Showsight July 2020

judging the

BELGIAN SHEEPDOG BY LINDA ROBEY

T his arti- cle is s i m i l a r to the one I did for the Belgian Ter- vuren, but there are definite differences in the wording of the two different standards. The Belgian Sheepdog is one of the four Belgian breeds recognized by the AKC. The others are the Belgian Tervuren, Belgian Malinois and the newly recognized Belgian Laekenois. In the rest of the world the four Belgians are varieties of the same breed, the Belgian Shepherd. The AKC standards do have some differences, but they are essentially the same, so judging each breed will be similar. In the US, the varieties

were shown together until 1959. In 1959, the AKC gave each variety separate breed status. The long-haired black took the original name of Belgian Sheepdog. The Tervuren and Malinois formed new breed clubs and drew up their own breed standards. The standard for each of the Belgians is based on Belgium’s single breed standard. "The Belgian Sheepdog is

recognized by the AKC." ONE OF THE FOUR BELGIAN BREEDS

178 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JULY 2020

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