All 4 Belgians

All 4 Belgian Varieties at the Temperament Test in Alvin, Texas. If you're wondering about my dogs' postures, Balto cut a pad running on the Galveston beach and Ciana had elbow surgery and tends to favor that leg.

My two are the ones on the left.



Though, I think this picture is funnier. "Hey, one of them got a haircut, and the other stuck his paw in a light socket."

How nice to see them all together! I think it is a crime that the AKC separated this breed and just tossed out the Laekenois. Great photo!

Beautiful pic! The second one's really funny- Ciana seems to be telling Balto and the other two dogs seem to be laughing at them both

Great pics! Love seeing them all in one shot. I got my first Belgian Sheepdog in 1968 and switched to Tervuren in 1974.

AKC rarely makes 'breed rules.' Those are made by the parent clubs and AKC enforces what they set up.

AKC only recognized the Belgian Sheepdog Groenandael) initially and the parent club 'tossed out' the Tervuren color. Later, the Belgian Tervuren came back as it's own breed, not a variety.

AKC would be happy (and has even SUGGESTED) that the breeds recombine and be shown as varieties on several occasions. The final decision is up to the parent clubs. (They are varieties in nearly every other country and UKC.)

However, the problem is AKC would also require the parent clubs to recombine into one parent club. That hasn't been a hurdle that has been able to be surmounted.

OMG, GHW, can you imagine having 3 breed clubs to agree on something? yikes. I just think its a shame that this marvelous breed is all cut up in the US and separated from each other.

It is great seeing them all lined up like that! Must have been fun, too.

Regardless of the reason they're listed as separate breeds in AKC, the biggest problem with that is that they are NOT separate breeds. You can breed a mal to a mal and get a terv.

Yes, it's too bad when those things happen and you end up with a dog registered as one "breed" and looking like another.

I love Laekenois. They're my favorite of the varieties (followed closely by the tervs) and I agree, its a shame you don't see them so much here.

Don't know if you're entertained by the ridiculous, but to further show stupid this becomes in the Belgian varieties:

Tervuren are allowed to apply for AKC registration when imported from other countries, regardless of parentage (meaning they can have any other variety as parents). This was originally based on the assumption that the Tervuren variety was the most recessive and couldn't throw another color or coat type. This eventually was proved wrong (there is a recessive black). AKC for a time then banned the importation without 3 generations of Terv breeding. However, that become too cumbersome for the fanciers and the ABTC petitioned for a reversal and got it.

However, if I sell a Belgian Sheepdog (AKC reg'd) to Canada and it gets it's Canadian registration, is bred and produces a Tervuren, those offspring are not eligible to apply for AKC registration.

GHW, it makes me want to pull my hair out. I have always loved the Belgians, but this is a prime reason I never pursued any of those breeds.

I hear ya...except for me it's a prime reason to be less interested in AKC. Especially with the Belgians. Many people with mals aren't bothered if a dog isn't registered at all.

I always go to our UKC Belgian Specialty, even though I don't show. But I like to meet the other owners and other non-competitors.

I've never been to an AKC dog show. Of course, Laekenois aren't allowed to show in conformation in the AKC, and probably won't for quite a while.

Very nice! I love all of the Belgians, but especially Groenendael.

Great pics! How did everyone do?

If you are talking about the temperament test. Balto was near perfect.

Afterwards, the main judge told me the only place he lost points was for not looking into the noisy bucket. He was too interested in the person hiding behind the blind who dropped the bucket. Another of the judges came up and whispered to me that he had never (before Balto) seen the (main) judge give a dog a 10 in the agression test. Lots of 9s, but never a 10.

My Malinois has a noise issue. She was fine as a puppy and loved storms, but get got worse. So, the gunfire was an issue for her and she would have failed as soon as we got to that part of the test. I used the day as an opportunity for her to be exposed to all the different sounds. If I would be able to skip the gunfire I think she would have done okay and probably passed. So, maybe another time for her.

The other two Belgians were not there for the test, but belonged to workers. The test was given by a chapter of the American Belgian Tervuren Club to benefit their National Specialty.

A lot of dogs showed up and most passed. I saw one that totally freaked out during the gunfire. And there was a sweet bully-type dog that knocked down her owner trying to get away from the agressive stranger. But, like I said, most passed. Also, most were bully breeds or mixes.

The aggressive stranger test was the most interesting, though. The dogs are judged according to what is expected from that particular breed-type. The Malamute took one step forward and barked. After the stranger left it gave another bark as if to say, "that's right, get out of here".

I was told that an expected response for many breeds is to move into a position between the aggressive man and the handler in a protective stance.

I wonder what would be the expected response from a corgi. Morgan's typical response is to sit calmly, often yawning, and watch while the big dogs take care of things.