Committee Chair - Jean Nocilly Photos of Bouviers The Bouvier in By Debbie Eckels Originally appeared in The Herdsman January/February 1998 The Bouvier originated in Flandres. These Flemish farm dogs were influenced by Dutch, Belgian, F The breed was strongly influenced by both world wars. Many dogs were lost because of limited food and The Bouvier were distinguished from smaller sheepdogs as being "bigger, fiercer, more aggressive and Most Bouviers who are inclined to work are gathering, fetching dogs with good balance and power to spa Testing dogs on well dog-broke sheep in a small, well fenced round pen (60 ft. diameter) is a good meth My training experience has been primarily on sheep. Other trainers tell me that their Bouviers wil readily Soundness Soundness is the basic consideration. Dogs with unsound hips or other skeletal problems may experienc Body Type Body type may also be an influence. Large, heavy-bodied dogs may have difficulty holding up to much w Coats Dogs whose coats are being kept groomed for the breed ring may damage their coats, depending on gro Getting Started Before undertaking serious herding beyond an instinct test, Bouviers should have good basic obedience 1 / 40
Bouviers seems to enjoy real farm work. Many talented dogs reflect their "all purpose farm dog" heritage Bouviers that abound with stock sense and have the trainability to retain the necessary control are a joy Choosing a Pup If you are looking for a Bouvier to do farm work, or competitive herding, you need a sound, athletic pup w Training Training Bouviers is best started in a small (60 ft. diameter) contained area with dog-broke sheep. If a do Allowing the Bouvier to control the stock and learn balance seems to work best. Guarding the sheep and Bouviers seem to get bored easily, and tend to make wrecks so they can fix them. Some will quit working with your Bouvier is a challenging and rewarding experience the dogs really enjoy. Bibliography Bouvier. James des Flandres: R. Engle. The Alpine DogsPublications of Flandres 1991. Fields The Complete Howell Book Dog Book. House 1992. 2 / 40
About the Author Debbie Eckels has been herding with dogs since 1989. She has trained and titled nine Bouviers and just completed a HCh on a Border Collie. She has titled numerous dogs of several breeds for their owners as well as helping owners train and trial their own dogs. Photos of Bouviers "AMOS" 3 / 40
e Ridge Ursa Major UD HS AX OAJ 4 / 40
AKC Utility Dog (UD) KC Started (HS) KC Agility Excellent (AX) 5 / 40
Open Agility Jumpers (OAJ) 6 / 40
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"CASEY" 8 / 40
CH B.Witchn's Justin Casey Howlz JHD~s PT~s 9 / 40
AHBA Junior Dog, sheep (JHD~s) AKC Pre-Trial AKC Tested, sheep (HT~s) 10 / 40
AHBA Capability Tested, sheep (HCT~s) Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Therapy Dog International (TDI) 11 / 40
ABdFC Versatile Bouvier Basic (VBB) Versatile Canine Companion (VCC) 12 / 40
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"Sadie" 17 / 40
AM/CAN/INT CH Aristes Yule Time Surprise JHD HSAs CKC HS 18 / 40
AHBA Junior (JHD) Dog AKC Started Course A Sheep (HSAs) 19 / 40
Canadian Kennel Club Started (CKC HS) 20 / 40
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"Tucker" 26 / 40
ecial Vintage Classic AX OAJ CD HS-As JHD VBX 27 / 40
Agility Excellent (AX) C Agility Jumpers (OAJ) 28 / 40
KC Companion Dog (CD) rding Started A (HS) Course, sheep 29 / 40
HBA Junior (JHD)Dog ersatile Bouvier Excellent (VBX) 30 / 40
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" Dilly " 33 / 40
CDX, HSAs, OTDs, STDc, NA, NAJ, VBX 34 / 40
nine Good Citizen (CGC) AKC Companion Excellent Dog (CD X ) 35 / 40
ng Started A (HS) Course, sheep ASCA Open Trial, Dog sheep (OTDs) 36 / 40
Started ASCATrial Dog, (cattle STDc A KC NoviceAgility ) ( NA ) 37 / 40
satile AKC Novice Agility Jumpers N ( AJ) Bouvier Excellent (VBX) 38 / 40
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