absence of 3 or more teeth (the first premolars not counting).
• Uncropped ears totally upright and rigid.
• Rear feet turned excessively to the exterior.
• Simple dewclaws or absence of dewclaws on hind legs.
• Shortened tail or tail carried over the back.
• Coat: Colour and texture other than those defined by the standard. Complete absence of tan markings. Shaggy coat. Well defined, quite visible white spot on chest. For the harlequin variety: too much grey, black on one side and grey on the other, head entirely grey (absence of black).