not until 1925 that the Berger Picard was
officially recognized by the French Shep-
herd Club.
The World Wars
The breeding stock of the Berger
Picard was decimated by the ravages of
World War I and World War II. Wartime
food rations made it very difficult to feed
large size dogs. Dogs produced by peasants
were not registered. With its population
concentrated on the farms of northeast-
ern France, trench warfare in the Somme
reduced the Picard to near extinction.
Rebuilding the Breed
After WWII, some Bouviers des
Flanders breeders wanted to revive
interest and rebuild the Picard breed.
They began searching in Picardie, at
the source, looking for the most typical
subjects for breeding.
According to early registration records,
Radjah de la Bohme was bred to Wax
de la Bohme in early 1950 to produce a
fawn male, Yucca des Hauts-Chesnaux
and a brindle female, Yasmina des Hauts-
Chesnaux. These two became the foun-
dation pair for the rebuilding of the
entire breed.
Les Amis du Berger Picard
The Les Amis du Berger Picard, the
French Parent club was established in the
late 50's. The club has continued to grow
and now has over 250 members from all
over the world. Breed clubs have formed
in other European countries including
Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Germany. At present, there are also
Picard breeders and fanciers located in
Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy,
Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Cana-
da and here in the United States.
Picards in America
Since the 70s there had been several
attempts to establish the breed in the
United States.
While individuals scattered around the
United States discovered this rare breed
and successfully imported dogs, and even
bred a few litters, these attempts did not
lead to a viable breed club and failed to
gain interest from fanciers interested in
showing and establishing the breed in this
country.
“
Since the 70s there had been several attempts to
EsTABlIsH THE BREED In THE unITED sTATEs.”
“
When the movie was released
in theaters in February of
2005,
the breed gained the
attention of some of
the general public
wHo fEll In lovE
wITH THE DoG
THEy sAw In
THE movIE,
and many more Picards were
imported to the US.”
94 •
S
how
S
ight
M
agazine
,
D
ecember
2012