Belgian
Shepherd Dog Breed Standard (as set out in The Australian
National Kennel Council Breed Standards for Working Group 5) |
History: |
In |
General
Appearance: |
The
Belgian Shepherd Dog is a mediolineal dog,
harmoniously proportioned, combining elegance and power, of medium size, with
dry, strong muscle, fitting into a square, rustic, used to the open air life
and built to resist the frequent atmospheric variations of the Belgian
climate. Through the harmony of its shape and its high head carriage, the
Belgian Shepherd Dog should give the impression of that elegant strength
which has become the heritage of the selected representatives of a working
breed. The Belgian Shepherd Dog is to be judged in its natural stance,
without physical contact with the handler. |
Characteristics: |
The
Belgian Shepherd Dog is a watchful and active dog, bursting with energy, and
always ready to leap into action. As well as its innate skill at guarding
flocks, it also possesses the highly prized qualities of the best guard dog
of property. Without any hesitation it is the stubborn and keen protector of
its owner. It brings together all those qualities necessary for a shepherd,
defence and service dog. |
Temperament: |
The
Belgian Shepherd Dog Groenendael is a watchful and
active dog, bursting with energy, and always ready to leap into action. As
well as its innate skill at guarding flocks, it also possesses the highly
prized qualities of the best guard dog of property. Without any hesitation it
is the stubborn and keen protector of its owner. It brings together all those
qualities necessary for a shepherd, defence and service dog. Its lively,
alert temperament and its confident nature, showing no fear or
aggressiveness, should be obvious in its body stance and the proud attentive
expression in its sparkling eyes. When judging the breed, one should take into
consideration its calm and fearless temperament. |
Head
And Skull: |
Carried
high, long without exaggeration, rectilinear, well chiselled and dry. Skull
and muzzle are roughly equal in length, with at the most a very slight bias
in favour of the muzzle which puts the finishing touch to the whole head. The
skull is of medium width, in proportion with the length of head, with a
forehead flat rather than round, frontal groove not very pronounced, in
profile parallel to an imaginary line extending the muzzle line. The
occipital crest little developed. The brow ridges and zygomatic arches not
prominent. Stop: Moderate. Nose: Black. Muzzle: Medium length and well
chiselled under the eyes, narrowing gradually towards the nose like an
elongated wedge. The bridge of the nose is straight and parallel to the
continuation of the top line of the forehead. The mouth is well split which
means that when the mouth is open the commissures of the lips are pulled
right back, the jaws being well apart. Lips: Thin, tight and strongly
pigmented. Cheeks: Dry and quite flat, although well muscled. |
Eyes: |
Medium
size, neither protruding or sunken, slightly almond
shaped, obliquely set, brownish colour, preferably black, black-rimmed
eyelids, with a direct, lively, intelligent and enquiring look. |
Ears: |
Rather
small, set high, distinctly triangular appearance, well-rounded outer ear,
pointed tips, stiff, carried upright and vertical when the dog is alert. |
Mouth: |
Strong,
white teeth, regularly and strongly set in well-developed jaws. Scissor bite,
a pincer bite that is preferred by sheep and livestock herders is tolerated.
Complete dentition according to the dental formula. The absence of two
premolars 1 (2 P1) is tolerated and the molars 3 (M3) are not taken into
consideration. |
Neck: |
Well
standing out, slightly elongated, rather upright, well-muscled, broadening
gradually towards the shoulders, without dewlap and the nape slightly arched. |
Forequarters: |
Bone
solid but not heavy, muscles dry and strong, front legs upright when viewed
from all sides and perfectly parallel when seen from the front. Shoulder: The
shoulder blade should be long and oblique, well attached, forming a
sufficient angle with the humerus, ideally measuring 110-115 degrees. Upper
Arm: Long and sufficiently oblique. Elbow: Firm, neither
turning out or tied in. Forearm: Long and straight. Wrist (carpus):
Very firm and clean. Pastern: Strong and short, as perpendicular to the
ground as possible or only very slightly sloping forward. |
Body: |
Powerful
without being heavy. The length from the point of the shoulder to point of
buttock equal to height at withers. |
Hindquarters: |
Powerful
but not heavy. In profile the hind legs are upright and when seen from behind
perfectly parallel. |
Feet: |
The
front feet are round and cat like whilst the rear feet may be slightly oval.
The toes are arched and well closed, the pads thick and springy and the nails
dark and strong. |
Tail: |
Well
set on and strong at the base. Of medium length, reaching at least to the
hock, but preferably further. At rest carried down with the tip curved
backwards at the level of the hock, raised more when moving, although without
passing the horizontal. The curve towards the tip becomes more accentuated,
without ever at any time forming a hook or deviation. |
Gait/Movement: |
Lively
and free movement at all gaits, the Belgian Shepherd Dog is a good galloper
but its normal gaits are the walk and especially the trot. The limbs move
parallel to the median plane of the body. At high speed the feet come nearer
to the median plane. At the trot the reach is medium, the movement even and
easy, with good rear drive and the top line remains tight while the front
legs are not lifted too high. Always on the move the Belgian Shepherd seem
tireless, its gait is fast, springy and lively. It is capable of suddenly
changing direction at full speed. Due to its exuberant character and its
desire to guard and protect, it has a definite tendency to move in circles. |
Coat: |
Since
the coat varies in length, direction, appearance and colour among Belgian
Shepherds, this particular point has been adopted as the criterion for
distinguishing between the four varieties of the breed: the Groenendael, the Tervueren, the Malinois
and the Laekenois. |
Colour: |
Mask:
For Tervueren and Malinois the mask must be very
pronounced and tend to encompass the top and bottom lip, the corners of the
lips and the eyelids in one single black zone. A strict minimum of six points
of skin pigmentation is called for: the two ears, the two upper eyelids and
the two lips, upper and lower, which must be black. |
Sizes: |
Height
at withers: |
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 the exact
proportion to its degree. Temperament:
Specimens lacking in self-confidence or overly nervous. DISQUALIFYING
FAULTS: Temperament:
Aggressive or timid specimens. General
appearance: Lack of breed type. Dentition:
Overshot, undershot, even if contact is not lost (reverse scissor bite),
cross bite, absence of one canine (1 C), one upper carnassial (1 P4) or lower
carnassial (1 M1), one molar (1M1 upper jaw or 1 M2, M3 are not taken into
account), one premolar 3 (1 P3) plus one other tooth or a total of three
teeth (excluding the premolars 1) or more. Nose,
lips, eyelids: Strong depigmentation. Ears:
Drooping or artificially kept erect. Tail:
Missing or shortened at birth or by docking, carried too high and ringed or
curled. Coat:
Lack of undercoat. Colour:
Any colours which do not correspond with those of the described varieties,
too widespread white markings on fore chest especially if they reach as far
as the neck, white on feet going more than halfway up the front or the back
pasterns and forming socks, white markings anywhere other than forechest and toes; lack of mask, including a muzzle of
lighter colour than the rest of the coat in Tervueren and Malinois.
Size:
Outside the limits laid down. |
Notes: |
Male
animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum. |