belgian shepherd

7/28/2019 Belgian Shepherd

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The Belgian Tervuren has asquare shaped appearance to itsbody. When viewed from the side,the topline of its moderatelypointed muzzle is parallel to the

topline of its skull. The stop ismoderate. The black lips aretight. The medium sized, almond-shaped eyes are dark brown. Theerect ears are triangular in shapewith their height equal to theirwidth. The chest is deep reachingthe elbows. The legs are straight,parallel and vertical to theground. The topline is level,sloping slightly at the withers.

Dewclaws are usually removed. The feet are cat-like in shape. Theteeth meet in a scissors or levelbite. The tail is strong at the basewith the bone reaching to thehock. The double coat is weatherresistant with long, abundant,close-fitting guard hairs. Theoverall length of the harsh coat ismedium to long with the hair onthe head, legs and outer surface

of the ears being shorter. Theundercoat is dense and the outercoat is straight with black tips.Males have a mane of hairaround the neck that is not asprominent in females. There islonger hair fringing down theback and front legs withabundant hair on the tail. Coatcolors include rich fawn to russetmahogany, or shades of gray

with black tips. The chest, toesand chin may have some white.

The coat usually darkens as thedog gets older.

Temperament The Belgian Tervuren is one of four Belgian sheepdogs. A verybright and obedient dog, it is


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communicate to the dog thatdominance is an unwantedbehavior. Provided they arecorrectly socialized with cats andother pets, they should not

present any problems. Belgian Tervurens may instinctivelydisplay herding behavior such aschasing and circling, movingeffortlessly for hours and nippingat people's heels. They must betaught not to do this to people.

This is a very demanding dog. Itneeds an experienced owner forit can easily be difficult to controlunless the owner knows how to

handle him. The way the ownerhandles the dog can producewide differences in temperamentand aggressiveness . Talk tosomeone experienced with thebreed before you buy your dog.

These dogs are often impressive;don't base your purchase solelyon achievement records andappearances. Only adopt thistype of dog if you fully

understand what it means to bealpha .

Height, Weight

Height: Males 24 - 26 inches (61 -66 cm) Females 22 - 24 inches(56 - 61 cm)Weight: Males 65 - 75 pounds (29- 34 kg) Females 60 - 70 pounds(27 - 32 kg)

Health Problems

This hardy, healthy breed has nomajor health concerns. Some

minor concerns that have beenseen are epilepsy, skin allergies,eye problems, excessive shyness,excessive aggressiveness andoccasionally hip dysplasia andelbow dysplasia. Do not overfeedthis breed, for it has a tendencyto become obese and lazy.
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Living Conditions

The Belgian Tervuren will do okayin an apartment if it is sufficientlyexercised. It is moderately activeindoors and will do best with atleast an average-sized yard. This

breed prefers cool climates, butadapts well to others. It can liveoutdoors but would much ratherbe with his people.

Exercise

This is a working dog that isaccustomed to an active outdoorlife. As such it needs a lot of exercise, including a long dailywalk . In addition, it will greatlybenefit being off the leash asmuch as possible in a safe area.

Life Expectancy About 12-14 yearsLitter Size Average 6 - 10 puppies

Grooming

The Belgian Tervuren has a long,straight, medium-length, heavyouter coat and a dense undercoatthat requires daily combing andbrushing. Clip out mats that form,particularly in the ruff and on thelegs, and clip hair from between

the toes and on the outer ears. This breed is a constant lightshedder, with males sheddingheavily once a year and femalestwice a year. The coat needs agood thorough brushing once ortwice a week.

Origin

The Belgian Tervuren was namedfor the Belgian village of

Tervuren. It is one of the fourvarieties of the Belgian

sheepdogs, the Belgian Tervuren,Belgian Groenendael , BelgianMalinois and the less popularBelgian Laekenois , which allshare a common foundation. Inmost countries and breed clubsall four dogs are considered thesame breed with different
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varieties in coat types. All fourdogs share a breed standard in allcountries except for the AKC,which since 1959 recognizesthem as separate breeds and

does not recognize one of thefour (the Laekenois ), whereas theUKC, which is also a U.S. registrydoes recognize all four varietiesas one breed. Versatile and highlyintelligent, all four varieties of theBelgian sheepdog excel at avariety of talents, including butnot limited to, police work suchas narcotics and bomb detection,protection and Schutzhund,

search and rescue, alsoobedience, agility, tracking,herding, sled and cart pulling andas a guide for the blind andassistant to the disabled. Thesehigh energy, extremely intelligentdogs need leadership, to bechallenged, and well exerciseddaily and therefore are not foreveryone, but can make anexcellent family companion with

the right owners. The BelgianMalinois was the first of the foursheepdogs to establish type. Untilthe other four were established intype they were called "BergerBelge a poil court autre queMalinois," which means "Belgianshort-coated Sheepdog who isnot the Malinois." Today all foursheepdogs are popular inBelgium, with the Laekenois and

Malinois more often used asworking type dogs than theBelgian Groenendael and

Tervuren but all types still makingexcellent workers.
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belgian shepherd

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