Briards are high maintenance on the grooming front because their coats need to be brushed daily to avoid any knots or tangles from forming. Their coats also need to be regularly trimmed which is best left up to a professional dog groomer. Because Briards boast coarse double coats, they do tend to shed quite a bit and more especially during the Spring and then again in the Autumn which is when more frequent brushing would be necessary.
It's also essential to regularly check a Briard's ears because if there is too much hair in them this needs to be removed. If left, a dog is more at risk of developing an ear infection and these can be notoriously hard to treat once they flare up. The hair that grows between a dog's pads also needs to be regularly trimmed to avoid it balling up which could make walking uncomfortable for dogs especially during the winter months.
Briards are very intelligent and energetic dogs and as such they need to be given a heap of exercise and mental stimulation every day. This means a good walk in the morning and then a longer, more interesting one in the afternoon. Ideally, Briards need 2 hours exercise a day so they can expend all that pent up energy.
These dogs also benefit from being able to run around a back garden as often as they can so they can really let off steam. However, the fencing the garden has to be high and very secure to keep these high energy dogs in. Briards also love to swim which means care has to be taken when walking them anywhere near water where they can safely be off their leads because they might just decide to jump in.
If you get a Briard puppy from a breeder, they would give you a feeding schedule and it's important to stick to the same routine, feeding the same puppy food to avoid any tummy upsets. You can change a puppy's diet, but this needs to be done very gradually always making sure they don't develop any digestive upsets and if they do, it's best to put them back on their original diet and to discuss things with the vet before attempting to change it again.
Older dogs are not known to be fussy or finicky eaters, but this does not mean you can feed them a lower quality diet. It's best to feed a mature Briard twice a day, once in the morning and then again in the evening, making sure it's good quality food that meets all their nutritional requirements. It's also important that dogs be given the right amount of exercise so they burn off any excess calories or they might gain too much weight which can lead to all sorts of health issues. Obesity can shorten a dog's life by several years so it's important to keep an eye on their waistline from the word go.
One of the more serious health concerns with Briards is the fact they are prone to suffer from bloat (gastric torsion) and as such care has to be taken when they are fed. It's best for these dogs to be fed twice a day rather than giving them one meal a day. It's also important not to feed a Briard just before or just when they come back from a walk because by doing so, dogs are put at greater risk of developing bloat.
