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Bouvier des Ardennes

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Herding · FCI standard 171

Bouvier des Ardennes.

FCI 171 utilization: originally a true cattle dog, used to the open air and to the tough work of rounding up, guarding and driving cattle; today a good all-purpose working dog and a specialised guard of stock and property, with a minimum of training. UKC: a cattle drover in the Belgian Ardennes; only the hardest and hardest-working dogs of a very restricted population were kept to drive herds. Wikipedia: drover's dogs, especially herding and protecting cattle; the French article calls it a bouvier and guard dog. Sainte Apolline (Belgian breeder): the cattle dog of Ardennes farms, driving cattle, pigs and sheep, used for wild boar hunting and as farm guardian; today a working farm dog, a family dog and a sport dog (cani-cross, agility, herding)..

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.
48–77LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 60 to 77.2 lb; breed bitches 48 to 62 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 22 to 25 in · bitches 20 to 22 in

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Low and high span FCI, UKC and Wikipedia (Wikipedia prints 20 in for the FCI 52 cm lower end). No ideal printed, so center is blank.

Weight

dogs 60 to 77.2 lb · bitches 48 to 62 lb

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Low and high span FCI, UKC and Wikipedia (Wikipedia prints 62 lb for the upper end; FCI converts to 61.7).

Coat

FCI 171: topcoat dry, coarse and tousled, about 6 cm over the body, shorter and flatter on the skull; moustache and small beard 5 to 6 cm hiding the inner corner of the eye; undercoat very dense whatever the season, more abundant in winter, about half the length of the topcoat. All colours except white (usually a mix of grey, black and fawn hairs; also brownish, red or straw); a small white chest or toe mark is acceptable. UKC: dense, double, weatherproof, outer coat dry, coarse, tousled, about 2.5 in; any evidence of trimming is a disqualification. FCI: the coat must let the dog live outside and guard and drive herds in extreme weather.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

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

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Dry coarse tousled topcoat about 6 cm over a very dense year-round undercoat (FCI 171)

DerivedFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Derived from the standard's coat description; the standard prints no heat figure. Medium-length dense double coat reads as the medium double tier, 3.

The dog at home

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

Energy

FCI 171: shows much endurance and energy; playful, curious, agile and sociable; its main quality is adaptability, at ease in every situation; obstinate and extremely courageous in defending its people, belongings and territory. UKC: extremely adaptable, playful and curious, yet very obstinate and determined when defending its family, possessions or territory. Sainte Apolline: a dog that loves to work, constantly moving around its handler, tireless and able to work in the worst conditions; lively but able to sleep at its handler's feet; wary of strangers.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Grooming load

2 of 5 · Sainte Apolline: no grooming needed, weekly brushing is perfect.

DerivedElevage de Sainte Apolline (Belgian Bouvier des Ardennes breeder)

Scale tier 2 (weekly brush) from the breeder's stated routine; derived. One breeder source; no kennel-club grooming band exists for this breed.

Grooming

Sainte Apolline (Belgian breeder): most lose little coat, apart from some heavy moults; no grooming is needed; a weekly brushing with a wire-bristle brush is perfect.

EditorialElevage de Sainte Apolline (Belgian Bouvier des Ardennes breeder)

Breeder's description, one source; no kennel-club grooming band. One breeder source; no kennel-club grooming band exists for this breed.

The work

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

Role

FCI 171 utilization: originally a true cattle dog, used to the open air and to the tough work of rounding up, guarding and driving cattle; today a good all-purpose working dog and a specialised guard of stock and property, with a minimum of training. UKC: a cattle drover in the Belgian Ardennes; only the hardest and hardest-working dogs of a very restricted population were kept to drive herds. Wikipedia: drover's dogs, especially herding and protecting cattle; the French article calls it a bouvier and guard dog. Sainte Apolline (Belgian breeder): the cattle dog of Ardennes farms, driving cattle, pigs and sheep, used for wild boar hunting and as farm guardian; today a working farm dog, a family dog and a sport dog (cani-cross, agility, herding).

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Primary game

Cattle (FCI 171 utilization; UKC: mostly cattle). FCI history adds herds of milking cows and sheep, plus pigs and horses in the 19th century. UKC: sometimes sheep, pigs and horses. Sainte Apolline: cattle, pigs and sheep driven on Ardennes farms.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Stock worked, not game.

Also used on

FCI 171 history: from the 19th century used to track deer and wild boar, and in the two World Wars became poachers' dogs. UKC says the same. FCI today: guard of stock and property, all-purpose working dog. Sainte Apolline: wild boar hunting (chasse au sanglier) and farm guardian.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Search pattern

FCI 171 history: the end-of-19th-century drover's dog looked like a sheepdog with a harsh coat, but stronger, bigger and more biting; the dog is called the cowdog in the Belgian Ardennes and was selected for rounding up, guarding and driving. UKC gait: lively, ground-covering trot with strong thrust from the rear. No source read states voice or whether it works singly or in pairs.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

Field trial standard

FCI 171 classification: Group 1 Sheep and Cattle Dogs, Section 2 Cattle Dogs, with working trial. The trial rules were not read.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 171, 2002

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; 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 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 5.

Breed clubAKC

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

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. 3 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Every breed, read the same way.

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

All published breeds

Your bouvier des ardennes, on the record.

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