Rebuilding the Breed

After WWII, breeders of the Bouvier des Flanders wishing to rebuild the breed, began, at the source, searching Picardy for the most typical subjects for breeding. According to early registration records Radjah de la Bohème was bred to Wax de la Bohème in early 1950 to produce a fawn male, Yucca des Hauts-Chesnaux and a brindle female, Yasmina des Hauts-Chesnaux. They became the foundation pair of the Berger Picard breed.

Les Amis du Berger Picard

The Club Les Amis du Berger Picard, the French Parent club for the Berger Picard, obtained definitive recognition in 1959 and a new breed standard was approved by the Société Centrale Canine in 1964. Mr. Jacques Sénécat became the main champion for the breed over the next three decades. He was club president for over 30 years and published the book, “Le Berger Picard d’hier et d’aujourd’hui “ in 1979.

The present FCI standard was drawn up in 2008 by the current president of the club, Mr. J.C. Larive and his committee, in collaboration with Mr. R. Triquet.

The Les Amis du Berger Picard has continued to grow as a breed club and now has over 250 members with representatives all over the world. Other European countries now have breed clubs including Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Picard breeders are also located in Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Canada and the United States.