Flanders Cattle Dog

		Flanders Cattle Dog
		FCI standard Nº 191

Origin		Belgium - France
Group		Group 1 Sheep and cattle dogs (except Swiss cattle dogs)
Section		Section 2 Cattle dogs (except Swiss cattle dogs)
Working		With working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Tuesday 01 November 1955
Publication of the official valid standard		Wednesday 25 October 2000
Last update		Friday 27 September 2002
En français, cette race se dit		Bouvier des Flandres
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Flandrische Treibhund
En español, esta raza se dice		Boyero de Flandes
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Vlaamse Koehond

Usage

Originally the Bouvier des Flandres was used as a herding dog, as a draught dog and as churning dog. The modernisation of farm equipment has affected these first tasks and nowadays the Bouvier des Flandres is above all used as a guard dog for the estate and the farm, as a defence and police dog. Its physical and behavioural aptitudes, its great qualities of scent, initiative and intelligence warrant its use as a tracking dog, a messenger dog and a gamekeeper’s dog.

Brief historical summary

As its name indicates, the Bouvier des Flandres (Flanders Cattle Dog) is native to Flanders, to both Belgian and French regions of that name, since they are not divided by any natural frontiers. The cowmen and drovers of stock in Flanders needing good dogs to drive their herds, only selected from the local dogs available those specimens which possessed the required physical and behavioural qualities. The present day Bouvier des Flandres has inherited these qualities.

General appearance

Sub-brachymorphic. Short and compact body, strong and well-muscled limbs. The Bouvier des Flandres gives the impression of power, but without clumsiness. The Bouvier des Flandres is to be judged in its natural stance, without physical contact with the handler.

Important proportions

• Length of body from point of shoulder to point of buttock should be approximately equal to height at withers.
• Proportions of length of skull to length of muzzle are 3 to 2.

Behaviour / temperament

The Bouvier des Flandres has the calm, thoughtful character of a sensible, but fearless dog. Its lively look indicates intelligence, energy and audacity. It is essential that the Bouvier des Flandres should retain its aptitude for work. Any change which could harm this must be penalised.

Head
Cranial region
Head		The head has a massive appearance, still more accentuated by the beard and moustache. It is in proportion to the body and stature. Its clean cut lines are obvious to the touch.
Skull		Well-developed and flat, slightly less broad than long. Toplines of skull and muzzle are parallel. Frontal groove hardly denoted.
Stop		Only slightly pronounced; more apparent than real, due to upstanding eyebrows.

Facial region
Nose		Nose continues the muzzle in a line which is slightly convex towards its end. It must be well-developed, rounded at the sides and always black in colour. Wide-open nostrils.
Muzzle		Broad, powerful, well-boned, straight in its upper line, narrowing towards the nose, but never becoming pointed. Its length should be shorter than the skull by 2 : 3. Circumference measured just below the eyes should be approximately equal to length of head.
Lips		Well-fitting and strongly pigmented.
Jaws and teeth		Jaws must be powerful and of equal length. Teeth are strong, healthy, white and evenly set. Scissor or pincer bite. Dentition must be complete.
Cheeks		Flat and clean, zygomatic arches are not very protruding.
Eyes		Frank and energetic expression, neither protruding nor sunken. They should be slightly oval in shape, set horizontally. Colour should be as dark as possible in relation to coat. Light and wild-looking eyes should be strongly penalised. Lids black, without the slightest indication of unpigmented areas. Haw should never be visible.
Ears		Cropped in triangle, carried upright, set high, very mobile; a crop proportioned to the head size is recommended. Un-cropped ears: Position: Set high, above eye level, flaps falling vertically. The fold must not stand higher than the top of the skull. Shape and carriage: Half-long, forming an equilateral triangle, slightly rounded at tip, lying flat against cheeks, except the slight lift-up at top of ear set; neither folded nor curled, in proportion with head size; covered with very short hair.

Neck

Should spring cleanly from the shoulders and is carried sufficiently upright. Strong, well muscled, widening gradually towards the shoulders. Length slightly shorter than length of head. Nape powerful and slightly arched. No dewlap.

Body
Body		Powerful, close-coupled and short.
Topline		Upper line of back and loins horizontal, tight and firm.
Withers		Slightly raised.
Back		Short, broad, muscled and well-supported, with no sign of weakness, yet remaining flexible.
Loin		Short, broad, well muscled; must be flexible, with no sign of weakness.
Croup		Must follow as closely as possible the horizontal line of the back and blend imperceptibly into the curve of the buttocks. Broad but not excessively so in males, more developed in bitches. A croup which falls away or a goose rump is a serious fault.
Chest		Broad and well let down as far as level of elbows, but not cylindrical. The first ribs are slightly arched, the others rounded and well-sloped to the rear, giving the desired length of chest. Flat ribs to be severely penalised. The distance from the point of the breast-bone (manubrium) to the last rib must be considerable, about 7/10 of the height at the withers.
Underline and belly		The underside of the chest rises very slightly towards the belly, which is only slightly tucked up. Flanks must be short, especially in males.

Tail

Set relatively high, the tail must continue the line of the backbone. Some dogs are born tailless and must not be penalised for this. The tail should be docked in the first week of birth leaving 2 or 3 vertebrae. In countries where docking is banned, the whole tail is admitted.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Front legs have strong bone and are well-muscled. Perfectly straight and parallel seen from the front.
Shoulders		Relatively long, muscled, without being heavy, moderately oblique. Shoulder blade and humerus are approximately of the same length.
Upper arm		Moderately oblique.
Elbows		Close to body and parallel. Elbows turning in or out, in a natural stance or on the move, are considered a fault.
Forearm		Whether seen in profile or from the front, they must be perfectly straight, parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. They must be well-muscled and with good bone.
Carpal		Exactly in line with forearm. Only the pisiform bone juts out at the back of the wrist. Strong bone.
Pastern		Strong bone, quite short, sloping forward very slightly.
Forefeet		Short, round, compact, neither toeing in nor toeing out. Toes should be tight and arched, with strong and dark nails. Thick and hard pads.

Hindquarters
Generality		Strong, with pronounced muscle, upright and perfectly parallel seen from the rear. Must move in the same planes as the front legs.
Upper thigh		Broad, well-muscled, parallel in direction to the median plane of the body. Femur must be neither too straight nor too sloping. Buttocks well let down, trousered and firm.
Lower thigh		Moderately long, well-muscled, neither too straight nor too sloping.
Stifle		Set approximately on an imaginary straight line from the highest point of the hip (iliac crest) perpendicular to the ground.
Metatarsus		Strong and lean, rather cylindrical, perpendicular to the ground when the dog is in a natural standing position. No dewclaws.
Hock		Rather close to the ground, broad, tight. Seen from behind they should be straight and perfectly parallel when standing. On the move they should turn neither in nor out.
Hind feet		Round, solid, toes tight and arched, with strong black nails. Thick hard pads.

Gait and movement

The whole of the Bouvier des Flandres must be harmoniously proportioned to ensure free, true and proud movement. Walking and trotting are the normal gaits, although one does also encounter amblers. At a normal trot the Bouvier des Flandres covers its traces i.e. covers the front pad marks with the rear.

Skin

Tight fitting; no excessive slackness; the edges of the eyelids and lips are always very dark.

Coat
Hair		The coat is very abundant, the outercoat forming with the dense undercoat a protective layer perfectly adapted to the sudden climatic changes in this breed’s native land. The hair must be coarse to the touch, dry and matt, neither too long nor too short (about 6 cm.), slightly tousled but never woolly or curly. Shorter on the head and very short on the outside of the ears. The inner part of the ear flap is protected by medium long hair. The upper lip carries a moustache and the chin a full beard, giving the forbidding expression so typical of this breed. The eyebrows consist of raised hairs, accentuating the shape of the superciliary ridges without ever veiling the eyes. The coat is particularly harsh and rasping on the upper part of the back. It shortens very slightly on the limbs but remains harsh. A flat coat should be avoided because it denotes a lack of undercoat. The undercoat is a padding made up of fine dense hair which grows beneath the outer coat and together with the topcoat it forms a waterproof covering.
Colour		The Bouvier des Flandres coat is usually grey, brindle or overlaid with black. A completely uniform black is also accepted, without being favoured. Light-coloured, so-called washed-out coats are not acceptable. A white star on the chest is tolerated.

Size and weight
Height at withers		62-68 cm for males, 59-65 cm for females, with a tolerance of plus or minus 1 cm. For both sexes the ideal size is the middle range, i.e. 65 cm for males, 62 cm for females.
Weight		approximately 35 - 40 kg for males, 27 – 35 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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

Serious faults

Timid dog.

Molossoid appearance, too heavy a dog.

Body obviously too long (slight tolerance for females) or too light.

Too massive a head, marked stop, pronounced frontal groove, very prominent zygomatic arches.

Domed skull, narrow skull, very prominent occipital crest, important lack of parallelism between the toplines of skull and muzzle.

Muzzle too long, pinched nose.

Loose, thick or overlapping lips.

Wry jaw; malocclusion.

Small, unhealthy or poorly set teeth.

Light eyes, bulging eyes, untypical expression.

Uncropped ears which are curled or folded.

Cylindrical neck, dewlap.

Back very sagging, very arched.

Very faulty stance, obviously camped stance, sickle hocks.

Silky coat, lack of undercoat, puffed up coat, shiny, over-groomed.

Lack of head furnishings.

Simultaneous faults in pigmentation (nose, lips, eyelids).

Disqualifying faults

Aggresive or overly shy.

Obvious lack of type.

Unpigmented nose or of any colour other than black.

Pointed muzzle.

Pronounced over- or undershot bite.

Any missing teeth other than one P1.

Wall eyes or wild expression.

Entropion, ectropion, unpigmented eyelids.

Coat chocolate brown, white, pepper and salt, washed-out colour and any other pale fawn going from light to red, even with black overlay.

Height at withers outside the range of the standard.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Details: Also available:; Last Updated: 25 January 2024; Hits: 1181

Flanders Cattle Dog