The BPCA American Élevage Recommendations & Guidelines

SUMMARY: The BPCA American Élevage will be held once every four years or as determined by the BPCA Officers andthe Executive Board. This non-competitive event will consist of individual written evaluations and ratings of BergerPicards, followed by group evaluations for “Pre-Selected” and “Selected”. Judges are to be chosen from outside of theUS, traditionally France or other European countries. A BPCA American Élevage Book is to be published after each BPCAAmerican Élevage, and will be/is available for purchase.The BPCA American Élevage is held the week of the National Specialty, before all AKC conformation events. The BPCAAmerican Élevage will not be in conflict with the official AKC conformation events, scheduled seminars, etc. The NationalSpecialty Show chair shall make final determinations regarding scheduling.The BPCA American Élevage shall be a non-competitive evaluation of the parts of each Berger Picard entered, culminating in one final rating for each Berger Picard entered. The AKC Berger Picard Standard as approved by the AKC will be used as the basis for each evaluation. The overall ratings for the BPCA American Élevage shall be as follows:Select, Pre-Select, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Disqualified. Individual qualities may be noted as Excellent, VeryGood, Good, Fair, Insufficient, and Disqualifiable. The use of the “insufficient” terminology shall only apply when as pecific quality seriously deviates from the AKC Standard. For example – if a dog or bitch is over the desired height as stated in the AKC Berger Picard Standard, the BPCA American Élevage judge may deem this animal’s height “Insufficient”to the ideal heights as stated. However, any single deviation deemed insufficient shall in no way result in an overall rating of insufficient. Virtues and faults of each individual Berger Picard shall be noted and the BPCA American Élevage evaluation shall reflect the qualities accordingly.

EVALUATORS: The BPCA will use evaluators from France, or FCI breeder/judges, or FCI judges from any EuropeanCountry with extensive knowledge of the Berger Picard, any of the aforementioned will be Berger Picard Specialists.Choice of the BPCA American Élevage evaluator(s) should be strictly limited to the BPCA American Élevage Committee, as directed by the BPCA American Élevage Chair subject to the final approval of the Board. When possible, there should be consideration to bring back to America a previous BPCA American Élevage evaluator so that they will be able to determine the positive and negative developments within the breed since their last assessment. Other factors, such ascost, availability, and the need to introduce more judges, will also be weighed when choosing evaluators. It is the responsibility of the BPCA American Élevage Chair to ensure the evaluators are familiar with the AKC Standard of theBerger Picard and provide information as needed. The BPCA American Élevage Chair should also advise the evaluators of cultural differences, such as the expectation by BPCA American Élevage participants to have photos taken with the evaluators following Selection. Evaluators shall be provided a copy of the BPCA American Élevage book once printed.

EVALUATOR EXPENSES: The BPCA shall be responsible for all airfare and other travel expenses (pertinent to their BPCAAmerican Élevage obligations) in getting our evaluators to this country. We are not responsible for the airfare of spouses or friends. Any air fares outside those directly related to the BPCA American Élevage (such as personal sightseeing) will not be covered by the BPCA, but any assistance in such arrangements will be provided if requested. It is the responsibility of the BPCA to cover lodgings, meals and reasonable hospitality throughout the running of the BPCAAmerican Élevage up and through the evening of the Selection. Out of courtesy, the BPCA should have the evaluator(s)as invited guests for the days of class and Breed judging at the National Specialty and cover the costs incurred in lodging and meals. They should be invited guests at our annual National Specialty banquet and should also be given a suitable keepsake from the BPCA for their efforts.

TRANSLATOR(S): If at all possible, translators, if needed, should not be BPCA members, as this can lead to a perception of bias or influence. Translators may be paid for their services if necessary, and if they are not BPCA members, it is the responsibility of the BPCA to cover lodgings, meals and reasonable hospitality, if requested by translator. If BPCA members must be used as translators, their expenses will not be covered; they are to be treated as any other BPCA volunteer.

VENUE (LOCATION): The BPCA American Élevage will generally be held in the same location that will be used for theSpecialty following the BPCA American Élevage. This space must have room for a ring for each judge, tables for participants to check in, a measuring area out of the flow of traffic, easels and signs for information, data entry area, photo area, seating for spectators, and room for Berger Picards to move around, and wait. Power must be available and light must be adequate. Audio equipment may be needed. This area may also be the location for the final Selection. AllBerger Picards will be assessed on-site only. Only those Berger Picards entered in the BPCA American Élevage will be assessed – solicitation of the judges for private evaluations is highly inappropriate, and should be discouraged in written guidelines before the event.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE LOGO: There shall be a BPCA American Élevage logo designed for this event that can coincide with the National specialty Logo for that year, for use in pins, catalogs, t-shirts, fundraising, etc. The BPCA AmericanÉ levage Chair will choose the final logo, with their committees input if desired.

ENTRIES: The BPCA American Élevage entry, either in paper or electronic form, will require the registered name, color, sex, sire and dam, date of birth, registration number (including country of origin of that registration number), owner’s name, address, email, phone number, and the signature of owner(s) agreeing to abide by the rules of the BPCAAmerican Élevage, agreeing to publishing the results in the official BPCA American Élevage publication and agreeing to the fact that the returned and duly signed entry form is the property of the Berger Picard Club of America. Once anowner(s) signs this BPCA American Élevage form, he/she (they) has/have consented to the publishing of the evaluation regardless of the rating assigned. Entries received for the BPCA American Élevage will be randomly allocated between judges in a BPCA American Élevage year where there are two evaluators. Once an entrant has been assigned an evaluator by the BPCA American Élevage Committee, there will be no switching of the allocated evaluator. Exceptions to this rule will be made: If your Berger Picard was assessed by the assigned evaluator in a previous BPCA American Élevage. If you purchased a Berger Picard from the evaluator. If on-site scheduling changes are needed to accommodate an evaluator, or maintain the BPCA American Élevage schedule. No entry fees will be refunded if an owner refuses to show to the assigned evaluator. In a BPCA American Élevage year where there is only one evaluator, all entrants will be assessed by the same individual. Berger Picards should be entered prior to the event’s selected closing date, which should ideally be at least three weeks to four weeks prior to the start of the BPCA American Élevage event. However, any Berger Picard may be entered on-site as well, schedule permitting. All pre-entered Berger Picards will pay a standard fee as determined by the BPCA American Élevage Committee and subject to the final approval of the Board. i.e., $30.00per male/female, while any on-site entry will pay an additional fee (a late fee so to speak) not to be more than $10.00over and above the pre-entered fee. There can be a reduced entry fee for multiple dog entries. Puppy Entries shall begin with a standard reduced fee and can also have a similarly reduced entry fee for multiple puppy entries. The denomination of this fee is to be determined by the BPCA American Élevage Committee subject to the final approval ofthe Board.

CLASSES: Any Berger Picard may enter the BPCA American Élevage. There will be no differentiation based on intact vs.spayed / neutered Berger Picards, imported or domestic, shown in AKC events or not. Any Berger Picard deemedExcellent Pre-Select is automatically eligible for entry in the final Selection. Participation in the final Selection is strictly voluntary and the absence of any Berger Picard in this final portion of the event will not alter that animal’s evaluation. Itwill be so noted in the BPCA American Élevage publication that this animal was absent from final Selection.There shall be three (3) classes in the BPCA American Élevage event: 1) Regular – ANY dog or bitch over the age of 12months on the day the BPCA American Élevage begins. Within this class, after examination by the evaluator, a BergerPicard between the ages of 12 - 18 months will fall into an area that is “Evaluators Choice”. The evaluator has completediscretion as to whether a Berger Picard of this age will be treated as an adult or a puppy for the purpose of assigning arating and possibly proceeding to Adult or Puppy Selection. If the evaluator feels a young Berger Picard is not yet matureenough to warrant an adult rating, they may opt to put them in puppy. On the other hand, if the youngster is verydeveloped, they may choose to put them into adult. 2) Puppy – a Berger Picard under 12 months on the day the BPCAAmerican Élevage begins. The entry fee for this class will be less than the Regular class entry. Those puppies rated as“Very Promising” are eligible for Puppy Selectioning. At his/her discretion, an evaluator rarely may choose to move a very mature puppy to the adult Selection process by assigning a rating of Excellent Pre-Select. 3) Companion – a class for companion Berger Picards. It will be at the discretion of the owner as to whether a Berger Picard will be entered in theRegular or Companion class. The evaluation process will be the same, and Excellent Pre-select rated Berger Picards will advance to Selection. This designation simply indicates the Berger Picard was not intended as a breeding animal at time of acquisition. No Berger Picard will be required to use the Companion class.

HEALTH CLEARANCES: It is recommended that any verifiable health clearance: i.e.: OFA, OVC, Cerf, CSNB, Cardiac results etc. be submitted as part of that individual Berger Picard’s entry form. This information shall be published in the finalBPCA American Élevage book. However, lack of submission of any of these health clearances shall not be considered an incomplete entry and should in no way affect the rating of that animal.

MEASURING OF BERGER PICARDS: The official measurer and the BPCA American Élevage Chair shall meet with the evaluator(s) and shall detail how the evaluators wish to have their measurements done. The goal is uniformity and consistency in measuring, to the satisfaction of the evaluators. For this reason, the official measurer shall ideally be the same person throughout the event. The evaluator(s) may also remeasure a dog in the ring at their discretion.

PHOTOS ON-SITE: There should be access to a competent photographer on site. Good photos enhance the overall look of the final publication as well as insuring that all Berger Picards entered are pictured. Photos will reflect the appearance of the Berger Picard at the time of the BPCA American Élevage. 

NUMBERING SEQUENCE: 100’s – all Brindle Dogs 200’s – all Brindle Bitches 300’s – all Fauve Charbonne Dogs 400’s – all Fauve Charbonne Bitches 500’s – all True Fawn Dogs 600’s – all True Fawn Bitches.

SCHEDULING (OFF SITE): The BPCA American Élevage Chair shall designate a BPCA American Élevage committee member to receive all entries with completed entry form(s), photo(s), and pedigree(s) and payment of the establishedBPCA American Élevage entry fee. This person will be responsible for issuing individual numbers for each Berger Picard entered, and allocating a time slot for the evaluation on-site. As each entry is processed, a file for each individual BergerPicard will be maintained containing the following: dog (bitch) number, color of entrant, presence or absence of pedigree and presence or absence of entry fee(s). These files will be brought to the BPCA American Élevage site.

SCHEDULING (ON-SITE): Berger Picards will be assessed every ten to twenty minutes throughout the day(s) set aside for the BPCA American Élevage, as determined by the size of the entry. Evaluators will be provided with a one hour lunch, as well as at least two 15 minute breaks during the day. It is imperative that a BPCA American Élevage committee member be responsible for maintaining the ring schedule. Last minute entries must be accommodated whenever possible. While judges are often willing to work late doing evaluations, the BPCA American Élevage must end each day at least 30minutes before any scheduled events such as seminars, puppy match, dinners, etc.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE FORM: The BPCA American Élevage form shall be comprised of a three part form – one copy for the owner, one copy for the BPCA American Élevage Chair, and one copy for those responsible for assembling theBPCA American Élevage book. There shall be one BPCA American Élevage form for each individual dog/bitch entered. At no time can a BPCA American Élevage form be changed or altered unless it is done by both the judge and the BPCAAmerican Élevage Chair simultaneously in the presence of each other. Any changes will be initialed by both BPCAAmerican Élevage Chair and the BPCA American Élevage judge responsible for that evaluation. Prior to entering theBPCA American Élevage ring, the only writing to be found on this form will be those measurements as noted by the ChiefMeasurer along with the dog’s number for the event. A call name may also be noted, if necessary, to identify the correct form for the owner.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE CATALOGUE: At the discretion of the Élevage Committee. If possible, there shall be a BPCAAmerican Élevage catalogue available for sale during the course of the BPCA American Élevage. Paid advertising will be accepted for insertion in this catalogue based on a per page rate as determined by the BPCA American Élevage Committee. The catalog will be sectioned by color and sex of each pre entered Berger Picard with their armband number, containing sire and dam, date of birth, registration number, dogs registered name and name of the owner and breeder. This catalogue will not be limited to size (i.e.: number of pages) since paid ads and the sale of these catalogues will more than cover the cost of printing. Blank pages to note on-site entries and pre-selects should be included.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE PRE-SELECT LISTING: After all initial evaluations of all Berger Picards have been completed and prior to the final Selection event, the BPCA American Élevage committee shall compile a list of all preselect dogs and bitches categorized by color and sex. This print out will be made available – at no cost- to any individual who has purchased a catalog.

EXHIBITORS: During each individual evaluation of any Berger Picard, the only persons permitted in the ring at the timeof the evaluation shall be the BPCA American Élevage judge, the scribe, the translator, the owner(s), the breeder and the handler (if any) of that particular dog. This is not to say that all of these parties must be in the ring at that time but merely that they will be the only persons allowed in the ring. The evaluator will be in complete control of his ring, and may choose to further limit those allowed, and how they will participate, or to allow additional persons at his/her discretion.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE FINALE - SELECTION: The finale of the BPCA American Élevage event called the Selection will be held on the last day of the BPCA American Élevage. The sequence for Selection will be as follows: 1. all pre-selectBrindle Dogs 2. all pre-select Brindle bitches 3. all pre-select Fauve Charbonne dogs 4. all Fauve Charbonne bitches 5. all pre-select True Fawn dogs 6. all pre-select True Fawn bitches in the event that are few True Fawn dogs and bitches, theBPCA American Élevage evaluator(s) may elect to include the True Fawn dogs and bitches with the Fauve Charbonne dogs and bitches. Participation in the final Selection is strictly voluntary and any dog or bitch not present will be indicated as “absent from Selection” in the final BPCA American Élevage publication. Their absence will in no way alter or affect the result of their BPCA American Élevage rating.Puppy Selection will be scheduled as the evaluators prefer. After the final Selection is completed, group photos of allSelect dogs and bitches either all together or according to color will be taken. A group photo of all puppy “Selects” will be taken upon completion of the BPCA American Élevage Puppy Show as well. All group photos of Select Berger Picards by color and of the puppy Group winners will become the property of the Berger Picard Club of America. The BPCAAmerican Élevage Chair shall provide three sets of photos and a list of all Select dogs/bitches by group to the NationalSpecialty Show Chair. Copies of these group photos should be made available to interested parties. The NationalSpecialty Show Chair will be responsible to direct one set to the BPCA archives, the second set to the Picardier and the third to the BPCA website. The BPCA should request copies (digital or print) of these Group photos – one set for the Club archives, one set for the BPCA American Élevage Committee, and one set for the Picardier. Should any Select dog or bitch be absent from the group photo, it shall be so noted for the record.BPCA 

AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE SOUVENIR: The BPCA American Élevage Committee should give an appropriate BPCAAmerican Élevage keepsake for each Berger Picard entered in the BPCA American Élevage event. Cost of these objects should be a consideration. A BPCA American Élevage logo pin is an appropriate token, balancing cost and value.

AWARDS: There shall be no awards given to any Berger Picard going BPCA American Élevage Select – i.e.: ribbon, trophy or anything else that may be deemed an award. However, every exhibitor will be given a suitable Élevage souvenir for every full standard dog/puppy entry in the event as indicated above. A reduced fee for multiple entries will be included with the standard entry of one souvenir.

EQUIPMENT: In order to hold the BPCA American Élevage, the following equipment is required. A basic ring setup, including matting for the floors, ring dividers, a table and chairs. The BPCA should own its own measuring device (wicket)which can be used for subsequent BPCA American Élevage events. Consistent measuring relies on use of this device. A tape measure is also needed (one that shows inches and centimeters). Technology changes as the years progress. TheBPCA Élevage Committee will provide a list of needed technology in order to fulfill the recommendations of the BPCAAmerican Élevage as described in this document approximately one year prior to the upcoming BPCA American Élevage. This will ensure that the proper technology is available on site each day. Standard stationary supplies, clipboards, folders, stapler, clips, rubber bands, etc Poster boards or other means of publishing results Armbands for each entry. Armband numbers will be assigned at time of entry, and accompany the paperwork for each dog. Adequate seating for all BPCA American Élevage workers as well as exhibitors and entrants. First aid kit.

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE WORKERS ON-SITE: At a minimum, BPCA American Élevage staffing should include:• One scribe / translator per evaluator.• Data person(s) – this is an especially important position, as all forms must be correctly entered, and the judges/participants must be worked with closely to ensure the data is absolutely accurate.• Registrar/Check-in (2)• Measuring/Weighing (2)• Flow person – to ensure the area and rings run smoothly, and note / fix areas with problems.• Runner(s) as needed to assist in all areas.• Exit poll / gift bags / proofing of BPCA American Élevage forms (2)• Photographer• Photo coordinator• Judges coordinator / hospitality person / transport coordinator• Ring setup / cleanup• Audio Visual• Grounds• Videographer• Print coordinator

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE WORKERS OFF-SITE: Many jobs need to be completed before and after the BPCA American Élevage. These include:• Data entry before and after the BPCA American Élevage• Ad sales Catalogue layout, printing, ad sale• Welcome/Thank you bag preparation• T-shirts, Artwork Pins• Printing Fundraising Coordinator• Treasurer• Publicity / Correspondence / PR Layout• Prep (BPCA American Élevage Book)

BPCA AMERICAN ÉLEVAGE PUBLICATION: A suitable publication of all Berger Picards entered will be published by theBPCA. The printer will be chosen based on price, quality and convenience for the BPCA American Élevage Committee.The sale price shall be in proportion to costs. The BPCA American Élevage book shall be published in as timely fashion aspossible. A discount shall be offered for extra books ordered and paid for at the time of the BPCA American Élevage /Specialty. A printing bid will be provided to the BPCA board for approval before printing.

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES: Other activities connected with the BPCA American Élevage may be arranged at the discretion ofthe BPCA American Élevage Committee, such as:• Q & A sessions with the evaluators• Participants dinner(s)