The Bouvier des Flandres in Europe,
1925 through 1940

Authors' notes:  The study of the origins of the Bouvier des Flandres is enormously complicated by the bitter conflicts of the that occurred in the 20’s and 30’s.  These were to a large extent lingual and cultural, with the Dutch and Flemish people favoring the large, dark, more smoothly coated “Type Roulers” or “Type Moerman” and the French and French speaking Belgians tending to favor the lighter coated , much smaller “type Paret.”  Indeed, among the Paret school, the greatest sin of all was breeding a black dog. 

In preparing my book on the Bouvier des Flandres, only about half of the material was used.  Much of it is of a general nature and the decision was made early on to focus on the specific Bouvier material. Other sections, especially on the history of the breed, seemed too complex and detailed for the general dog owning public.

My experience is that many of my readers find the history of the breed complex and rather dry in the beginning, but that many of those who become involved eventually come to share my interest in the twists and turns of history. 

Here I present a great deal of previously unpublished material on the middle years of the Bouvier story, the era in which the many competing types and the conflicts among the various national and philosophical camps were resolved.

Some will no doubt find fifty year old war stories inherently devoid of interest and go on to more current reading, and I do not quarrel with their preference.

On the other hand, perhaps the more mature reader will find some lessons for today in this history.  I suggest that those not familiar with Bouvier origins might wish to read or read again the chapters in my book on Bouvier history, as they form perhaps the only really comprehensive introduction to this material presently available in English.  (For those who read French or Dutch, I would be glad to recommend some very interesting European books and articles.)

THE WAR BETWEEN THE WARS

By the latter twenties and into the thirties there were at least three breeds recognized by the S. R. S. H. in Belgium , that is, the Bouvier de Roulers (later referred to as Bouvier Belge des Flandres), the Bouvier Francais des Flandres and the Bouvier des Ardennes.  Actually, in years where there were several hundred Bouvier Belge des Flandres registrations there would be a half dozen Bouviers des Ardennes and perhaps one or two Bouvier Francais des Flandres.  In many of these years there were none of the Ardennes or French varieties.  As an example, in 1924 there were 10 pages of Bouvier Belge des Flandres entries, ten individual Bouviers des Ardennes, and one ten year old Bouvier Francais des Flandres, of unknown origin.  Although it would be a recognized "breed" for ten more years, the last "Bouvier Francais des Flandres" registration I can find occurred in 1927.

In 1937 the first two varieties would be merged by the S. R. S. H. under a uniform standard, if merge is an appropriate term for pouring a glass (the French variety) into the ocean of Belgian Bouviers.  I have entered most of the progenitors of today’s' Bouviers into computer media, directly from the St. Hubert records, and find that there is only one dog registered as a Bouvier Francais des Flandres which shows up in the background of toadies' Bouvier.  This is the female, called Lison (LOSH 21905), whelped in 1921 out of unregistered parents who is five generations back in the pedigree of the well known stud Joris du Ble d'Or.

The fact of the matter seems to be that the Bouvier Francais des Flandres, to whatever extent he actually did exist, slipped into oblivion without making any significant contribution to the gene pool of the Bouvier des Flandres as we know him today. 

Note carefully that I here refer to official St. Hubert records.  There may have been many other dogs of similar type registered in France or with Kennel Belge whose offspring made genetic contributions but were listed officially as of  “unknown origin.” 

It has always been possible to bring undocumented or unknown dogs into the official records.  Even today, it is possible to take a dog into the show ring and receive an adequate rating under two different judges and then register the offspring.  Such dogs have a conditional registration for three generations and then the fourth generation progeny become eligible for regular St. Hubert registration.  (In my opinion, the AKC should have similar procedures.)

Edmee Bowles mentions that when she began to look for breeding stock in the early thirties Bouviers were hard to find, and many of them were not registered or registered only with the Kennel Belge.  She indicated that many of these dogs were of the highest quality.  My notes on our conversations indicate that it was possible to be registered with both organizations, so things could get quite complex.  Everything considered, a real idea of how numerous the "Bouvier" was in this time period would seem to be very hard to come by at this late date.  Overall, my research indicates that there has probably never been more than a few hundred Bouviers registered in Belgium in a year, and fewer in France .

About this time there were serious efforts to reconcile the S. R. S. H. and the Kennel Belge, but they were not successful.  Chastel notes that the failure to merge was due primarily to the inability to resolve the "Bouvier Question."   It is my understanding that the Kennel Belge in this era recognized two varieties, differentiated into black and the other, previously acceptable, colors.

The Belgian Club decided on the 25th of November in 1928 that the name of the breed should be "Bouvier des Flandres."  In spite of this, St. Hubert continued to register dogs under the name "Bouvier Belge" until 1932. According to Chastel, the French agreed among themselves to use the name "Bouvier des Flandres" on the sixth of November in 1931, although it is my impression that there were similar varieties with different names.

Agreements on a common name was no doubt a step forward, but the fight continued.  There were still numerous varieties being shown and competing organizations.  The deep and bitter antagonisms among the factions was destined to go on for half a century, for it would be another fifty years before a uniform European standard would be established in the early 1960's. Even to this day, there are undercurrents of anger and resentment in Europe that revolve around the original issues.

In France there was, as we have seen, the "Bouvier Francais de Flandres" which the French were certain was the only true Bouvier.  As a man named Robin wrote in 1933:  "As to the Bouvier Belge, or the Bouvier de Roulers, its type is less fixed, its standard has been modified at various times and in order to avoid weakness in the breed it has been necessary to institute from time to time cross breedings either with a French Bouvier or with other foreign breeds." (3)

The purpose of the quote is to illustrate the nationalistic nonsense that characterized the era.  In actual point of fact, there is very little evidence for surviving independent French origins, and as Chastel points out (2) if they did exist they were lost during the World War.  The French breeders of the era were very close to the Belgian border, and drew their foundation stock from the originating Bouvier des Roulers breeders such as Moerman, Gryson and Dr. Scharlaken, just as did the Dutch.

Robin indicates that the male should be from 22 and a half to 24 and a half inches and should weigh about 70 pounds.  He goes on to state that one must not breed a dog with a black coat.  Would it not be interesting to learn the reaction of this Mr. Robin to the situation twenty years hence in France , when all of their Bouviers would be derived from these Belgian Bouviers des Roulers, for which he showed such disdain?

Even to this day, there are sharp distinctions in name usage that are of deep political and social significance.  In a show catalog in Flemish Belgium the breed is "Vlaamse Koehond" in large type and "Bouvier des Flandres" in very small type, the Flemish being insistent that they will not have a French name imposed on their breed.  The Dutch, on the other hand, list the breed as "Bouviers Belge des Flandres."  They apparently are not especially sensitive to the use of the French language, but want to be certain everyone knows that they are breeding the true Flemish Bouvier, not the little off-white "French Bouviers!"

On April 25th in 1937 there was a meeting at Lille ( France ) in conjunction with a major dog show.   In attendance were delegations from Societe Centrale Canine (the French canine society) and Union Cynologique St. Hubert.

The Belgians present were the judges Charles Huge and V. Tenret, assisted by M. Adant, G. Binon, J. Brossard, A. Gevaert, and Victor Martinage, a well known Bouvier breeder and long term club officer.  The Frenchmen were Colonel E. Tolet, M. Pouchain(President of the French Club), G. Buyssens, G. Danna and H. Valcke. Notable by his absence was Mr. Cotte, the most prominent French breeder, of "la Boheme" fame.

There was apparently a cordial exchange of views and agreement on what was intended to become a common standard.  Although this did become the Belgian standard, and the vehicle by which the Paret and Moerman types finally became formally unified in Belgium , it was apparently never ratified by the French.

(Mr. Binon was the owner of the famous Bouvier des Ardennes Ch. Vision, born in 1923 of unknown origins, and an early breeder of Bouviers, apparently of the "Paret" school.  None of his breeding carries into modern lines.)

Another pedigree drawn from the Bowles archives illustrates European breeding trends in the thirties:

                                          Brigand des Goujons  NHSB.25156 '23

                              Brigand  NHSB.28227 '29

                                          Nitouche  NHSB.12288

                Arie van het Polderleven         NHSB.31690 '33

                                          Dragon Astrid van Maarland  NHSB.17603

                              Belladonna Sea v h Falkland  NHSB.25607 '32

                                          Sea Lotte van Maarland  NHSB.7520 '26

     Belco  NHSB.45565 '35

                                          Cuno NHSB.11442 '28

                              Baldusar  NHSB.15344 '29

                                          Dragette van Arnwald  NHSB.8206 '24

                Gardenia NHSB.28849 '33

                                          Alexio  NHSB.18418 '30

                              Elsionora  NHSB.21861 '31

                                          Dessa van de Hunzestad  NHSB.13810

NITOR DU CLOS DES CERBERES  LOSH.103294 '39

                                          Milton  LOSH.15936 '19

                              Milton de la Barriere  LOSH.18580 '24

                                          Myarka de Turnhout  LOSH.18292 '20

                Pop du Pandore  LOSH.72130 '35

                                          Milton  LOSH.15936 '19

                              Kelly du Pandore  LOSH.35638 '29

                                          Alona  LOSH.23024 '25 (Brdr L.Petit)

     Lakama du Clos des Cerberes  LOSH.91687

                                          Milton de la Barriere  LOSH.18580 '24

                              Dick de la Barriere  LOSH.33895 '29

                                          Annie de la Barriere  LOSH.26827 '26

                Fletta de la Fraternite  LOSH.45599 '31

                                          Filou du Sellier  LOSH.20482 '22

                              Fedia  LOSH.28153

                                          Fly du Sellier  LOSH.22374 '23

Belco is of course the male who was to escape to America , arriving in February of 1942 on a Swiss ship, three months ahead of Bowles herself. The dam, Lakama, was of pure Belgian breeding, and traces directly back to the foundation stock.  Milton was taken off a farm, and although the names of his sire and dam are recorded, they do not have a registration number. This dog would have been born about 1925.

As a further example, consider the female Maria de Biercee:

                              Djil du Chateau  LOSH.15480 '23

                Boltom  LOSH.36208 '27

                              Florine  (F.Van Steenbergen)

     Foltic du Vi-Blanc  LOSH.45856 '31

                              Athos des Champs Clos  LOSH.32665

                Ellia de Saint-Alphonse  LOSH.38362

                              Pila du Sellier  LOSH.17930 '22

MARIA DE BIERCEE   LOSH.57021 (Born 1933)

                              Top de Bouffioulx  LOSH.22719 '25

                Boris de Sang-Froid  LOSH.29758

                              Flora du Genie   LOSH.28827 '25

     Dosia  LOSH.36545

                              Vif de la Ferme Elisabeth LOSH.14215

                Caprice de Prische  LOSH.32707

                              Miny  LOSH.15775 '21

A litter mate, Albionne de Biercee, would become Justin Chastel's foundation bitch.  A daughter of Maria, Lariane, was subsequently sent to America .

FRENCH FOUNDATIONS

There can be no question that the first place among founding French kennels goes to that of Monsieur Jean Cotte.  This kennel "de la Boheme" was active at Amiens in France from about 1910 until the death of its founder about 1960. (Amiens is a major French city, directly north of Paris and perhaps 45 miles from the Belgian border.)

Reading Chastel and others, it is clear that prior to the first world war there were indigenous French lines.  Photos in the Chastel book show relatively long, straight dogs, often with a sway back.  The chief difference from the Flemish Roulers type is that these dogs were much lighter in color, with what generally appears to be a much rougher coat.  Although it is impossible to say from the photos, references in the literature consistently indicate that the French tended to smaller dogs, perhaps also more lightly built.

Chastel is emphatic in his book that all traces of these originating French lines disappeared in the war of 1914-1918.  Indirect supporting evidence is found in the Belgian breeding records, which show Jean Cotte and other Frenchmen purchasing numerous pups from Belgian LOSH lines.  (It is also true that this was not a one way street, and that these French dogs of Belgian origin were on occasion bred to or sent pups back to Belgium.)

Dogs such as Ch. Asti de la Boheme, Isidore de la Boheme, Lousdoc de la Boheme and Meg de la Boheme figure in the pedigree of virtually every Bouvier today.  The great Belgian champion Quasimodo, grand sire of Argus de la Thudinie and others, was in fact a dog born (in 1942) and registered in France .   His sire was Azor de la Boheme and his dam was Meg de la Boheme, daughter of Isidore de la Boheme.

The foundations of this great kennel were based on the Belgian lines "de la Lys", "de la Barriere" and "du Pandore" among others.  It is clear that both French and Dutch breeding programs were based on the work of the Flemish founders such as Gryson, Moerman and Paret rather than local stock.

The pedigree of Samos des Trois Iles, sire of Wandru and Wanda des Coudreaux, of whom we will see more later, is a good illustration of pre war French breeding.

                                          Milton  LOSH.15936 '19

                              Klaas du Pandore  LOSH.35074 '29

                                          Efra du Pandore  LOSH.27917 '27

                Gemo du Beryl  LOSH.50542

                                          Vif de la Ferme Elisabeth  LOSH.14215

                              Estinne du Beryl  LOSH.39706

                                          Erfa du Pandore  LOSH.27918

     Jaf du Chateau de Villers         LOF.1104

                                          Cabu LOSH.32350 '28

                              Forban          LOSH.43742

                                          Cita de Sacre-Madame  LOSH.32506 '28

                Gateuse  LOSH.50235

                                          Milton  LOSH.15936 '19

                              Dora du Pandore  LOSH.24636 '26

                                          Mary

SAMOS DES TROIS ILES  LOF.1281

                                          Asti de la Boheme  Ch

                              Isidore de la Boheme  LOF.159

                                          Grisou de la Boheme  LOF.157

                Lousdoc de la Boheme  LOF.238

                                          Duc  LOF.55026

                              Hovrie de la Boheme  LOF.161

                                          Frangine de la Boheme  LOF.55031

     Rita de la Gueulardiere  LOF.1101

                                          Bouboule  (R.DeWeerdt)

                              Negrodon  LOSH.86061 '34 (R.DeWeerdt)

                                          Clina  LOSH.33307 '28

                Dina der Molendreef  LOSH.91565

                                          Eclaireur de Maeter  LOSH.42124 '30

                              Heroine de Maeter  LOSH.60414

                                          Betsy de Maeter  LOSH.27761 '27

The point of course is that, except for the strong "la Boheme" influence, this is not French breeding at all, but rather Belgian breeding.  As a matter of fact, in the early years Bouviers were not widely known in France, being limited to the extreme northern area adjacent to Belgium, in much of which the indigenous language and culture is Flemish.  Even today, Bouviers are much less popular in France than in North America, both in terms of total numbers and on a per capita basis.

One of my greatest frustrations is my failure to obtain pedigrees or even better complete breeding records from the early French lines.  My Belgian and Dutch records have been invaluable research tools and given enormous insight into the evolution of the breed. 

DUTCH ORIGINS

Even before the First World War there were Bouvier type dogs competing in the Dutch Police Trials, which began formally in 1907 but no doubt had existed prior to this date.  These dogs were selected largely on the basis of working character and functionality.  Although some Dutch roots perhaps go back to these dogs, modern Dutch Bouviers are to a major extent derived from Belgian imports in the early twenties.  Unfortunately, this has led to a decades old rift in the Dutch Bouvier community, with the police trainers having great disdain for the dogs without working credentials. On the other hand, many breeders regarded the police dog image as standing in the way of popularity as family pets.  There is certainly an element of truth in this, for the Bouviers rise to first place in Dutch popularity has corresponded to a much reduced presence on the sport fields.  The Malinois, which has become the principle police dog, is not nearly so numerous in the general Dutch population as is the Bouvier.

According to Huyghebaert's commentaries, and also Raad van Beheer (Dutch Kennel Club) records, there were exhibitions of "Chiens de Bouvier" in Holland in the 1910 to 1916 period, and dogs were registered. Unfortunately, the records are very sparse, and some may have been lost in a fire at the Raad van Beheer just after the second world war.  It is very difficult to know how much of this breeding has carried through into the modern Dutch lines, but the breeding records in the twenties prove beyond doubt that Belgian imports provided a substantial majority of the blood behind the Bouviers registered and shown in the Netherlands in this era, and thus all Dutch Bouviers which are registered today.  My impression is that there have always been separate police lines, but to what extent they trace back to Dutch roots before 1920 is very difficult to know.

According to Mrs. van Gink - van Es, author of the most important Dutch Bouvier book and a well respected judge, the first import, in 1919, was Anna de la Surete who became the dam of the first Dutch Champion:

                               Picka  (Delva)

                 Pickzwart  LOSH.14959 '12 (Louis Scharlaken)

                               Mirzette  (Scharlaeken)

      Ulysse  LOSH.11726 Apr'19 Br VanAckere,Zulte

                               Duc  (J.Mottoulle)

                 Flandrienne ex Cora  LOSH.11737 '14 (Gryson)

                               Bella  (Moerman)

D Ch Alim van Euverem  NHSB.5554 '22

                 Nic  B Ch; LOSH.10266 '16 (N.Barbry,Sottegem)

      Anna de la Surete  LOSH.11845 '21

                 Flandria  LOSH.11736 '18 J.Bogaerts, Herzele

Beginning at least as early as 1910 there was significant Bouvier activity in the Belgian city of Turnhout, literally within walking distance of the border and within about twenty miles of Dutch cities such as Eindhoven, Oss and Tilburg which were early centers of Bouvier interest.  Jules Boone purchased a stud named Filou from a man named Dousy in Flandres and Alphonse Faes acquired several dogs out of the Moerman lines in Roulers. There was apparently close cooperation, as indicated by this pedigree, tightly bred on Pic:

                 Pic  (Br J.Moerman)

      Filou  LOSH.9569 '10 (J.Boone)(C.Dousy/Br)

                               Pic  (Br J.Moerman)

                 Charlotte

                               Laura (Willaert)

 Cora  LOSH.9575 '17 (Br & Ow Alph.Faes,Turnhout)

                               Pic  (Br J.Moerman)

                 Fram

                               Mirza  (Born about 1908)

      Rosa  LOSH.10284 '13 (Alph.Faes,Turnhout)Van Ginneken

                                           Pic   (Br J.Moerman)

                               Zola  B Ch; LOSH.8892 (Br J.Moerman)

                                           Bella  (Moerman)

                 Sophie

                                           Pic   (Br J.Moerman)

                               Lise  (VanderHeeren)

                                           Mirza  (Born about 1908)

Much of the early Dutch blood came from this activity, directly and through several "de la Loutre" dogs bred by a J. Pittomvils, also of Turnhout:

                                           Unknown

                               Nic  B Ch; LOSH.10266 '16

                                           Unknown

                 Davros de la Lys  LOSH.13277 '22

                                           Pickzwart  LOSH.14959 '12

                               Draga B Ch; LOSH.10273 Apr'19

                                           Flandrienne ex Cora  LOSH.11737 '14

      Max du Vieil Escaut  NHSB.8690 LOSH.19819 '24

                                           Picka  (Delva)

                               Pickzwart  LOSH.14959 '12 Scharlaken/Br

                                           Mirzette  (Scharlaeken)

                 Riga  LOSH.11754 Oct'19 Br Ach.Rombaut

                                           Duc  (J.Mottoulle)

                               Flandrienne ex Cora  LOSH.11737 '14

                                           Bella  (Moerman)

 Astrid Ora van Maarland  NHSB.10074 '27

                                           Unknown

                               Nic  B Ch; LOSH.10266 '16 (N.Barbry)

                                           Unknown

                 Maximilien  LOSH.12909 NHSB.5677 (Jules Boone)

                                           Filou  LOSH.9569 '10 (J.Boone)

                               Nora  LOSH.10282 '19 (Br Alphonse Faes)

                                           Cora  LOSH.9575 '17

      Ora de la Loutre LOSH.15958 NHSB.6075 '23

                                           Unknown

                               Nic  B Ch; LOSH.10266 '16

                                           Unknown

                 Dianelle  NHSB.8505 LOSH.12896 '21 (Br J.Boone)

                                           Filou  LOSH.9569 '10 (J.Boone)

                               Nora  LOSH.10282 '19 ( Alphonse Faes)

                                           Cora  LOSH.9575 '17

As shown here, almost all Dutch Bouviers of this era trace back to dogs with both an original LOSH (Belgian) registration number and a Dutch number assigned at the time of importation.

The Belgian dogs on which the Dutch lines originated include Max du Vieil Escaut, Belga de la Gendarmerie, Ora de la Loutre and Pic de la Loutre, all imported by a man named J. Wolfs, owner of the Kennel van Maarland in the city of Oss.  Maximillien, out of Nic and Nora and bred by Joules Boone in Belgium , was also in residence and at stud at van Maarland.

Mr. Verbeek of the van Eindhoven kennel owned Sophie de Sottegem, who produced Zambo van Eindhoven among others.

Mirza de Turnhout (Nic & Nora) was at Hibernia.  This kennel, owned by Otto Dicke, was located in Dordrecht.  For several years, starting in about 1924, this kennel produced important Bouviers such as Hibernia's Pancho and Hibernia's Draga.

Wallice de Sottegem and a dog named Samlo (Pickzwart and Flandrienne) were owned by Th. de Hass, who bred under the name "le Perro" in den Haag, and who later became a well known judge.

The Champion Bruno du Rustique produced Zorah Belga v d Scharrebier and a number of others for J. Meijer at Scharrebier in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Bouvier Club was founded in 1923. Perhaps the most dedicated and active supporters in this era were Wolfs (van Maarland), Meijer and Verbeek (van Eindhoven).

In issues of the Dutch canine magazine “De Hond” starting as early as 1927 there was a regular column for the “Vlaamsche Veedrijvers” by Meijer and Wolfs.  I have access to most of the issues of this magazine going forward, which indicate that the Dutch Club was very active and involved in Belgian affairs in this era.

The first Dutch Champions were the Belgian import Bruno de Rustique and Alim van Euverem, bred in Holland out of imported Belgian stock.  Both of these males were whelped in 1922. This was in 1924, and it was six years before litter mates Bobby and Boef Belga van Maarland, out of Max du Vieil Escaut and Belga de la Gendarmerie, both of Belgian breeding, became champions.

To give a perspective, the first book of the Dutch records with Bouvier entries is the one issued in 1929, which includes dogs whelped from about 1921 up to 1927. There are 127 males and 119 females listed, which indicates that there was considerably less activity in Holland than in Belgium in this era, at least as far as registered dogs was concerned.

It was not until 1934 that a dog of Dutch breeding became Champion of Holland.  This dog was Fred Bea van Maarland, out of Dragon Astrid van Maarland and Bea Belga van Maarland.  This dog went on to produce several Champions in later years.  Note that four of the first five Holland Champions were from the Kennel van Maarland in the city of Oss, certainly earning a place in Bouvier history for the proprietor, Mr. Wolfs!

It is interesting and essential to note that after the initial imports in the early twenties the Dutch withdrew and bred and trained their own lines with very little interaction with the rest of the world for forty years, roughly from the later 20's to the mid 60's. A major reason for this seems to have been the replacement of the Flemish originators of the breed, such as Gryson of "de la Lys" fame, by French speaking breeders as the predominant force in Belgium .   Even in Holland there was almost from the beginning a rift between the "show" breeders and the police dog trainers. Thus from the very beginning division and fragmentation among his advocates have been the curse of the Bouvier.

REFLECTIONS

In recording the history of a canine race it would seem that where to start is a straight forward matter: simply write down where the dog evolved  and record the names and nationalities of its founders.  As we have seen, because of conflicts of culture and language, this seemingly trivial task is in the case of the Bouvier enormously complex and difficult.  Not only are there conflicts in what has come down in written form, it is clear that many of the gospels were intended to support a particular version of history and concealed or omitted inconvenient facts.

Thus the seemingly simple question of what country the Bouvier originated in is in fact quite complex.  It is true that most of the Bouvier progenitors evolved in lands now included within the boundaries of Belgium , but this process occurred for many generations before European politicians created the Belgian state early in the last century.   Clearly, the question of interest is the culture and background of the people among whom the Bouvier evolved; and in this context " Belgium " is certainly an accurate answer, but not really an adequate answer.

France is cited as a country of origin, but this is true mostly in an indirect sense.  Although there were indigenous French lines which almost certainly died out, and although much of the canine blood present on the Flemish plain at the turn of the century derived from primitive French types such as the Picard, the primary Bouvier progenitors clearly arose among the Flemish people, who were culturally Dutch and thus essentially of Germanic background.  That part of the region where the Bouvier originated ended up because of relatively recent political manipulation within the modern state of France is a very weak ground on which to characterize the breed as "French."

In the course of my research I have obtained the entire set of Belgian (St. Hubert) breeding records from the beginning in 1913, hundreds of pages listing thousands of dogs.  One can trace virtually all modern lines, Dutch and French as well as Belgian, directly back to these founding lines, registered in Belgium first under the name Bouvier des Roulers and then Bouvier Belge des Flandres.  It is quite clear that the Bouvier of today, throughout the world, is primarily descended from the Bouvier des Roulers, as bred by Moerman, Gryson, Scharlaken, Faes and the others in the region of this Flemish city.  In particular, there is simply no record or evidence of the existence of surviving separate French lines, although farm dogs from Picardie were no doubt present, along with much English and other European stock, in the culturally Dutch region of Flandres where our Bouvier evolved and the breed was created.

On the other hand, many of the breeders, such as Moreaux and Chastel, who took the primitive Flemish stock and molded the breed were in a cultural and linguistic sense Frenchmen.  This occurred both in France and among the Walloons, that is the linguistically and culturally French Belgians in the more southern and eastern parts of Belgium .   Thus many of the modern developers and consolidators of our breed were and are in a cultural sense French, and this seems to me to be a much more convincing argument for a French participation in the foundation of the breed.

In studying the written records of the founders, such as Verbanck, one quickly becomes frustrated by the confusions and contradictions.  The unfortunate fact is that it is virtually impossible to definitely establish breed origins prior to the stud records, which begin in 1913 in Belgium .   In addition, many dogs of unknown origin were incorporated into the program through the mid twenties, and a few even later.

Perhaps the most intriguing mystery of  Bouvier history is why the breed quickly consolidated and briefly flourished in the Flemish region of Ghent, Roulers and Courtrai, among kennels such as de la Lys (Philemon Gryson),  de Ramillies (Joseph Mottoulle) and de Sottegem (Norbert Barby), and then the center of activity and innovation shifted into central Belgium, the Netherlands and France, never again to return to Flandres itself.

From the photos, the LOSH records and the writing of the era, these dogs were registered as and predominantly of the Roulers type, that is were mostly black and relatively large and smooth coated.  The dogs which went to Holland to form the basis of the Dutch lines maintained much of this type, that is black color and relatively sparse coat furnishings, into the 1960’s, that is for forty years.

These same genetic resources, in central Belgium , particularly the region around Charleroi, evolved over the years into a true melding of the originating Roulers and Paret types.

How did this metamorphosis take place?  Many times over the years dogs went to France and then sent descendants back, but there is strong reason to doubt, and certainly no evidence for, any significant influx of native French blood.  Were other breeds introduced, that is, were the LOSH breeding records falsified?  If so, then certainly Chastel, Verbanck, Moreaux and Lebon would have had to have done it, encouraged it or at least known about it and condoned it.

My belief is that while there has over the years no doubt been some covert introduction of foreign blood, the real answer is to be found in the pliability of the canine gene pool.  Yes, I believe that most of the originating dogs were more or less of the “Roulers type”, that is, relatively large, smooth coated and dark or black.  But this was still an enormously diverse gene pool, and many dogs with other attributes, either evident in the individual or hidden in the genes of his ancestors, were enrolled and blessed.  The “type Moerman” and the “type Paret”, and, indeed the “type Ardennes” and the “type Francais” and even the Belgian sheep dogs emerged from the same morass.  Why then should it be surpassing that attributes of an older type can be extracted by selecting for and line breeding individuals which show the tendency?

So now I will answer the question.  The modern Bouvier des Flandres was created first by Joseph Moerman and his Flemish associates and then transformed into the modern type by French speaking Belgians such as Verbanck, Auguste Franshet, Edmond Moreaux and, especially, Justin Chastel.

If it were not for the Flemish the stock would not have been there in the first place.  But were it not for the Walloons (French speaking Belgians) the breed might well have died out or reverted to a very low level, as did the Bouvier des Ardennes.

Although certain French kennels, such “de la Vallee de l'Ecaillon” of Fernand Malaquin and “des Coudreaux” of Mr. Corbier produced marvelous Bouviers and played a certain supporting role in the late forties and early fifties, toward the end of the transformation to modern type, I have searched in vain for evidence which would substantiate claims of France as a nation of origin.

References:

 (1) "Les Bouviers", article by Louis Huyghebaert in the magazine
             "l'Aboi" Revue Canine Illustree Bi-Mensuelle, Liege, Belgium .
              No. 56, March 15, 1948

 (2) "Le Bouvier des Flandres hieret aujourd'hui" which translates as
             "The Bouvier des Flandres Today and Yesterday"
              Justin Chastel,1975.

 (3)“Chiens de Berger - Chiens de Garde - Chiens d'Agrement"
             V.Robin, Professeur a l'Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d'Alfort,
              France,1933.