FG167 wrote:Hello! Welcome!
I also have littermates to Christie - her Salix and my Madix.
I think Beaucerons are gorgeous dogs! What were they like compared to your Dutch Shepherd?
oh wow, I typed up a response yesterday and just realized that I hit "preview" and not submit LOL
Ok, my response is based on my experiences as well as what I have learned about the breeds by my experiences and what I've learned from breeders. It's funny that it seems like DS owners are often attracted to Beaucerons and vice versa
I first learned of the Beauceron in 1993 and got my first in 1996. I have owned 3 males, been friends/acquaintances with many breeders and owners throughtout the US & Europe. Personally for me, what drew me to the DS was that there are more people working them, and therefore, it seemed as though you were more likely to find one with proper drive, stable temperament and generally speaking- healthy.
My first Beauceron was dysplastic and fear aggressive. Dangerously so. He was better out away from home. But inside the home, he was extremely fearful of anyone that walked in the house. He loved me to death, but even if he met this person outside first, and would be fine, once they were in the house, he was no longer fine with this person. He would hide under a table or desk, shake and growl. Any attempt to get him out from hiding, or if you went by his hiding spot would result in screaming, bite frenzy panic. Despite that behavior, he was an excellent obedience dog and had a knack for herding. He wouldn't play ball or tug if it would save his life.
My 2nd Beauceron was beautiful, very "showy." He lacked prey drive, seemed confident, but bluffed it. If you called his bluff (or if you just weren't afraid of how he "showed off"), he would immediately go into avoidance and back down. He too was dysplastic (unilaterally). He loved doing obedience, agility and tracking. He too would not play ball or tug. Or he might chase a ball that was thrown, but wouldn't pick it up. Both dogs had excellent food drive.
My 3rd Beauceron, "Goliath" was my French Ring dog and came from phenomenal parents. I love a GOOD Beauceron. It's just unfornately so hard to find one that has drive, stable temperament and is healthy. There are a lot of heart problems and bad hips. Also spookiness and fear of loud noises. Goliath had everything you could ask for in a Beauce, he was stable and had excellent drives. He would have been titled, but there had been some major life changes going on for myself.
Of course, my Ziva is only 5 months old, so I can only go by my experiences raising her and what I've seen in other DS. The biggest downfall of a Beauceron is their slow maturity rate. While a DS, Malinois or GSD might be mature about 18 months- 2 years of age, you'd be looking for at 3-4 years for a Beauceron.
Their pack "drive" or mentality is quite different. A DS seems like it'll bond to the entire family. A Beauceron loves the family, but will especially bond to 1 specific person. It will not always be the person intended. They can be somewhat "extreme" with how they will bond to this one person. Now Ziva loves everyone. But for example, if my husband and I are in a room and one of us gets up, she's quick to follow to see where we are going. If I get up, she follows, and pretty much stays with me, and will occasionally "check" on my husband. If my husband gets up from the room, she sees where he's going and then comes back to stay with me. She also follows my 6 year old son to see what he does. She's more intent on it when he has friends over! She's watchful, but I know she's slightly more bonded to me, but that's natural as I feed her and do the obedience
With my Beauces, if I got up they followed. If someone else got up from the room, they could care less. They were reliable off lead from a young age because of that bond (I believe).
And how they work in drive is very different. DS seem to work primarily out of prey and/or fight. Beaucerons have a very high defense drive. They can be very quick with it. I haven't seen them work out of fight so much, although my Goliath loved to fight the decoy. The harder the decoy fought him, the more he was like "bring it on!" and fought harder.
Their socialability was all different. Goliath was the most social, but also the most confident. The other ones were more suspicious on varying degrees (outside the home).
I would love to own another working Beauceron some day. It's just so difficult to find one, unfortunately even in France it's diminishing.
Welcome here Kristen. 