Belgian Sheepdog

History

Named after a small part of Belgian known as Groenendael, Belgian, this breed is very popular. This breed is best known for their excellent work with poliece and military working with combat, drug searching, protection, search and rescue, sledding, tracking, herding and being a companion.

Appearance

This breed is a large breed with males and females measuring 22-26 inches in height and weighing 60-75 pounds in weight. This breed has an appearance that represents endurance, energy and determination. Built long and lean, the Belgian Sheepdog has a head that is triangular in shape and forms into a narrow muzzle with a scissor bite. Their two large, triangular shaped ears stand firmly on top of their head. Their two almond shaped eyes are available in dark brown or black in color. Their tail is long in length as their coat feathers off of it. Their coat is medium to long in length and available in black with a possibility of white markings throughout the coat.

Temperament

This breed is not meant for everybody. The Belgian Sheepdog requires a strong owner who is active and able to provide a type of "job" for this breed to accomplish daily, in order for this breed to be calm and at its best behavior while indoors with family every night. This breed is extremely smart, fast learning and eager to please. Best suited for a county living atmosphere and preferably a properly fenced in area to roam freely in while at home. Without proper physical and mental daily exercise, this breed can become very hard to handle and act out in negative ways. This breed can be dog friendly when raised around another family canine, however they are not recommended to live with non-canine pets, unless supervision is available at all times to ensure everyone's safety. Early socialization and obedience classes for both owner and dog are highly recommended. In general this breed is extremely loyal, loving and protective when all of his or her needs are met.

Grooming

This breed requires daily brushing and inspection for forming mats especially near legs and their stomach area. Bathe when needed. Professional grooming is highly recommended at least twice a year.

Special Notes

This breed is not meant for everyone. A properly fenced in area for this breed to roam freely within is highly recommended. Please do not add the Belgian Sheepdog to your family unless you have fully educated yourself about the breed and health of this breed. Do not add this dog to your home unless you are able to provide life long physical and financial care for him or her. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.