General Appearance: The first impression of the Belgian Sheepdog should be that of a well balanced square dog, elegant in appearance, with an exceedingly proud carriage of head and neck. He should be a strong, agile well muscled animal who is alert and full of life. His whole conformation should give the impression of depth and solidity without bulkiness. The dog should be somewhat more impressive and grand than the bitch. The bitch should have a distinctively feminine look. Like many European breeds, different coat colors, textures and lengths were preferred by the original fanciers. Today, however, only four distinct coat types are recognized and have become the distinguishing characteristics of the four varieties of Belgian Sheepdog. The long haired Groenendael and Tervueren, the short haired Malinois and the rough haired Laeken variety differ in coat color, length and texture but are unmistakably the same breed.

Temperament: The Belgian Sheepdog should reflect the qualities of intelligence, courage, alertness and devotion to his master. To his inherent aptitude as guardian of flocks should be added protectiveness of the person and property of his master. He should be watchful, attentive and always in motion when not under command. In his relationship with humans, he should be observant and vigilant with strangers but not apprehensive. He should not show fear or shyness. He should not show viciousness by unwarranted or unprovoked attack. With those he knows well, he is most affectionate, friendly, zealous of their attention and very possessive.

Size: Males should be 24 - 26 inches in height and females 22 - 24 inches measured at the withers. The length, measured from the front of the forechest to the rear projection of the pelvis, should equal the height. Bitches may be slightly longer. Bone structure should be moderately heavy in proportion to height so that he is well balanced throughout and neither spindly and leggy nor cumbersome and bulky.

Coat and Color: Coat length, color and texture is the one distinguishing feature between the different varieties of the Belgian Sheepdog. A) Longhaired: the guard hairs of the coat must be long, well fitting, straight and abundant. The texture should be extremely dense, commesurate, however, with climatic conditions. The hair is shorter on the head, outside of the ears and lower part of the legs. The opening of the ear is protected by tufts of hair. There should be long and abundant hair forming a collarette around the neck; forming a fringe along the back of the forearm; forming the breeches in the hindquarters and forming a nicely plumed tail. Two color types are found in the long haired variety:

i) The dog should be completely black or be black with white limited as follows: small to moderate patch on forechest, between the pads of the feet, on the tips of the hind toes and frost on the chin and muzzle. White on the tips of the front toes is allowable but is a fault. The black Long haired variety is known as the GROENENDAEL.

ii) The dog should be either rich fawn to russet mahogany or distinctly grey, each with a black overlay. The coat is characteristically double pigmented, wherin the tip of each hair is blackened. On mature males, this blackening is especially pronounced on the shoulders, back and rib section. The chest color is a mixture of black and grey. The face has a black mask and the ears are mostly black. The underparts of the dog are light beige or grey. A small white patch is permitted on the chest but should not extend into the neck or breast. Frost on the chin or muzzle is normal. Too light a color or too black a color is a serious fault. This variety is known as the TERVUREN.

B) Short-haired: The coat should be comparatively short and straight with a dense undercoat. It is very short on the head, the ears and lower legs. The hair is somewhat longer around the neck where it forms a collarette and on the tail and back of the thighs. The color should be from a rich fawn to mahogany with a black overlay. There should be a black mask and black ears. The underparts of the body, tail and breeches are lighter fawn. A small patch of white on the chest is permissible as is white on the tips of the toes. A washed out fawn color is undesirable. This variety is known as the MALINOIS.

C) Rough-haired: The coat should have a rough or dry texture and appear unkempt. The undercoat is thick and woolly. The coat is of medium length on all parts of the body except the head where the hair on the skull is short while the hair on the muzzle is slightly longer forming a beard or whiskers. The coat should be light fawn to red brown in color. Grey is acceptable as well. Blackening may appear on the muzzle, ears and tail. The underparts of the dog, tail and breeches are light beige or grey. The tail should not form a plume. A small amount of white is permitted on the chest and the tips of the toes. This variety is known as the LAEKEN.

Head: Should be clean cut and strong with size in proportion to the body. SKULL: should be flattened on top rather than rounded. The width should be approximately the same as, but not wider than the length. The stop should be moderate. MUZZLE should be moderately pointed, avoiding any tendency to snipiness and approximately equal in length to that of the top skull. NOSE should be black without spots or discolored areas. MOUTH the jaw should be strong and powerful. The lips should be tight and black, with no pink showing on the outside. There should be a full complement of strong, white, evenly set teeth. There should be either an even or a scissors bite. An overshot or undershot bite is a serious fault. EYES should be dark brown, medium sized, slightly almond shaped and should not protrude. EARS should be triangular in shape, stiff, erect and in proportion in size to the head. The base of the ear should not come below the center of the eye.

Neck: Should be round and rather outstretched, tapered from head to body and well muscled with tight skin.

Body: FOREQUARTERS: Chest should be deep but not broad. The lowest point should reach the elbow of the front leg and should form a smooth ascending curve to the abdomen. Shoulder should be long and oblique, laid flat against the body and should form a sharp angle (approximately 90 degrees) with the upper arm. Legs should be straight, strong and parallel to each other. The bone should be oval rather than round. The length should be in proportion to the size of the dog. Pasterns should be of medium length and should be strong and very slightly sloped.

BACK: Should be level, straight and firm from withers to hip. The withers should be slightly higher than and slope into the back.

LOIN: The loin section viewed from above should be relatively short, broad and strong, and should blend smoothly into the back. The abdomen should be moderately developed and should be neither tucked up nor paunchy.

HINDQUARTERS: Croup should be medium long with a gradual slope. Thighs should be broad and heavily muscled. The upper and lower thigh bones form a relatively sharp angle at the stifle joint. Hocks: the angle at the hock is relatively sharp although the angulation is not extreme. Metatarsus should be of medium length, strong and slightly sloped. Dew claws, if any, should be removed.

TAIL: Should be strong at the base and the bone should reach the hock. At rest, it should be held low and in action it should be raised with a slight curl which is strongest toward the tip. It should not curl over the dogs back or form a hook.

FEET: The front feet should be round (cat footed). The rear feet should be slightly elongated. Toes on both front and back feet should be curved and close together. They should be well padded. Nails should be strong and black except that they may be white to match white toe tips.

GAIT: Should be smooth, free and easy, seemingly never tiring and exhibiting facility of movement rather than a hard driving action. He should single track on a fast gait - i.e.; the legs, both front and rear, converge toward the center line of the body. The back line should remain firm and level, parallel to the line of motion, with no crabbing. he should show a marked tendency to move in a circle rather than a straight line.