Upcoming Judges Education Presentations:
The Berger Picard Club of America will be hosting a Judge’s Education seminar before our 2019 National Specialty. Hands on examination as well as ring side mentoring is being offered. Seating is limited so reserve your spot early!
Presenter: Club President- Valerie Black
Where: Purina Farms, Gray’s Summit, Missouri
When: Thursday, October 3, 2019 8:00 AM
RSVP Contact: Betsy Richards, <betsy.richards4@gmail.com>
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September 6, 2015
As a follow up to the reminder about over grooming dogs, the judge’s education committee has written a tri-fold brochure to illustrate correct and incorrect grooming practices of the Berger Picard.
-How to show groom your Picard
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July 16, 2015
Hello Herding Group judges!
As you are aware, the Berger Picard joined the Herding Group as of July 1st. We are pleased that there were over 65 Picards shown around the country the first weekend, and there are good entries at many upcoming shows. Points were awarded to 21 different dogs in the first few days of competition, and exhibitors have received a warm welcome and many kind compliments on our dogs, which is wonderful to see!
One clarification we would like to make is in regards to the coat and proper presentation of the Picard. In the Coat section of our breed standard it states, “The Picard is shown in it’s rustic, rough, natural coat which is not to be sculpted, shaped, or scissored. Dogs whose coat has been altered by excessive grooming must be severely penalized.” The dogs should of course be presented clean and combed out.
However, in these first 2 weekends, there have been some dogs shown with clearly shaped and scissored outlines, distinct eyebrows, and coats blown out and fluffed – and unfortunately, some of these dogs have been rewarded with wins in spite of this very incorrect presentation. Proper coat texture and length cannot be evaluated when a coat has been freshly blown out and scissored into the groomer’s perception of perfection – and our breed’s characteristic carefree and natural look is destroyed.
We are requesting your cooperation in enforcing what our standard clearly states, and ask that you do not reward exhibits presented in such an altered state. If an otherwise worthy dog is presented to you which has been overly groomed, coat blown smooth, or clearly scissored & shaped, please do not encourage this by awarding a win. You may want to let the handler know that the reason the dog cannot be placed is due to the excessive grooming and improper presentation, and on another day, if presented properly, the outcome could be different. We sincerely ask that you enforce our standard, and help to stop this desire to overgroom now, from the very beginning of our appearance in the Herding Group.
If you have any questions or need clarification of this or any other part of our standard, please do not hesitate to contact our Judge’s Education Committee. We will have judge’s education and ringside mentoring in conjunction with our national specialty on Sept 11 at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO. We would be pleased to have you attend if you can fit it into your busy schedule!
The breed standard with pictures is available for your review on the BPCA website – www.Picards.us/?page_id=155
Again, thank you for the warm welcome our breed has received so far, and please help us keep Picards true to their rural French heritage!
Sincerely,
BPCA Judge’s Education Committee – www.Picards.us/?page_id=150
Betsy Richards, Founding President – betsy.richards4@gmail.com
Valerie Black Current President- valblack4@gmail.com
Liz Hansen, Current Health Director – HansenL@missouri.edu
Jackie Carswell AKC Delegate- bpcajackie@gmail.com