judging the
BELGIAN SHEEPDOG BY LINDA ROBEY
T his arti- cle is s imi lar to the one I did for the Belgian Ter- vuren, but there are definite differences in the wording of the two different standards. Th e Belgian Sheepdog is one of the four Belgian breeds recognized by the AKC. Th e 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. Th e AKC standards do have some di ff erences, 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. Th e long-haired black took the original name of Belgian Sheepdog. Th e Tervuren and Malinois formed new breed clubs and drew up their own breed standards. Th e 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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