Page 248 - ShowSight - February 2020

Judging the Berger Picard
BY DENISE DEAN continued
“THIS IS A WONDERFUL ANCIENT BREED SO PLEASE LOOK FOR A BALANCED, FLUID AND EFFORTLESS MOVING DOG. STRONG AND AGILE WITH OUT BEING BULKY WITH NO EXAGGERATIONS.”
Now on to the standard, the standard is very good and my comments are just to add some notes to it.
They are a medium sized breed that are study without being bulky, a rustic, and working shepherd’s dog. As a good work- ing and herding dog they should be sound, without much exaggeration. Their natural upright ears and distinctive wire coat give them a unique look. We do have a size dis- qualification but it has a wide range, males 211⁄2 to 261⁄2 and bitches 201⁄2 to 241⁄2 inch- es, so most should be well within this range but feel free to measure if you think they are not in this range. They should be slightly longer than tall but should not appear long in body or short on leg. All parts must work well together so they could work in the field all day.
Head and expression is very unique, their natural upright ear, beautiful dark eyes and distinctive coat. There is a DQ for not standing ears but most are up as very small puppies, so this should not much of a problem. The head should be somewhat long as the standard call for it to be the length of the neck. It should be rectangu- lar with some width but not to the point of becoming blocky. Muscle should be strong and full. Please use your hand as their coat can hide much, this is true for the whole dog. Add parallel plains and their large, high set ears and you have a very pleasant head and expression. Bite is scissors with complete dentition and there is a DQ for undershot or overshot with loss of contact.
Topline is strong and level and we have many with great top lines so try not to give on this point as we would like to keep this feature, tails come off the body with a slight slope to the croup and many young males
carry theirs high, I would not fault this too much as long it is not straight up and over the back. Fronts and rears should be strong with good angulation, again a good sound, farm dog. There are no dewclaws on the rear legs and fronts can be gone or left on.
The coat is a unique feature of the breed. It should be shaggy and harsh to the touch and never be over four inches in length. We are not looking for a long coat but one that protects from the weather without being hard to care for. Ideal length is only two to three inches all over and a correct coat will always look shaggy no matter how groomed. There should not be such heavy hair to obscure the eyes or the outline of the dog. The only thing plucked some is the ear and that is just enough to take off long strings. It is a very slow growing coat, I sincerely hope that this keeps people from sculpting and trimming or stripping. Please help us keep the great rustic appearance of this breed by severely faulting any that seem trimmed or stripped. They come in fawn, that can be a clear fawn but most are really sable with all the dark trimming that come with this color or brindle that can be very dark to very light with stripes or small patches of color. All shade are considered fine. With a DQ for solid black or white, pied, spotted or harlequin and a white bib or white foot. We really do not want to see any white on the dog but a small spot on the chest or feet is allowed but not ideal.
This is a wonderful ancient breed so please look for a balanced, fluid and effort- less moving dog. Strong and agile with out being bulky with no exaggerations. Enjoy their rustic look and appreciate them for being the great shepherd dog that they are.
246 • ShowSight Magazine, February 2020