Judging Coat Colors
This information is shared to Picard fanciers as a means to relay potential issues or concerns with this breed we all love so much. The BPCA along with the Canadian and European clubs is working with the International Commission to find common goals for the health and welfare of the breed. Clubs began sharing concerns, and ideas in this way to hopefully work together to preserve and protect our very special breed. As common goals are identified, these will be shared with all. Coat color has been a concern for quite awhile and something to be aware of and, of course, work at moving away from undesirable colors.
To all Picardy Shepherd Judges and Breed Managers abroad, Please find hereafter some necessary remarks concerning coat colors in the Picardy Shepherd.We trust you will read them carefully, and remain at your disposal should you require any further information.Fawn, Charcoal fawn, Brindle fawn, Grey usually dark.No large white patches (a slight white patch is tolerated on the chest and tips of the feet).For many years, the "fawn" and "fawn charcoal" colors largely dominated the breed's herd.Then, dogs declared "fawn more or less strongly brindle", which had also existed since the beginning, became more numerous and were classified in the more general GREY color register, with some even having a slightly BLACK coat impression.These dogs were indeed "brindle fawn" at birth.At the time, therefore, we had dogs with a true "fawn" color, sometimes uniformly a little light, and also "charcoal fawn" with a charbonnage on the edges of the ears, the tail and sometimes the collar.While we're on the subject of "light fawn" dogs, we're pleased to see the reappearance of dogs in this color, as shown in photo N°3. A few decades ago, this was by far the most widespread color in the herd...However, for several years now - and the CABP had been alerted by certain breed judges - we have been seeing an increasing number of color defects in dogs declared " FAWN" or "CHARCOAL FAWN" ("GREY" dogs rarely pose a problem and "TOO BLACK" dogs have practically disappeared).Faults appearing:- Coats called "mantled" with a grayish color all over the body.- Very pale "fawn" extremities + pale breastplate...- A light "owl" mask on the head.- Reversed sable, with fawn at the tip and gray at the root.In addition, these dogs often have an insufficiently hard coat, appearing a little "felted" on the body, frizzy on the limbs and a soft, overly long scratch pattern.These color faults deserve our joint attention, while taking into account the evolution of coat color in our Picards as they age.These remarks and their consequences concern "adult" dogs, and you will no doubt have noticed that these defects sometimes diminish with age.We can see very young subjects with a criticizable coat "mixed" with gray, black and yellowish fawn, very heterogeneous, but which can evolve and often improve with time, « obviously » take this into account Photo N°2.In any case, the CABP is asking breed judges to pay close attention in this area.Tails, long our main concern, have improved quite a lot. Now, you must be vigilant on this question of color, by NOT AWARDING MAJOR REWARDS to dogs with such highly accentuated faults, while of course logically balancing the importance of these faults against the dog's qualities.In a word, give more importance than before to this "standard" position and to coat quality (watch out for dogs with a lot of "head" and a coat that's too long, soft and sometimes frizzy!).
