The Berger Picard (, ) or Picardy Shepherd, is a French herding dog originating in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

. These dogs nearly became extinct after both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and remain a rare breed.

Appearance

The Berger Picard is a medium-sized, well-muscled dog, slightly longer than tall with a tousled yet elegant appearance. Their ears are naturally erect, high-set, and quite wide at the base. Their eyebrows are thick, but do not shield their dark frank eyes. They are known for their smile. Their natural tail normally reaches to the hock and is carried with a slight J-curve at the tip. Their weather-proof coat is harsh and crisp to the touch, not excessively long with a minimal undercoat. Coat colors fall into two colors, fawn and brindle, with a range of shade variations.

Temperament

The Berger Picard's attributes include a lively, intelligent personality and a sensitive and assertive disposition that responds quickly to obedience training. Picards are easygoing and mellow but can be reserved towards strangers. They require a lot of socialization during the first two years of their lives. Picards are energetic and hard working, alert, and are not excessive barkers. Some Picards are notoriously picky eaters. The breed also has a well-developed sense of humor, making them an endearing companion, and they continue to be used very effectively as both sheep and cattle herders in their native land and elsewhere.Jacques SENECAT Extraits du catalogue de la première Nationale d'Elevage et de sélection MONTILS le 3 septembre 1967 Like many herding breeds, Picards require human companionship. Since they can be demonstrative to their owners and enthusiastic towards other animals, formal obedience training and positive socialization is important.

Health

Berger Picards are a relatively healthy breed. Known medical conditions include hip dysplasia and

progressive retinal atrophy Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a group of genetic diseases seen in certain breeds of dogs and, more rarely, cats. Similar to retinitis pigmentosa in humans, it is characterized by the bilateral degeneration of the retina, causing progressive ...

(PRA). A reputable breeder will have hips certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or by PennHip with the results posted at the OFA database. Eyes will be certified for hereditary diseases through the OFA as well (previously through the Canine Eye Research Foundation) and results should also be published on the OFA database. The Berger Picard participates in the Canine Health Information Center. To obtain a CHIC number, dogs must have their hips and eyes checked with the results published on the OFA website and their blood banked for DNA plus one elective, either elbows, thyroid, or heart evaluated. The breed's life expectancy is 12 to 14 years.

Care

Exercise and activities

The Berger Picard can compete in

agility Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's list of human positions, position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance (ability), balance, coordination (physiology), coordination ...

trials,

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...

, obedience, showmanship, Schutzhund,

flyball Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their ha ...

lure coursing Lure coursing is a sport for dogs that involves chasing a mechanically operated lure. Competition is typically limited to dogs of purebred sighthound breeds. The AKC has a pass/fail trial for all breeds called the Coursing Ability Test (CAT) a ...

, French ring sport and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Berger Picards exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.

Living conditions

Despite being able and ready to work outdoors, Picards can do surprisingly well in city life provided they are given enough energy-releasing exercise. They are very loyal and enjoy a lot of attention and may suffer from separation anxiety (even if being left alone inside for short periods of time). This is not a breed created to live outside year round. They lack the layer of body fat that even a lean Livestock Guardian Dog has, and their coat is not dense enough to withstand frigid winter conditions of many areas.

Grooming

The Berger Picard is a low maintenance dog. The rough, tousled coat can mat if not brushed on a regular basis (once every other week), but the coat does not require special care to yield its rustic appearance. Bathing is rarely done. Their fur should never be trimmed except possibly hand-stripping the ears. Picards have low oil content in their fur and therefore have little odor.

History

In 2018 a genetic study found that, just prior to 1859, a broadly distributed European herding dog had given rise to the French Berger Picard, the German Shepherd Dog, and the five Italian herding breeds: the

Bergamasco Shepherd The Bergamasco Shepherd, it, Cane da Pastore Bergamasco, italic=no, is an Italian breed of sheepdog. It originated in the Alpi e Prealpi Bergamasche, where it was used as a herding dog for both sheep and cattle. History The origins of the P ...

Cane Paratore The Cane Paratore is a breed of herding dog from Italy, the breed primarily exists in its traditional role in Abruzzo, its historical region of origin, having not gained popularity from outside dog fanciers. In 2018 a genetic study found that, ju ...

, Lupino del Gigante, Pastore d'Oropa, and the

Pastore della Lessinia e del Lagorai The Pastore della Lessinia e del Lagorai is an old Italian dog breed from the northeastern region called Triveneto. It is not recognized by any major kennel organisation. Origin In 2018, a genetic study found that just prior to 1859 a broadly ...

. One author believes that the Berger Picard was brought to northern France and the Pas de Calais in the 9th century by the Franks. Some experts insist that this breed is related to the more well-known Briard and Beauceron, while others believe it shares a common origin with Dutch and Belgian Shepherds. Although the Berger Picard made an appearance at the first French dog show in 1863, the breed's rustic appearance did not lead to popularity as a show dog. The breeding stock of the Berger Picard was decimated by the ravages of World War I and World War II. With its population concentrated on the farms of north-eastern France, trench warfare in the Somme reduced the breed to near extinction. The prevalence of the breed worldwide remains limited, even in its native country. In France, there are approximately 3500 dogs. The Berger Picard was accepted by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

(FCI) in 1955. Germany has approximately 500 of this breed. There are approximately 400 Berger Picards in the United States and Canada. The Berger Picard Club of America and the Berger Picard Club Canada were formed to help promote and protect this breed. The Berger Picard was fully recognized in the herding group by the American Kennel Club on 1 July 2015. It is also in the herding group category of the Canadian Kennel Club. The interim breed standard for the Picardy Sheepdog was approved and the breed was accepted on to the import register of th
United Kingdom's Kennel Club
on 1 April 2014. The breed can only be shown in Import classes and is awaiting official registration of the proposed Picardy Sheepdog Club. The Picard was first shown at Crufts in March 2016 in the Pastoral (Herding) Group.

Recent History

Berger Picards have been seen in at least three films: '' Daniel and the Superdogs'' (2004); '' Because of Winn-Dixie'' (2005); and ''

Are We Done Yet? ''Are We Done Yet?'' is a 2007 American family comedy film directed by Steve Carr and starring Ice Cube. The film is a remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy film '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'', previously remade as the 1986 Tom Hanks ...

'' (2007). The producers of the American film '' Because of Winn-Dixie'' (2005) brought five Picards from Europe (three of the five actually performed: "Scott"; "Laiko"; and "Tasha"). The trainer wanted a dog that resembled the scruffy mutt on the original book's cover, but several were needed that looked alike so that production could continue smoothly, so he decided on this rare purebred dog from France. People often mistakenly think the on-screen "Winn-Dixie" was played by a mixed breed dog.Berger Picard Club of America
/ref> Joker, a well-known Berger Picard dog in Germany, has starred in six comedy films based on novels by . He played as Ludwig Eberhofer owned by Franz Eberhofer, a down-in-luck police officer in a small fictitious Bavarian town, Niederkaltenkirchen: ' (2014), ' (2016), ' (2017), ' (2018), ' (2019), and ' (2021). Joker passed away on 28 June 2021 after he collapsed and was rushed to the animal hospital. The autopsy revealed the splenic tumours, which weren't discovered earlier during the medical examination prior to his death.

Appearance

Temperament

Health

Care

Exercise and activities

Living conditions

Grooming

History

Recent History

See also

References

Further reading

External links