Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog Breeders UK: Advertise Your Kennel Free

Advertise your Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog puppies, litters and stud dogs

Do you breed Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdogs? People looking for this uncommon herding variety want to find breeders who hip score and PDA test, and a clear listing helps them reach you. Add your kennel to caninebreeder.co.uk to advertise Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog puppies for sale, promote a Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog stud dog to other breeders, and show your health results alongside any herding or agility work. A basic listing is free: add your breeder listing or see pricing for enhanced profiles.

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Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog

The Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog is a lean, energetic herding dog from the Pyrenees, on the French-Spanish border. It is one of two Pyrenean Sheepdog varieties recognised by The Royal Kennel Club (RKC), belongs to the Pastoral group and sits on the RKC's Imported Breed Register, used for newly recognised imported breeds. In French the variety is called the face rase, or shaved face.

Origin and purpose

According to the RKC breed page, the two varieties developed together on different ground. The lighter, more agile long-haired dogs worked the high mountains, while the slightly larger, heavier smooth-faced type herded horses and cattle in the foothills. Both can be traced to the late 18th and 19th centuries. A French breed standard of 1926 later became the basis of the FCI standard for the smooth-faced variety. After both world wars numbers dropped sharply, the smooth-faced type especially, and planned interbreeding between the varieties followed to widen the gene pool.

Size and coat

The RKC lists the breed as medium-sized, although its breed standard calls it a small sheepdog of lean build. Dogs stand 40 to 54 cm and bitches 40 to 52 cm at the withers. The coat is medium to short, with smooth hair on the face and the front of the legs, a modest ruff on the neck, fringing behind the forelegs and breeches on the hind legs. Permitted colours include shades of fawn (with or without black overlay), black, brindle, blue merle and grey, with small white marks on the chest and legs allowed. The RKC suggests grooming more than once a week, and the breed sheds.

Exercise and temperament

The RKC gives exercise needs of more than two hours a day, a lifespan of over 12 years, and rates the breed as suitable for a small house with a small or medium garden, in town or country. The standard describes an alert, lively and enquiring dog that may be wary of strangers but should never be nervous or aggressive. The RKC adds that the smooth-faced type is generally a little more settled than the long-haired one while sharing its sensitive, independent streak, so patient training and plenty to do matter.

The Pyrenean Sheepdog Club of Great Britain covers both varieties. Compare the Long Haired Pyrenean Sheepdog and Catalan Sheepdog, browse Pastoral breed breeders, or see breeders in agility and rare breed preservation.

Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog health tests

The RKC's Health Standard for the Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog lists one Good Practice step: prioritising genetic diversity. For a planned litter, that means checking the likely coefficient of inbreeding (COI) with the RKC inbreeding coefficient calculator and aiming at or below the breed's annual average, as the RKC's genetic diversity guidance advises.

The RKC also points breeders to the breed club's health scheme. The Pyrenean Sheepdog Club health page, which covers both varieties, explains that its Code of Ethics requires breeding stock to be hip scored under the BVA/RKC Hip Dysplasia Scheme, where dogs of at least one year old are X-rayed and scored from 0 to 106 (lower is better), and that dogs scoring well above the breed mean should not be bred from. The same code requires every puppy to be tested for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a heart condition, before sale. The club's 2011/12 survey of 50 dogs recorded some hip dysplasia, one case of epilepsy and slow recovery from anaesthetic in two dogs.

The RKC will not register puppies born on or after 1 January 2013 from a merle to merle mating in this breed, because of the risk of impaired sight and hearing.

Prioritising genetic diversity (RKC Good Practice)
Pyrenean Sheepdog Club of Great Britain breed club health scheme (referenced by the RKC)
BVA/RKC Hip Dysplasia Scheme (breed club Code of Ethics requirement)
PDA heart testing of all puppies before sale (breed club Code of Ethics requirement)
RKC registration restriction: no merle to merle matings
Breed Watch: Category 1 (no breed-specific points of concern currently identified)

Choosing a Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog breeder

Litters of this Imported Breed Register variety can be hard to find, so be prepared to wait, to travel and to answer plenty of questions yourself. A careful breeder registers litters with the RKC and can show hip scores for both parents on the Health Test Results Finder, as the breed club's Code of Ethics expects. They should give you written evidence from a vet that each puppy has been tested for PDA, explain the colours in the litter and confirm that two merles have not been mated together. Ask how the litter's COI compares with the breed average.

Good breeders are open about the herding drive, sensitivity and daily exercise this breed needs, and they raise puppies indoors with early handling and everyday household noise. Look for a written contract and a promise to take the dog back if your circumstances change. In England, anyone who breeds three or more litters in any 12 months and sells any of the puppies, or runs a business breeding and advertising dogs for sale, needs a local council licence. Our buyer safety guide covers deposits and viewing safely.

Are both parents RKC registered, and can I see their hip scores?
Has each puppy been tested for PDA, and can I see the vet's paperwork?
What colour are the parents, and is either of them merle?
What is the litter's coefficient of inbreeding compared with the breed average?
How have the puppies been socialised, and will you take the dog back if needed?

Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog questions

What is the difference between the Smooth Faced and Long Haired Pyrenean Sheepdog?

They share their origins and their UK breed club. The smooth-faced type has short hair on the face and the front of the legs and was traditionally slightly larger and heavier, herding horses and cattle in the foothills, while the lighter long-haired type worked higher in the mountains. The RKC describes the smooth-faced type as generally a little more settled.

How much exercise does a Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog need?

The RKC puts it at more than two hours a day. It is a herding breed with plenty of stamina, so training and activities such as agility, herding or scentwork help keep its mind busy as well.

Can two merle Pyrenean Sheepdogs be bred together?

Not if you want the puppies registered. The RKC will not register puppies born on or after 1 January 2013 from a merle to merle mating in this breed, because of the risk of impaired sight and hearing.

Is the Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog wary of strangers?

It can be. The breed standard says it may be wary of strangers but should never be nervous or aggressive, and the RKC notes that it forms strong bonds with its owners. Early, gentle socialisation with visitors, other dogs and busy places helps.

Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdog breeders