Four Separate Varieties

Groenendael, Tervueren, Malinois and Laekenois

The Belgian Shepherd is a medium sized dog who is well proportioned. With his proud head carriage, he gives an impression of graceful strength. The Belgian was originally bred to be a sheepdog and also a guardian of the flocks. He is alert, hardy and affectionate. An extremely social dog, he likes nothing better than to live in very close proximity with his 'human' family. In the breed standard his temperament is described as wary, though this does not mean that he should be timid, nervous or aggressive. The ideal height for a male is 24-26 inches, with bitches being somewhat smaller at 22-24 inches. It is the differences in coat colour and type that set the four varieties apart from each other.

The Groenendael is black or black with limited white on the chest and on the tips of the toes. The coat is long, straight and abundant, of medium harsh texture, being neither silky nor wiry, and has an extremely dense undercoat. The males are longer coated than females, and have a profuse mane which frames the head. It is quite characteristic of the breed to develop frosting (white or grey) on the muzzle.

The Tervueren is also long coated and can be all shades of red, fawn or grey with a black overlay. This means that the hairs are characteristically double pigmented, with the tip of each light coloured hair being blackened. On mature males this blackening is especially pronounced on shoulders, back and rib sections.

A noticeable characteristic of the Tervueren is the black mask which extends to just above the line of eyes. As with the Groenendael, there may be a small patch of white on the chest, or white hairs on the tips of the toes, and signs of frosting on the muzzle are often visible even from a young age.

The Malinois is the short coated varitety, and the colour can also be all shades of red, fawn or grey with a black overlay. As with the Tervueren, the Malinois also has a defined black mask,

On the Malinois the hair very short on head, behind the ears and on the lower parts of legs. It is also short on the rest of body, being thicker on the tail and around neck where it resembles a ridge or collar. The tail is thick and bushy and the undercoat is woolly. The texture is again of medium harshness, being neither silky nor wiry.

The Laekenois is the rough coated variety. The coat is harsh, dry and wiry, though not curly. The length of the coat is about 6 cm (2.5 inches) on all parts of body. There are furnishings of hair on the head, around the eyes but not so profuse as to obscure them. There is also longer hair around the muzzle, but this should be to the extent that it makes the head look heavy or a 'bouvier' type. The coat colour is reddish fawn with black shading, principally on the muzzle and tail

Belgian Shepherd Dog Assn. of Great Britain

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Northern Belgian Shepherd Dog Club

© Belgian Shepherd Dog Association of Great Britain - Rescue 2008

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