Briard
Description
Briards are also known as berger de brie. The Briard is a big-hearted and gentle loving dog. The Briard is totally devoted and loyal to his owners and will guard him with his life. Intelligent and easy to train, the Briard makes and a wonderful family pet and an excellent watchdog. His herding instincts are strong and it would be wise to give him plenty of space.
Size of Male: Height: 23-27 inches Weight: 75-100 pounds
Size of Female: Height: 22-25.5 inches Weight: 60 -100 pounds
Temperament
The Briard is a farm worker by nature and loves to herd anything. Briards have an exceptional hearing ability and are basically kind, but with a strong protective instinct. The Briard makes a wonderful, alert watchdog. Sensitive, playful and obedient, but with definite minds of their own. A long history of working with humans has left it gentle and sweet natured, as well as brave, loyal and fearless. This breed has a fine memory and is intelligent with a lot of initiative. Briards are very trainable. Eager to please its master but needs a firm owner able to show leadership. This is definitely not a breed for everyone. Too often they wind up in shelters because people don’t realize what a challenge they can be to raise and live with. They are very stubborn and can be fearful, extremely unfriendly, or both, if not raised properly. They need a lot of entertainment and activity to be happy, and are not the sort you can pat on the head and ignore the rest of the day. Briards are really dedicated to their families and tend to be, at best, disinterested in other people. They are good-natured and very adaptable to living with children if they are raised together. This breed does not like to be teased. Train them early and treat him with affection and you will have a wonderful family dog. Training must be consistent with much patience and love combined with a firm hand. They will not respond to unjust, severe training. With poor handling and training the Briard becomes withdrawn and even aggressive. They require regular training and attention. If you are a first time dog owner and you would like to raise a Briard, you should seek help and training from experienced people. Briards view strangers as suspicious and can be slightly dog aggressive, but with the right handler it will blossom into a first-class pet that can happily co-exist with other pets.
Living Conditions
The Briard will do ok in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. Briards are moderately active indoors and will do best with at least an average-sized yard. Briards are totally not suited for life in a kennel. They are happiest in the home as part of the family, but they do love to be outdoors equally as well.
Upkeep
Briard are dogs that need a good amount of activity and interaction every day. The Briard’s favorite exercise is the herding, but it can also be satisfied with a long walk or jog, or a long play session coupled with a little training. The Briard can live outside in temperate to cool climates, but is happiest if allowed access to both house and yard. Its long coat needs brushing or combing every other day or mats can form, which is usually unpleasant to see and hard to remove. Removing mats can be painful for your dog so please ensure regular combing. If the mats are really bad, all the fur may have to be shaved off.
Health
Major concerns: gastric torsion, cancer
Minor concerns: hip dysplasia
Life expectancy: 10 – 12 years