Belgian Sheperd Dog
General Appearance:
Medium sized, well proportioned, intelligent, attentive, hardy, alert
Characteristics:
Fine proportions, Proud carriage of head, conveying an impression of
graceful strength.
Not only a sheepdog, but a guard dog
Temperament:
Wary, neither timid, nervous nor aggressive
Head and Skull:
Finely chiselled, long but not excessively so, skull and muzzle
roughly equal length, at most slight bias to muzzle. Balanced whole,
skull of medium width in proportion to length of head. Forehead flat,
centre line not very pronounced. In profile forehead parallel with
imaginary line extending muzzle line. Muzzle of medium length tapering
gradually to nose. Nose black with well flared nostrils. Moderate
stop. Arches above eyes not prominent. Muzzle finely chiselled under
eyes. Cheeks spare, quite flat but well muscled
Eyes:
Medium size, neither protruding nor sunken, slightly almond shaped,
preferably dark brown, black rimmed eyelids. Direct lively enquiring
look
Ears:
Distinctly triangular in appearance, stiff and erect, set high,
moderate length. External ear well rounded at base.
Mouth:
Wide, lips thin textured, very firm, strongly pigmented. Strong white
teeth firmly set in well developed jaws, Scissor bite ie upper teeth
closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Pincer
bite tolerated
Neck:
Very supple, slightly elongated, well muscled, without dewlap.
Broadens slightly towards shoulders. Nape very slightly arched
Forequarters:
Withers distinct. Strongly boned throughout, wiry powerful muscle
structure. Shoulder blades long and oblique, firmly attached, flat,
forming such angle with humerus to enable elbows to work easily.
Forelegs long, well muscled, parallel. Pasterns strong and short.
Carpus clearly defined. Dewclaws permissible
Body:
Powerful but elegant. In males, length from point of shoulder to point
of buttocks approximately equal to height at withers. In females
slightly longer permissible. Chest deep and well let down, ribs
moderately well sprung, Upper line of body straight, broad and
powerfully muscled. Belly moderately developed, neither drooping nor
unduly cut up, continuing lower line of chest in a graceful curve.
Rump very slightly sloping, broad but not excessively so. Skin springy
but quite taut over whole body.
All external
mucous membranes highly pigmented.
Hindquarters:
Well muscled and powerful. Good, but not excessive angulation. Hocks
well let down. Viewed from behind, legs parallel. Dewclaws to be
removed.
Feet:
Toes arched, very close together. Soles thick and springy with large
dark claws. Forefeet rounded, hindfeet slightly oval
Tail:
Firmly set, strong at base, of medium length. When at rest hangs down
with tip slightly bent backwards at level of hock. When moving it
should lift accentuating the curve towards tip, never curled nor bent
to one side. Tip may be carried slightly higher than topline
Gait/movement:
Brisk, free and even
Coat -
There are three distinct coat types, No variation in these types is
acceptable
Groenendael/Tervueren - coat type
Outer coat long, straight and abundant, texture medium harshness, not
silky or wiry, undercoat extremely dense. Hair shorter on head,
outside of ears and lower part of legs. Opening of ear protected by
hair. Hair especially long and abundant, ruff-like around neck,
particularly in males. Fringe of long hair down back of forelegs, long
and abundant hair evident on hind quarters and tail. Males longer
coated than females
Laekenois - coat type
Harsh, wiry, dry and not curly. Any sprinkling of fluffy fine hair in
locks in rough coats is undesirable. Length of coat about 6 cm (2.5
inches) on all parts of body. Hair round eyes but not to obscure them.
Muzzle hair not so long as to make head appear square or heavy.
Tail not plumed
Malinois - coat type
Hair very short on head, exterior ears and lower parts of legs, short
on rest of body, thicker on tail and around neck, where it resembles a
ridge or collar beginning at base of ear and extending to throat.
Hindquarters fringed with longer hair. Tail thick and bushy. Coat
thick, close, of good firm texture with woolly undercoat, neither
silky nor wiry
Coat Colour:
Groenendael
Black or black with limited white as follows: small to moderate patch
or strip on chest, between pads of feet and on tips of hind toes
Frosting (white or grey) on muzzle
Laekenois
Reddish fawn with black shading, principally in muzzle and tail
Tervueren/Malinois
All shades of red, fawn, grey with black overlay. Characteristically
double pigmented, wherein the tip of each light coloured hair is
blackened. On mature males this blackening especially pronounced on on
shoulders, back and rib sections, black mask on face, not extending
above line of eyes, ears mostly black. Tail should have darker or
black tip. Small to moderate patch or strip on chest, between pads of
feet and on tips of hind toes. Frosting (white or grey) on muzzle.
Beyond the age of 18 months a washed out colour or colour too black
undesirable
No variation on these colours by coat type is acceptable
Size
Ideal height: Dogs 61-66 cm (24-26 inches), Bitches 56-61 cm (22-24
inches)
Weight in proportion to size
Faults:
Any
departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and
the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in
exact proportion to its degree
Note:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles, fully
descended into the scrotum
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