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Berger Picard

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 176

Berger Picard.

AKC standard: an ancient breed developed by the farmers and sheep herders of Picardy; a rustic working shepherd's dog; can be aloof with strangers. FCI 176 utilization: shepherd and guard dog; its work is driving and protecting flocks of sheep. UKC: herding style is 'boundary' or 'tending' (grazing in unenclosed areas next to crops), in contrast to the British 'fetching' style; French shepherds preferred a protective dog, which led many continental herding breeds into police work; still used primarily for herding in France. Wikipedia: still used effectively as a sheep and cattle herder in its native land.

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.
50–71LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 50 to 71 lb; breed bitches 50 to 71 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 23.5 to 26 in · bitches 21.5 to 24 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Low and high span AKC/UKC, FCI and Wikipedia (61 cm = 24.0 in). No single ideal printed.

Weight

dogs 50 to 71 lb · bitches 50 to 71 lb

Breed clubAKC

Breed-wide bands counted in both sex rows; Wikipedia is editorial.

Coat

AKC: harsh and crisp, neither flat nor curly, often a slight wave; undercoat soft, short and dense; ideal length 2 to 3 in, over 4 in penalized; rough eyebrows, moderate beard and moustache and a slight neck ruff ('griffonage'); never woolly or soft. FCI 176: harsh, semi-long, crisp, 5 to 6 cm over the whole body including the tail, fine dense undercoat; fawn, fawn with dark overlay, fawn brindle, or gray that generally stays dark. UKC: hair on the skull about 1.5 in. Wikipedia: fawn or brindle, minimal undercoat

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

AKC breed page shedding level 3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Harsh, crisp coat of ideal length 2 to 3 in over the whole dog with a soft, short, dense undercoat (AKC); FCI: semi-long, 5 to 6 cm, fine dense undercoat

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). Wikipedia says the undercoat is minimal, which would warm the figure; the standards say dense.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

AKC breed page energy level 4 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5. Wikipedia (editorial): energetic and hard working, enthusiastic with owners and other animals, needs socialization in the first two years and human companionship

Breed clubAKC

Energy

AKC breed page energy level 4 of 5; trainability 4 of 5; barking level 2 of 5. UKC: lively, energetic, affectionate

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

1 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page coat grooming frequency 1 of 5 (lowest band). AKC standard: shown in the rustic, rough, natural coat, not sculpted, shaped or scissored; excessive grooming is severely penalized

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

AKC standard: an ancient breed developed by the farmers and sheep herders of Picardy; a rustic working shepherd's dog; can be aloof with strangers. FCI 176 utilization: shepherd and guard dog; its work is driving and protecting flocks of sheep. UKC: herding style is 'boundary' or 'tending' (grazing in unenclosed areas next to crops), in contrast to the British 'fetching' style; French shepherds preferred a protective dog, which led many continental herding breeds into police work; still used primarily for herding in France. Wikipedia: still used effectively as a sheep and cattle herder in its native land

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Registry sources say drive and protect; the UKC names the style as tending/boundary. Both stand.

Also used on

UKC: intelligence and protective instincts suit it as a guard dog; family companion. Wikipedia: competes in agility, tracking, obedience, Schutzhund, flyball, lure coursing, French ring sport and herding events

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Field trial standard

FCI 176 classification: Group 1 Sheep and cattle dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'With working trial'. Wikipedia: basic herding instincts can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests, then trained for herding trials. No AKC herding-test list page 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

15.2% · 15.2% dysplastic of 564 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 83.7% normal; mild 11.7%, moderate 3.4%, severe 0.2%; breed rank 84 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

5.3% · 5.3% abnormal of 490 OFA elbow evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 94.5% normal; grade 1 2.9%, grade 2 1.8%, grade 3 0.6%; breed rank 80 in the OFA table

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

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

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: relatively healthy; known conditions include hip dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). OFA hips 15.2% dysplastic (n 564). The AKC listing of the national breed club's tests: hip and ophthalmologist evaluations

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial plus registry data; no VetCompass paper or club survey was read. Wikipedia also gives a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years, not recorded as a median.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 2; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; 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
Picardy Shepherd, Picardy Sheepdog, Berger de Picardie, Picard

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Your berger picard, on the record.

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