Briard breed guide

Briards have traits common to other herders: trainability, brains and a protective eye toward family, especially the children they regard as their flock. Confident, smart and faithful, they were bred to make executive decisions without help from a human.

That independence sometimes makes them a bit hard to train, but they are eager to please and positive methods and lively sessions bring out their natural intelligence.

Briards live 12 years by AKC's count. Breeders screen for cancer, hip dysplasia, congenital stationary night blindness, cataracts, corneal dystrophy, retinal folds, hypothyroidism, immune diseases, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and kidney disease.

A Briard should be brushed several times a week, completely to the skin, with a good-quality pin brush. AKC suggests starting grooming sessions early so the dog learns to look forward to them.

The Briard requires a job to be happy. AKC hopes it is one with a lot of exercise, since the breed craves action. Its zest for life suits hikers, bicyclers and joggers. It needs a large, securely fenced area to run free.

In the dairy belt of northern France, the Briard or Chien Berger de Brie, has worked pastures since the time of Charlemagne and the breed is named for the dairy region of Brie. French farmers, known for frugality, developed it as a two-in-one dog: a sheepherder famed for quicksilver agility and a tough, courageous flock guardian able to run off predators.

The Briard is a close relative of the smooth-coated Beauceron, another French pasture breed with a dual herding and guarding role.