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Berger Picard: Key Characteristics of Berger Picard Dog Breed

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About Berger Picard

Country of Origin, History of Berger Picards

The Berger Picard breed of dogs originated in France. This is the oldest of all French shepherds that had arrived in Picardy and the Pas de Calais with the Celts in 200 AD. It is from the Picardie region of Northwestern France that the Berger Picard has derived its name.

There are different opinions held regarding the lineage of the Berger Picard. While some experts opine that the breed is related to the Briard and Beauceron- well-known dogs others point out that the Berger Picard and the Dutch and Belgian Shepherds share a common origin. The breed’s easy care and happy, albeit mischievous, temperament has drawn the attention of pet lovers towards it and the breed has been saved from extinction.

Berger Picard Tools

Breed Selector Tool - is the Berger Picard the right breed for you?

Is the Berger Picard the right breed for you and your family?

Find out by using our Free Dog Breed Selector Tool

Check Your Berger Picard's Learning Style

Are you aware dogs also have a learning style that can greatly affect their ability to housetrain as well as be trained correctly. Evaluate your Berger Picard's learning style and personality using our free Learning Style tool so that you are better able to provide him with the proper Berger Picard training methods.

Is your Berger Picard dominating over you?

Does your Berger Picard bark unnecessarily? Does your Berger Picard come to you when you call? Download a FREE Report on Dog Dominance for you and your Berger Picard and learn how to control your dog.

Do you make these mistakes with your Berger Picard?

Are you inadvertently snow-balling bad behavior in your Berger Picard? Evaluate your Dog Training Style from our Free Tool and learn how best to deal with your dog.

Berger Picard Calorie Calculator

Do you know how many calories your Berger Picard needs every day and how many cups of food you should be giving it every day? Click here to use our Berger Picard Calorie Calculator.

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A General Description of the Dog

The dogs have got a distinctive weatherproof coat. This is harsh and crisp to touch. It has got a minimal undercoat. The colors of the Berger Picard dogs may be gray, blue-gray, red-gray, gray-black and light or dark fawn. The hairs on the dog’s body are not fluffy and light and hence do not fly around in the air.

Picards are medium in size. They are well muscled and are slightly longer than tall. Though tousled the dogs are esteemed for their grace. The eyes are dark, wide at base and naturally erect and high-set. Picards have thick eyebrows. However, these do not shield the eyes. The dogs’ natural tail reaches to the hock. They carry it with a slight J-curve at the tip.

Height: Between 21 inches and 26 inches.

Weight: 50-70 pounds.

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Berger Picard Personality Traits

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Temperament of the Berger Picard Dog

Berger Picards are intelligent and lively dogs. They are sensitive and assertive and respond quickly to obedience training. They seem to have a well-developed sense of humor too (it has been said that they know 'how to smile'). However, these dogs tend to stay reserved with strangers.

Picards are very friendly towards children. They are energetic dogs and enjoy doing work. They like being praised and enthused for their work. They are very suitable as guard dogs owing to their protective nature. These are relatively non-barking dogs though some lines have been known to bark frequently. They also do not have much of a hunting tendency.

The Picards are picky eaters. Hence there might be difficulties arising about selecting a suitable diet program for them. The dogs might not like what the owner may find to be a proper diet plan for them.

Being herding breeds the Berger Picard Dogs require much human companionship. These dogs can become very demonstrative to their owners and can enthusiastically befriend other pets too provided they are made to undergo formal obedience training and endeavors are made to inculcate positive socialization in them.

Suitable for apartment living?

Berger Picard dogs, though more suited for staying outdoors, can stay fine in apartments too. However, they need to get sufficient exercise daily. There may not be a large yard made available for the dog to exercise itself. The dog is at ease playing, running and sniffing around in a small yard also. They are quiet dogs and may even be taken to the workplace instead of being left alone at home when the owner goes to work. In such cases it is best if two such dogs are kept together.

Berger Picard Activity Level

How active is the breed?

Berger Picard dogs need to be considerably exercised. Apart from taking the dogs out for long walks regularly they can also be provided with opportunities to swim and run alongside moving bikes. Being an intelligent dog breed it can be engaged in dog sports like agility, Flyball, French Ring Sport and Tracking.

Grooming

The Berger Picard is an easy to care for pet. The rough, tousled coat of the dog does not mat and the Berger Picard dog requires little grooming to maintain its rustic appearance. Once a month brushing will be fine. Bathing is to be rarely done. The fur must not be trimmed. If needed by trimming may be carried out only around the ear edges. Berger Picard dogs do not shed too much and also do not have any ‘doggy odor’.

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Free Berger Picard Training Secrets

Free Course on Berger Picard Training & Obedience
Stop All Bad Behavior, Excessive Barking and Biting

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Health and Care

The Berger Picard is not too heavy and hip dysplasia though known to be a health problem with these dogs is not really common. Puppies at times get eye infections due to draught or dirt getting into the eye. However, this becomes a rarity after the puppy completes one year of age.

The dogs may be having hereditary eye problems like PRA (Progressive retina Atrophy) and RD (Retina Dysplasia) and all males and females of the breed need be checked for these diseases at least once every two years.

National Breed Clubs

Life Expectancy: Berger Picards live for around 13-14 years.

Group: Herding Group

AKC Popularity Ranking: 144

Also Known As: Berger de Picardie, Picardy Shepherd, Bacardi Shepherd, Berger de Picard

Train Your Berger Picard To Listen To You

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Sign up for our Free Berger Picard Mini Course to have a housebroken, obedient dog that happily comes to you every time you call.

You'll learn new commands to obedience-train your dog as well as how to housebreak your dog in 6 days or less.

You'll also learn how to eliminate bad habits like barking, nipping or biting, jumping, or pulling on the leash.Here's just s small fraction of what else you'll learn in the course:

  • How to lead and think like a pack dog - the new psychology.

  • 3 dangerous mistakes that most Berger Picard owners make when they are trying to potty train their dogs.

  • The 2 main reasons why your dog barks excessively and how to control its excessive barking.

  • How to obedience train your Berger Picard to permanently end behavioral problems like Jumping, Aggression, Pulling on Leash.

  • A surprisingly easy way to teach your dog cool new tricks.

  • How to improve your dog's lifespan and keep it from getting overly heavy with a healthy and nutritious diet.

  • Getting Pro help fast - how to get access to our expert trainers when you need them most.

  • One hidden psychological trigger that all Berger Picards have... that practically allows you to "analyze" and "control" your dog's every action.

  • Priority access to the free online seminars conducted by our training experts.

Whereas other dog training related web sites and books offer generic information for dogs in general, ours is the ONLY web site that offers Berger Picard information specifically, from a renowned panel of experts - because as you probably know, Berger Picards have their own special training requirements that other dogs don't have.

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Our Dog Experts

The Berger Picard training information you will read here was developed by a panel of renowned dog training experts whose combined wisdom represents nearly 100 years of specialist experience training dogs.

Here are a few of our experts:

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