|
The FCI Breed Standard
GENERAL
APPEARANCE:
The
Belgian Shepherd 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 should give the impression of that elegant strength which has become
the
heritage of the selected representatives of a working breed. The Belgian
Shepherd is to be judged in its natural stance, without physical contact with
the handler.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:
The Belgian Shepherd dog can be fitted into a square. The chest is let down to
the level of the elbows. The length of the muzzle
is equal to or slightly longer than half the length of the head.
BEHAVIOUR
/ TEMPERAMENT:
The Belgian
Shepherd 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, guard, 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 this breed, one should take into consideration its calm and
fearless temperament.
HEAD:
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.
CRANIAL REGION:
Of medium width, in proportion with the length of the head, with a forehead flat
rather than round, frontal groove not very pronounced;
in profile, parallel to imaginary line extending muzzle line; occipital crest
little developed; brow ridges and zygomatic arches not prominent.
Stop:
Moderate.
FACIAL REGION:
Nose:
Black.
Muzzle:
Medium length and well chiseled under the eyes; narrowing gradually toward the
nose, like an elongated wedge; bridge of the nose straight and
parallel
to the continuation of the topline of the forehead; mouth 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.
Jaws/teeth:
Strong,
white teeth, regularly and strongly set in well-developed jaws. Scissor bite;
pincer bite, which 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.
Cheeks:
dry and quite flat, although muscled.
Eyes:
Medium size, neither protruding nor sunken, slightly almond-shaped, obliquely
set, brownish colour, preferably dark; black rimmed eyelids;
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 dog is alert.
NECK:
Well standing out,
slightly elongated, rather upright, well-muscled, broadening gradually towards
the shoulders, without dewlap,
nape slightly arched.
BODY:
Powerful without being heavy; length from point of shoulder to point of buttock
approximately equal to height at withers.
Topline:
upper line of back and loins is straight.
Withers:
Pronounced.
Back: firm,
short and well-muscled.
Loins:
Solid, short, sufficiently broad, well-muscled.
Croup:
well-muscled ; only very slightly sloping ; sufficiently broad but not
excessively so.
Chest: little
broad, but well let down; upper part of ribs arched; seen from the front
forechest little broad, but without being narrow.
Underline:
Begins below the chest and rises gently in a harmonious curve towards the belly,
which is neither drooping nor tucked up,
but slightly raised and moderately developed.
TAIL:
Well set on, strong at the base, of medium length, reaching at least to hock,
but preferably further; at rest carried down, with tip curved
backwards at level of hock; more raised when moving, although without
passing the horizontal, the curve towards the tip becoming more
accentuated, without ever at any time forming a hook or deviation.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS:
General view:
Bone solid but not heavy; muscle dry and strong; front legs upright from all
sides and perfectly parallel when seen from the front.
Shoulder:
Shoulder blade 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 nor tied in.
Forearm:
Long and straight.
Wrist (carpus): very
firm and clean.
Front pastern (metacarpus): Strong
and short, as perpendicular to the ground as possible or only very slightly
sloping forward.
Feet: Round,
cat feet; toes arched and well closed; pads thick and springy; nails dark and
strong.
HINDQUARTERS:
General view:
Powerful, but not
heavy; in profile hind legs are upright and seen from behind perfectly parallel.
Upper thigh:
Medium length, broad and strongly muscled.
Stifle:
approximately on the plumb line from the hip; normal stifle angulation.
Lower thigh:
Medium length,
broad and muscled.
Hock:
Close to the
ground, broad and muscled, moderate angulation.
Back
pastern (metatarsus):
Solid and short; dewclaws not desirable.
Feet:
may be light oval; toes arched and well closed; pads thick and springy; nails
dark and strong.
GAIT / MOVEMENT:
Lively and free movement at all gaits; the Belgian Shepherd is a good galloper
but its normal gaits are the walk
and
especially the trot; 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 topline
remains tight while the front legs are
not lifted too high. Always on the move, the Belgian Shepherd seems 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.
SKIN:
Elastic but taut over all the body; edges of lips and eyelids strongly
pigmented.
COATS AND VARIETIES:
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.
These four varieties are judged separately and can each be awarded a C.A.C., a
C.A.C.A.B. or a reserve title.
HAIR:
In all the varieties the hair must always be dense, close-fitting and of good
texture, with the woolly undercoat forming an excellent protective covering.
LONG HAIR:
The hair is short on the head, the outer side of the ears and the lower part of
the legs, except on the rear side of the forearm which is covered
from elbow to wrist by long hairs called fringes. The hair is long and smooth on
the rest of the body and longer and more abundant around the neck and
on the fore chest, where it forms a collarette or ruff and a jabot or apron. The
opening of the air is protected by thick tufts of hair. From the base of the
ear
the hair is upright and frames the head. The back of the thighs is covered with
very long abundant hair forming the culottes or breeches. The tail is furnished
with long, abundant hair forming a plume.
The Groenendael and
the Tervueren are the long-haired.
SHORT HAIR:
The hair is very short on the head, the outer sides of the ears and the lower
part of the legs. It is short over the rest of the body and fuller at the
tail
and around the neck where it forms a collarette or ruff which begins at the base
of the ear, stretching as far as the throat. As well, the back of the
thighs is fringed with longer hair. The tail is ear of corn shaped, but does not
form a plume.
The Malinois is the short-haired.
ROUGH HAIR:
What especially characterises the rough
hair variety is the roughness and dryness of the hair, which, moreover, is
rasping and tousled. About 6 cm long
over the whole body, the hair is shorter on the top of the muzzle, the forehead
and the legs. The hair around the eyes and those furnishing the muzzle
should not be so long as to disguise the shape of the head. However, it is
essential to have furnishings on the muzzle. The tail should not form a plume.
The Laekenois is the rough-haired.
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.
Black
overlay:
In Tervueren and Malinois, the black overlay means that the hairs have a black
tip which shades the base colour. This blackening is in any case
“flamed” and must not be present in great patches nor in real stripes
(brindled). In the Laekenois the black shading is more discreetly expressed.
Groenendael:
Only uniform black.
Tervueren:
Only fawn
with black overlay or grey with black overlay, with black mask; however, the
fawn with black overlay is still preferred.
The fawn must be rich, neither light nor washed-out. Any dog whose coat colour
is anything but fawn with black overlay or does not match
the
desired intensity of colour cannot be considered an elite specimen.
Malinois:
Only fawn
with black overlay and with black mask.
Laekenois:
Only fawn with traces of black
overlay, mainly on the muzzle and the tail.
For all varieties: a small amount of white is tolerated on forechest and toes.
SIZE, WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS:
Height at withers:
The ideal weight at withers is on average -
62 cm for males
- 58 cm for females.
Limits: 2 cm less, 4 cm more.
Weight:
Males about 25-30 kg.
Females about 20-25 kg.
Measurements:
Average normal measures for an adult male Belgian Shepherd of 62 cm at the
withers:
- Length
of body (from point of shoulder to point of buttock): 62 cm.
- Length
of head: 25 cm.
- Length
of muzzle: 12,5 – 13 cm.
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.
- General
appearance:
Cloddy, lacking elegance; too light or too slender; longer than high;
fitting into a rectangle.
- Head:
heavy, too strong, lacking parallelism, not sufficiently chiseled or dry;
forehead too rounded; stop too accentuated or too flat; muzzle too short or
pinched; Roman nose; brow ridges or zygomatic arches too prominent.
- Nose,
lips and eyelids:
traces of depigmentation.
- Dentition:
badly aligned incisors. Serious fault: lack of one incisor (1 I), one
premolar 2 (1 P2), one premolar 3 (1 P3) or three premolars 1 (3 P1).
- Eyes:
light, round.
- Ears:
large, long, too broad at the base, set low, carried outward or inward.
- Neck:
slender; short or deep set.
- Body:
too long; thoracic cage too broad (cylindrical).
- Withers:
flat, low.
- Topline:
back and/or loins long, weak, sagging or arched.
- Croup:
too sloping, overbuilt.
- Underline:
too much or too little let down; too much belly.
- Tail:
set too low; carried too high, forming a hook, deviated.
- Limbs:
bone too light or too heavy; bad upright stance in profile (e.g. front
pasterns too sloping or weak wrists), from the front (feet turning in or
out, out at elbow, etc.), or from behind (hind legs too close, too wide
apart or barrel shaped, hocks close or open, etc.); too little or
exaggeratedly angulated.
- Feet:
spreading.
- Gait:
moving close, too short a stride, too little drive, poor back transmission,
high stepping action.
- Coat:
all four varieties: insufficient
undercoat.
Groenendael
and Tervueren:
woolly, wavy, curly hair; hair not long enough.
Malinois:
hair half-long where it should be short; smooth-haired; harsh hairs scattered in
the short coat; wavy coat.
Laekenois:
hair too long, silky, wavy, crisp-haired or short; filled with fine hairs
scattered in tufts in the rough hair; hairs too long around the eye or the lower
end of the head (the chin); bushy tail.
- Colour:
for all four varieties: white marking
on chest forming tie; white on the feet going beyond toes.
Groenendael:
reddish tinges in the coat; grey breeches.
Tervueren: grey.
Tervuren
and Malinois:
brindle; tints not warm enough; not enough or too much black overlay or set in
patches over the body; not enough mask.
T
Tervueren, Malinois
and Laekenois:
too light a fawn; a base
colour
which is very diluted, named washed-out, is considered a serious fault.
- 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);
crossbite; absence of one canine (1 C), one upper carnassial (1 P4) or lower
carnassial (1 M1), one molar (1 M1 -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
forechest, 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.
N.B.:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into
the scrotum.
CROSSBREEDING – MATINGS BETWEEN VARIETIES:
Any matings between varieties are forbidden, except in exceptional
circumstances, when this ban can be lifted by the appropriate and official breed
councils
(Text
1974, drawn up in Paris).
| 
Belsharose
