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Beauceron

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 44

Beauceron.

FCI 44 utilization: sheepdog and guard dog; bred and selected to conduct and guard flocks of sheep. AKC standard: developed solely in France to herd and guard large flocks; used to move herds of 200 to 300 head up to 50 miles a day; keeps a high degree of the instinct to guard home and master. UKC: before the French Revolution mainly a livestock guard, afterward a herding dog. AKC editorial: the Beauceron and Briard are boundary herders, keeping sheep inside the line and thieves and wolves outside it, not gathering dogs like the Border Collie. RKC: valued as a loyal companion and guard dog.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
66–110LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 66 to 110 lb; breed bitches 66 to 110 lb.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC). The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 25.5 to 27.6 in · bitches 24 to 26.8 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Low and high span AKC/UKC and FCI. No single ideal is printed, so center is blank.

Weight

dogs 66 to 110 lb · bitches 66 to 110 lb

Breed clubAKC

Breed-wide bands counted in both sex rows. The AKC standard says dogs are larger throughout than bitches.

Coat

AKC: outer coat 1.25 to 1.5 in, coarse, dense, lying close; short and smooth on head, ears and lower legs; somewhat longer on the neck; tail and back of thighs lightly fringed; undercoat short, fine, dense, downy, mouse gray. Black and Tan (squirrel-red markings) or Harlequin (blue-gray patches on a black and tan base) only. FCI 44: hair 3 to 4 cm, fringing obligatory. UKC: double coated, outer about 1.5 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Sheds (RKC 'Sheds: yes'); AKC breed page shedding level 4 of 5. Wikipedia: the undercoat grows thick in cold weather

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Double coat: outer 1.25 to 1.5 in, coarse, dense and lying close; short fine downy mouse-gray undercoat (AKC). FCI: 3 to 4 cm, smooth on the head

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). The coat is short for a herding double coat, so it sits at the warm end of the tier.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day (RKC)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than 2 hours = 150.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day; large house, large garden, country. AKC breed page energy level 5 of 5. Wikipedia (editorial): slow to mature, not mentally or physically mature until about three years, so short play-training sessions are advised over long rigorous ones

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC breed page energy level 5 of 5 (highest band); mental stimulation needs 3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC grooming band); AKC breed page coat grooming frequency 3 of 5

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than once a week = 3.

Grooming

RKC: more than once a week, medium coat length. AKC standard: exhibited in the natural condition with no trimming; shaggy coat is a disqualification

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 44 utilization: sheepdog and guard dog; bred and selected to conduct and guard flocks of sheep. AKC standard: developed solely in France to herd and guard large flocks; used to move herds of 200 to 300 head up to 50 miles a day; keeps a high degree of the instinct to guard home and master. UKC: before the French Revolution mainly a livestock guard, afterward a herding dog. AKC editorial: the Beauceron and Briard are boundary herders, keeping sheep inside the line and thieves and wolves outside it, not gathering dogs like the Border Collie. RKC: valued as a loyal companion and guard dog

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

The registry standards say 'conduct and guard'; the AKC editorial piece says boundary herding. Both stand.

Also used on

Wikipedia: in France a guard dog, a farm helper herding sheep or cattle, and a ring sport (protection) dog; employed as a military dog in World War II; in modern France used as a guard or police dog, and as of 1989 still a popular sheep dog

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial; the Wikipedia article tags parts of its characteristics section as needing citation.

Field trial standard

FCI 44 classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'With working trial'. No AKC or French herding-trial result for the breed was read

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

10.1% · 10.1% dysplastic of 1,323 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 88.9% normal; mild 8.3%, moderate 1.4%, severe 0.3%; breed rank 129 in the OFA table

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher.

Elbow dysplasia

13.6% · 13.6% abnormal of 1,012 OFA elbow evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 86.2% normal; grade 1 12.2%, grade 2 1.5%, grade 3 0.0%; breed rank 39 in the OFA table

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Same voluntary-registry caveat as hips: under-reported, skewed toward breeding stock.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 2; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 4; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Berger de Beauce, Beauce Sheep Dog, Bas Rouge, Red Stockings

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your beauceron, on the record.

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