Briard

History

Though it is unknown what bloodlines originally created the Briard breed, we do know that this breed was used as a guardian or protector for herds of livestock on farms. Today, this breed is popular in the USA as a companion dog, livestock guarding, working dog with the police and watchdog.

Appearance

The Briard is a large breed dog, with males and females measuring 24-27 inches in height and weighing an average of 75 pounds in weight. This breed is built very tall, long and rectangular in shape. Their large rectangular head, forms into a muzzle almost the same size. Their two eyes are large in size, round in shape and available from a light hazel to black in color. Their two ears are generally left natural, triangular in shape and folded alongside of their face. When cropped, they are triangular in shape and stand firm on the top of their head. Their tail is long in length, covered in hair and is positioned downwards and out. Their double layer coat is weather resistant, wiry to the touch and long. This coat is available in all colors except for white.

Temperament

The Briard isn't a breed meant for everyone. This breed has a very strong, natural sense to herd and protect, which means that inside of ones home, these situations can occur innocently as well. The Briard always means well, they bond closely to their family, as well as the livestock they are watching out over and will not hesitate to bite or scare off anything trying to hurt either of these things. They learn very fast, and quite easily, however this never takes away their natural breed instincts. This breed requires a confident and persistent owner who is able to remain pack leader at all times and understands the Briard breed for all that it is. This breed is best suited in a country living environment with older children and can do well with all pets that he or she is raised along side of. Early socialization and obedience classes are required for this breed.

Grooming

This breed requires daily brushing and bathing when needed. Regular trips to the groomer are required.

Special Notes

Please note this breed is not meant for everyone. Please fully research about the Briard prior to adding one to your family to ensure you are able to meet the breed's requirements lifelong, both physically and financially. This breed is prone to hip and joint issues, eye issues and stomach torsion. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.