Standards for the Belgian Shepherd

""It is the dog that has made human society from a disordered into a patriarchal state, by giving man the flock of sheep. Without the flock, there was no sure survival, no gigot or steak as much as one wanted, no wool, no clothing and consequently no time to lose, no astronomical observations, no science and no industry.  It is the dog who created spare time for man."   ...Toussenel

In the United States, the Belgians have been separate breeds since 1959.The Laekenois is currently not an accepted AKC breed. They are gaining popularity rapidly and the American Belgian Laekenois Association (ABLA) is currently negotiating with the AKC in hopes of recognizing the Laeken as an AKC breed in the immediate future. In Great Britain they are all considered one breed with no varieties and interbreeding in allowed. Just recently the British Kennel Club has voted to repeal the one breed status and go back to the FCI standard of one breed with 4 varieties. This will take effect January 15, 2000.The rest of the world follows a version of the FCI standard where the Belgian Shepherd is one breed with four varieties.

Eventually this page will contain information on the history of the Belgian Shepherd dogs, and explain the differences between the 4 varieties/breeds. For now, you will have to settle for reading the standards from around the world and you can also check out the Belgian Dogs & Malinois Worldwide site covering History, Genealogy, Genetics, Ethology of Belgians.

To see the standards for the different kennel clubs around the world, click on one of the following links:

Although the standards are not all that different, there are enough differences that if you are interested in obtaining a show quality Belgian, you should familiarize yourself with the standard in place in your country. I have put together a chart that outlines the various areas of the breed standard and the show disqualifications for each kennel club.Comparison of the Belgian Standards (7/99)In the United States, you will find both AKC and UKC clubs. The majority of Belgian breeders exhibit and breed for AKC as this is the more popular of the two kennel clubs and has many more shows. To read more about the different kennel clubs, click on the Clubs link.

Warning!

A show quality dog registered with AKC can be shown in UKC shows. A dog registered as a show quality animal with UKC is not always eligible for conformation in AKC. This is not intended to cause a controversy on my part, however, I feel it is an important enough detail to mention this to anyone who has gotten this far into their research on Tervuren. Without going into a great deal of details, the primary difference being the UKC follows more of an FCI venue in that they will register a gray or sable Groenendael as a Tervuren. In AKC the dog is considered a Groenendael with a disqualifying color.This has caused some confusion in the past and you should be aware of this while shopping for your new dog. The only area of dog sports you will encounter any limitations is the conformation ring. You can show in any other aspect of dog sports that interest you. Please read the section under color in the Comparison of the Belgian Standards for exact details.

Note

Cachet Noir kennels breeds for the AKC standard. In accordance with the AKC standard for the Belgian Tervuren, a washed out or very light base color is a serious fault and any puppies that we have with this color, will be sold as pets on a limited registration. When and if, the standard changes in this regard, our policies will also change to meet the standards. A show quality Tervuren from Cachet Noir kennels is show quality under both AKC and UKC Tervuren standards.