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| Laddie
is our Collie, who at 7 years of age is still trying hard to keep up with
the Belgian pups! Wolfgang is our male Belgian Tervuren, Manon is
our female Belgian Tervuren, and Bear and Fawn are their young pups.
All of our dogs have been spay/neutered. |
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| The
dogs are part of our rather large and growing animal family, which includes,
of course, the Bengal Cats. They love herding and guarding "their"
Bengal cats, our cars, children, anyone's children - especially those on
bikes and the kittens. They are very gentle with the children and
the kittens. They do not allow the cats to escape and know exactly
where each cat belongs, herding the cats back into their places!
They also patrol their property hour upon hour, protecting us from many
harrowing dangers such as the UPS delivery man, the mailman and the garbage
man! When they get bored they regularly invent their own games (much
to my delight and amusement) such as chase all the cars that drive by from
one end of the yard to the other, stand on the edge with a threat never
to return (then prance proudly when they speed away - job well done!) or
run madly as a crowd into the woods after the bears and lions (usually
just squirrels and rabbits), stalking just over the edge of the property
then prance back home and look into the house to make sure I witnessed
the adventure! The Belgian Shepherd Dogs are an amazingly intelligent
breed, I truly love this breed; they know how to have fun! |
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| The
history of the Belgian Shepherd Dog dates back to the later 1800's when
the Belgian Shepherds along with several other types of shepherds including
the German, French and Dutch Shepherds, also known at that time as Continental
Shepherd dogs, were separated into the different breeds. The first
Belgian Shepherd club was formed at this time to define the breed as a
true Belgian Shepherd Dog. It was not until the early 1900's that
the Belgian Shepherd was accepted as a true breed and it was at this point
that the focus was put on perfecting the standard for the breed and separating
the different varieties of Belgian Shepherds. |
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| There
are four types of Belgian Shepherd Dogs, two of which are long haired,
and 2 short haired, with one being rough or curly coated. There is
the Groenendael, known as the Belgian Sheepdog
- which is a solid black dog with a luxurious long, straight haired coat.
The
Belgian
Tervuren, with a long, straight thick
coat that ranges in color from fawn to a beautiful red to deep mahogany,
or gray color with a black face and ears and in some dogs the black extends
down the chest and underside. The Belgian
Malinois, a short haired, fawn colored
dog with a black face and ears - a short haired version of the Tervuren
well known for being used as police and war dogs. Lastly, the Belgian
Laekenois which is fawn colored with a
rough or wavy short haired coat that is becoming more well known and popular
in the USA today. |
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| The
Belgian Shepherds were developed as sheep and cattle herding dogs, but
also used as guard dogs and as working farm or draught dogs, pulling carts
and wagons. They were also used as police dogs as early as the late
1800's. They were used extensively in World War I as working and
guard dogs, Red Cross Dogs - helping to pull ambulance carts; they
were also used to deliver messages, and pull small ammunition carts.
Today the Belgian Shepherds are still used as herding dogs and in both
the military and police forces. |
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| Belgian
Shepherds are highly active, playful, loyal and intelligent dogs.
They love to learn and please their owners. They are not for everyone.
If they are not worked or trained they will invent their own games and
rules - this can be very trying for people who do not have the time or
space to work with this breed! They do not do well confined to kennels;
they need a lot of exercise, work, and attention from the person they love
and room to run, run, run! |
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