Bouvier des Flanders

The Bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog breed originating in Flanders. They were originally used for general farm work including cattle droving, sheep herding, and cart pulling, and nowadays as guard dogs and police dogs, as well as being kept as pets. The French name of the breed means, literally, Cow Herder of Flanders, referring to the Flemish origin of the breed. Other names for the breed are Toucheur de Boeuf (cattle driver), Vlaamse Koehond (Flemish cow dog), and Vuilbaard (dirty beard).The Bouvier is a powerfully built compact rough coated dog of rugged appearance. It gives the impression of size and strength without clumsiness or heaviness. Perhaps its most notable feature is the impressive head which is accentuated by a heavy beard and mustache. The ears and tail of the Bouvier are traditionally cropped for cosmetic reasons, even though the practice of cosmetic docking is currently opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. In the area of origin (Flanders, Belgium) cropping was made illegal in 2006.[citation needed] The weight of males ranges from 80 to 120 pounds or 36 to 54 kilograms, slightly smaller for females.[citation needed] They are powerfully built, with a thick double coat, which can be fawn, black, grey brindle, or pepper and salt in color. Bouviers are sometimes considered non-shedding, but in fact do lose hair, like all dogs. Most of the hair that they lose is caught within the double coat which results in matting. They require weekly brushing and combing to maintain the coat. In addition to weekly brushing, the coat should be trimmed approximately every 3?5 weeks if it is to be a show dog. Trimming requires practice to achieve the proper look.