I am reading posts on Menagerie to get my dog fix. Many interesting posts regarding different breeds. Never a mention of Bouviers. I am questioning why they are not popular but perhaps that is a good thing so you don’t end up with Bouv mixes that might give them a bad reputation.
Just curious.
They are a lot of dog and not very common. It seems like accessible for a mix breed “breeder” to procure as compared to a golden or poodle which have long histories of backward breeding. What they would add in a mix would be size and hair. There have thankfully (I guess relative to the bad idea of breeding mixes) been trends towards choosing more moderate tempered large fluffy dogs like poodles, berners, etc.
Personally, I met a lot of Bouvs when showing and found their personalities a little disconcerting. They were aloof and watchful which is important for the breed. They aren’t meant to be goldens but a dog of that size that gives you side eye makes me take a healthy step sideways. A lot of irresponsible breeders have a number of dogs in the home so a breed that isn’t designed to live in the equivalent of a permanent doggy daycare environment is probably avoided.
I’ve loved them since childhood when a family friend had one, but when I did serious research on the breed and learned that they were supposed to have a serious work drive, we’re not really a “pet” breed and weren’t great with strangers, I decided I wouldn’t be a good owner for one and moved on to corgis as a better fit for me.
Of course, Pekes are also described as aloof, averse to training and not fond of strangers, and yet both of mine are crazy, gregarious maniacs, so who knows? 
A woman that I know that competes her Poodles in agility got a Bouvier. She said when his competing days are over she’s going back to only Poodles. The Bouvier is more dog than she prefers. I kind of wondered why she wanted one for agility. Hers clearly shows his disdain for rules. 
We have had several. In our rural setting (fenced yard of fair size) with horses in view, they have been good dogs for us. We have them as guard dogs and companions. They all went to training classes with other dogs, got socialized on leashes in meeting various humans. Pretty well behaved in public settings. Our current one has not been out-and-about like previous ones because we have not been able to go on long (a week or two camping) vacations as we did previously. No horse sitters.
They are VERY smart, though not cheerleader types in repetitive training like the various Shepherds, Goldens, Doodles of any kind. They accept the training, are obedient, but don’t seem to like doing it over and over to win in Obedience competitions. In 4H we would have a friendly Leader class competition. My dog was perfect on leash! Off leash was a joke. Dog plainly told me “I know you need to walk around the ring again. I will wait for you here.” And she did! She watched me, glanced around at ringside viewers, never moved or got up. Did recall, stand for exam, long sits and downs perfectly, but darned if she could see why we needed to walk the ring a second time!!
In real life I can take mine thru crowds of thousands without issue. Many sneaky dog petters who just CANNOT keep their hands to themselves! She ignores them, stays at heel, sits when I stop. A very practical dog in real life settings. Loose leash, mostly ignoring other dogs as we go along. She is not really interested in anyone else except me or family members. Last puppy training class the trainer said we should try for faster recalls, gave out treats to reward with. Dog came fine, not interested in any treats! Trainer had a collection, nothing interested the dog. She might take it, then put it on the floor, did not consume any of them. Trainer was amazed, never met a dog like that! We don’t give treats at home, sometimes some vanilla ice cream in her bowl, nothing else. She gets cow hooves to chew, NEVER any rawhide or pig ear things. She breaks bones, so none of them either. They have very powerful jaws.
I would say they are a dominant breed, you have to be in charge, take the time to train them to be obedient. REALLY important to train them, they are too big to not be obedient ALL the time. Correct disobedience RIGHT NOW! Of course they would like to be alfa, you can not allow that with them being disobedient. They can be a bit stubborn at times, which needs to be worked thru with training. We have had two that decided they did not need to come NOW when called. I had to use an electric collar to correct that disobedience, then all the family members had to call and correct dog if she ignored them. They “got it” real quickly that we could “reach out and touch them” even if not close to them. Training stuck well, despite any distractions, any locations, they came at a run until they died of old age, 12+ years later.
The hair requires regular attention in being brushed weekly and clipped off to keep it under control. I believe the breed has Poodle blood way back, it never stops growing. It is going to mat if not kept short or groomed often. Can collect poop on the back end when long. I tend to keep my dog clipped shorter. The present dog does not get the huge coat of my previous dogs, but still needs clipping to keep it shorter. I put a dog coat on in winter. Their hair does get wet to the skin in snow and rain, unlike her Sheltie buddy or the Shepherd breeds. So she needs to be kept covered and let to dry in the house if she does get wet. She likes being outside unless wet and cold.
She is restricted to the mud room in the house. She will carry in a LOT of dirt, ice, during the seasons. Too big (80#) to be running around in our small house. They get along with smaller dogs/cats if raised with them, seem to love new puppies and let them cuddle. Each dog is different of course, but we have done this with several dogs. There is an alfa dog when there is more than one in a home, unneutered dogs might challenge the alfa in trying to move up. Bitches coming in season, being in season, even nuetered dogs can get triggered with a dog in season, to start fighting, need to be separated in STURDY crates for that time. For us the Corgi dog started all the bitch fights. And Corgi NEVER learned to quit jumping the big dogs. I would not have another Corgi unless it was an ONLY dog. Much prefer my easier going Bouviers!
Our Bouviers know the family members, even if they don’t live here. She lets them enter yard, house after initial announcement of “they’re here” barking. They pet her, all is good. Strangers get much more of an announcement, with MOST not trying to open the yard gate. Signs don’t help with stupid people, but dog blocking the path, acting aggressive, stops forward progress. And then I go out and yell at them for entering!! No one has been bitten, thank goodness, but I can’t believe how stupid some folks are!!
I give credit to the breeders, my Bouvier dogs have always shown what I call “good judgement” in holding their line instead of grabbing the intruders. If pushed, dog would probably get more agressive, but they don’t go all out as first choice. Short tale; as a 4H Leader I thought doing more advanced training with a dog club would be helpful. I heard about a Schutzen club so I went to see a training session. They compete in 3 sections, Obedience, Scenting, Protection, for an overall winning score. I took my Bouvier puppy along (about 1yr then), watched the Obedience which was much more advanced than the 4H kids. Then the Scenting, both tracking and finding a particular item in a pile of other items. Pretty cool! Then the Protection part, where these normal looking folks got a bit crazy! Guy put on the padded suit and they let dogs jump and bite on him with encouragement! Whoa! Not what I expected at all. After going thru all their dogs, the suited up guy wanted me to try my dog who was NOT interested. Then he shoved me, I fell, dropped the leash and she grabbed his leg to take his feet out from under him!! He went down hard!! I jumped back up, grabbed the leash and he got up yelling at me! Shouldn’t have dropped the leash and on, losing dog control… I told him he should not have knocked me down! He deserved what he got! I think he was hugely embarrassed, being a dog professional, by being taken down by a 60# puppy!! I said this is NOT what my dog needs to learn, bye. She did good in my eyes, protecting me. She only touched him once, then backed off by me. She NEVER did anything like that again, despite crowds of kids at dog meetings bumping us, tight walking at craft shows or farmers markets. Our other Bouviers have had their moments, “taking care of things”, but again it was all under control, doing the MINIMUM needed, by barking or body-blocking, to protect or guard people or things.
Again, GOOD JUDGEMENT in assessing situations, not over-reacting. I love our Bouviers, will have another when we need another big dog.
Thanks for the detailed description. Although I’ve had a lot of dogs when I had my own properties, I’m a cat person, not as much work. I’m renting now and there’s a weight limit (I think 35 pounds) on a dog. Also I don’t have a fenced yard and the thought of having to take the dog out for a walk to do it’s business first thing in the AM does not excite me. 
I’ve only seen the Bouviers at the dog show that gets broadcast on Thanksgiving, but do think they’re beautiful. I am a large dog person, if I were to get a dog, so I really like them.
Thank you so much goodhors. I have had 6 Bouviers in my life. I had met two Bouvs before purchasing my first. I was drawn to the fact that they were not waggy tailed when meeting strangers. They were self assured, aloof and confident.
I purchased my puppy after buying a farm at a location without any visible neighbors. The dog’s purpose was to be my companion and guardian. When he was two I was asked to rescue a one year old Bearded Collie. I agreed to take her provide Merlin would accept her. He did and she was his shadow for the rest of his life.
Merlin was followed by Murphy, Cooper, Winston, Bentley and Colton. There was another stray included who was dumped at my property at age 3 weeks. Turned out to be a Collie/Golden cross. It was Murphy who adopted him.
Though similar in some ways they all had their individual personality and I loved them all. It breaks my heart that due to age and health I can no longer have a Bouv in my life though I do have contacted a Bouvier Rescue should an older dog become available. Unfortunately they are few and far between.
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