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I'm Peggy Richter. I'm an AKC and American herding breed association judge hurting judge in
1892 Belgium having had
recently
Obtained its independence wanted to have symbols
Like every other country of their country and they decided that the Belgian Shepherd would be their
national herding dog in Belgian history
They've never been a very numerous breed
You know first of all Belgium is about the size of LA County
So it's not a big country in to begin with and not everyone in that country has Belgians
They've never been very numerous, but they are a breed that
Historically has been around they actually predate the German Shepherd
and
They remained basically the same as they were when they were originally created as a breed
So they're a very versatile herding dog
They originated as a herding dog
With the garlic tribe of the bell Jai, they're mentioned in Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars
There's illustrations of dogs very similar to this in the 1716 1700s
They had four varieties they call them varieties over there
The Belgian sheepdog, which is the they call the grinning doll the Belgian Tervuren the Belgian Malinois and the Belgian Lake annoy?
They're all a little different and in the United States are considered separate breeds
They started out using hurting as a criteria when they created the breed
in 1892 the city of Ghent
became the first
City to ever have a professional
police dog and
They used dogs like this black Belgian sheepdog
For their primary
police dogs and in 1905 the New York PD
Went out and looked at these dogs in in 1908. They imported a whole bunch of them and
For many years they were the premier police dog in both Europe and the United States in World War one
Because the dogs were basically shot on sight by the Germans and Belgium was overrun the breed was decimated
and the role of
primary police and military dog was taken over by the
Alsatian or German Shepherd
But nobody lost sight of the amount of the Belgian dogs the premier dog these days is the Belgian Malinois?
Which is a short-haired fawn?
The Belgian sheepdog the long-haired black is still to be found in military roles and police roles
They also serve as seeing-eye dogs
service dogs for wheelchairs hearing air
search-and-rescue biological search dogs
Herding dogs and even sled dogs. There's a sled dog team that races that uses Belgian sheepdogs
Well they're very loyal they're very protective
They're very versatile if you if you want to do any kind of a sport. They're happy to
Do the sport that you choose?
They're very intelligent they learn quick
They're not the greatest pet in terms of they do shed
They don't shed as much as a German Shepherd, but they do shed
And they do need a job
if if you just want a dog that
Sits in the house and doesn't do anything
They're not the dog for you, and if you want a dog. That's an outside dog
They're not a dog for you Belgians believe that they should be where you are and if you're in the house
They think that they should be in the house too if you're in the barn. They're out there
They want to be out in the barn with you
My first dog was when I was
In high school. I had a mixed breed a cross bred dog. He was a German Shepherd
husky cross
And I was looking for another dog similar to him in terms of intelligence and capability and I looked at several breeds
And I lucked out I found
Belgian sheepdogs, I found someone who did obedience as well as conformation with their dogs and
Got a puppy from them and in fact that puppy
Gura camel
Was the first dog?
In the United States in the Belgians to get a instinct test certificate for hurting
so I kind of got into the herding after that seriously, and haven't looked back I
Originally had intended to do protection work
when I got my first Belgian
and I found that the doors were kind of closed to having a long-haired black Belgian sheepdog and
Doing protection less than the people who were in my area who were skilled at the at training people?
Didn't want to talk to
People who have dogs like mine, they only wanted German Shepherds
and
later they only wanted German Shepherds or Mellon law and so I
Wanted to do a traditional rule. I had grown up in a rural area
I was familiar with hurting and it was an interest I had
so I started doing to see what the dogs would do in hurting and
Starting in 84 did my first competition with one of my dogs. It was the first dog in the u.s.
to get a hurting title and
that was
Berrecloth camel Holt with a nasca title because a Casey and HBA didn't have trials at that time and he got a started duck title
I
Have found that they are a very versatile breed in terms of hurting
Whatever task I want them to do they are willing to try it I
can put them on sheep I can put them on cattle I can put a monkeys and
They will willingly
Give it a go and usually we have pretty darn good success so
That's why I got into hurting with the Belgians
Yeah, Belgians don't hurt the same way as a Border Collie does the border collie was designed to work feral
sheep out
On the moors so they they cast very wide to get sheep that are very frightened of a dog and so they keep well off
Belgians were created and designed to work fairly large groups one dog up to 200 head
that were very tame that you took from the
Enclosure at night down a road in the middle of the street
Down to a pasture and grazed them, and then you took them to another place where they stayed tonight
these sheep might be very a clementa to dogs and willing to challenge the the type like Suffolk and
They weren't particularly flighty so they worked very close a Belgian cannon will do a distance gather
But they have to be persuaded that that's what you want them to do because it's not particularly natural to them on the other hand
It's very natural to them to hold sheep in a area. So they can graze and do that all that
Belgians were designed and used as
Cattle dogs in that they worked the Ox team which is basically a tame steer or
Daisy the dairy cow who was tame and been raised you know and again. They would take him from the
farm enclosure down to pasture and back and
They weren't used like Australian cattle dogs or Australian Shepherds
to work feral cattle so I have yet to see a Belgian that has what I would consider a
Typical cattle dog or cattle bred dog with the low heel down on the on the hock of the cow
Mostly what they will do is they will come up to the front of the cow?
They will use bark or bite on the nose, and then they will go behind and use bark
to to push the cattle so they're very good at working fairly tame or cooperative cattle I
Would not suggest that you consider them for the premiere range cattle dog
There are specific breeds that are designed exactly for that
If you're looking for a Belgian sheepdog
The first thing is to remember they're sort of like Model T Fords get any color you want as long as it's black
You can get a little bit of white trim
They're allowed to have white on the muzzle, and they're allowed to have a little bit of a white stripe on the chest
But they're not supposed to have any large amounts of white or any other color other than black
Belgians learn how to be pets pretty quickly you know they they they
Generally are well mannered
They generally are
Good in terms of learning housebreaking
But again if you want a Belgian as a pet, you need to have the dog half a job they're a very
Farmers dog type dog they are the average workman's dog they can pull a full day
But they'll do as much or as little as
Long as it's with you
Belgian sheepdogs
roughly the smallest
According to the standard you you you know you can get dogs that are outside the standard, but according to the standard the smallest
Girls would be about 20
21 inches 35 pounds
the biggest boys
Would be 27 inches in about 80 pounds. It's a big difference
I
Have one that right now. I have one of the girls. That's in the small end of the spectrum, and I have one girl
That's in the large. End of the spectrum so you can get quite a range
Belgian sheepdog temperament is
Not quite the same as a German Shepherd, they're more independent
They're more. I want to be your partner. I am NOT your servant
They will partner up they they feel that they have veto power and
I've seen that and hurting where they you know you tell them away
And they know no it needs to be go by and usually nine times out of ten. They're right
But it can make you pull your hair out
They
Don't tolerate
What they consider to be?
Injustice very well if you correct them, and and and they don't feel that it was justified
They will salt tremendously well
They're very healthy breed overall
there is
epilepsy in the breed the
Records indicate it can be up 8% to up to 10% of the dogs
There is some evidence of gastric
Cancer but the latest records indicate that it's really not
Prevalent in the breed. It's basically when your dog gets old. That's often what they will die from
They have excellent hip dysplasia records they're one of the lowest in hip and elbow issues and
They've got pretty good record on terms of eyes not having eye diseases
Generally speaking a Belgian is a pretty healthy breed. I've had one that lived up to 16. That's not abnormal
The I think the official average day age is around 12 to 14 depending on the country
For a fairly large breed. They're very long-lived and
The plus with the Belgian is is that they can be very active?
up until the very end my my one dog was still trialing at 13 I
Wouldn't have in terms of Belgians I wouldn't have any other breed is given the option
They're not a breed for everyone
They are a breed for someone who wants to do something with them
but in terms of home protection in terms of doing the chores and a ranch or
Whatever things that you might need to do. I can't imagine a breed that would be better
So you know they're there, it's an optional choice
I don't want any
Courage or discourage people from having a Belgian because I don't want them to become as popular as the German Shepherd and have umpteen dogs
and the shelters
But they're breeding too, seriously look at if you're looking at a for a dog that will do
what you want them to do with you as a
partner