BELGIAN SHEPHERD – TYPE AND FUNCTION
by: Anders Lyrholm
The Belgian Shepherd should show harmony. All components included in what we judge as type and exterior, should melt together in a beautiful entirety. The Belgian should have a body shape with harmonious proportions and robust elegance.
It is important to find both these factors, as they are the foundation for a good Belgian.
The silhouette from the side should show a beautiful, soft and unbroken line, from the head via a slightly curved neck, well pronounced withers, a straight back and a slightly sloping croup. The Belgian should give the impression of a square dog that, except for its neck and head, fits within the square. It is also important that the distance from the top of the withers to the deepest part of the ribcage is equal to the distance from the deepest part of the ribcage to the ground (50/50).
The head
The head is very important in the Belgian Shepherd. The expression and proportions of the head are probably more important in a Belgian than in many other breeds. This contributes a great deal to what we refer to as “type”. A beautiful head should have good length (approximately 40 % of the length of the body) and the proportions between muzzle and skull should be 50/50. A common fault is a muzzle that is too short, which creates the impression of a broad skull. A common misunderstanding is that a long, narrow head is a good head. This is not the case. The head must also be “chiselled”. This means that the muzzle must be well filled out under the eyes and should show a certain moulding formed mainly of tendons and muscles, but without becoming coarse. This conditions creates a lively expression. The muzzle should not be “snipey”.
The top of the muzzle should be straight and, in profile parallel to an imaginary line extending from the skull; the skull should be separated from the muzzle by a moderate, but marked, stop. A common fault is a stop that is too flat, together with marked superciliary ridges which give the impression that there is, in fact, a stop. This is something we must be aware of. Rather common also is too much depth in the muzzle or skull (or both), although it is important that the under jaw is pronounced.
The eyes should be almond shaped and dark. It is important that we demand the same grade of eye darkness in the red varieties of the Belgian as in the black one.
The ears should be in proportion to the head, high set, erect and pointed. A common fault is ears that are too big, too wide set, as well as too broad in base. The ears should be triangular. However the triangle should be isosceles, not equilateral, which means somewhat taller than broad. A vertical line through the ear, from the tip to the base, should divide the ear into two parts of equal size.
Top line
Common faults of the top line of a Belgian are a neck that is too short, the attachment of the neck being too steep, a back line that is too long and a croup that slopes too much.
The neck, which should be ”dry” (that is, having no superfluous skin) and muscular, should show a slightly arched top line and gradually broaden towards the attachment to the body. The neck should be rather long which tells us that the shoulder should be well laid back. Note that the placement of the shoulder and the angulations of the shoulder is not the same thing.
Body proportions, angulations and movement
The anatomy of the Belgian is different from most other breeds. Dogs of most breeds
are somewhat longer than they are tall (10/9). The height is measured from the top of
the withers to the ground, and the length from the point of the shoulder to the point of
the buttock. A Belgian should be square (10/10) and all four legs should fit within the
square.
Correct conformation in the Belgian doesn´t allow too much angulations. On the contrary,
angulations should be rather moderate. This means that the length of step is limited,
and so it should be. However, this should not prevent a correctly built Belgian from
moving harmoniously. The harmony is found when the angulations (front and rear) make
it possible for an equal length of step.
The Belgian Shepherd should move with a step as long as possible, keeping in mind what
is possible given the moderately angulated construction. A Belgian that is square, but over angulated, will have a problem when it moves, as the front and hind legs will not have enough space under the body. The dog can solve this problem in more than one way. It can move the front and hind legs in different lines beside each other. (in Sweden we call this “crab walk”), or it can amble. Both of these gaits are incorrect.
If , on the other hand, the dog is less angulated in front, but over angulated behind (which creates different length of step in front and rear), you will see a disharmonious way of moving, in which the front and rear legs don´t meet under the centre of the dog, but instead meet further forward.
The conditions for correct movement are as follows:
The front leg consists of shoulder, upper arm, forearm, pastern and paw. Draw a straight line through the shoulder down to the ground – the front leg can´t reach further forward than this. Do the same thing with a line through the upper arm down to the ground – the front leg
can´t reach further backward than this.
The shoulder and the upper arm should be of equal length. The angle between shoulder and upper arm, should be approx. 120° – 130°.
If the angulations and length of bones in the front leg are correct you should be able to follow the prolongation of a line through the centre of the bone of the forearm upwards and end up at the top of the withers. We say that the dog should “be standing in a vertical line”. This is most important, as 2/3 of the weight of the dog is resting on the front leg. Besides the front leg has no joint connection to the skeleton. It is connected only by muscles and ligaments and this makes it even more important that the entire front is correctly constructed.
A problem in many breeds (including Belgians) is that the upper arm is too steep. If you then follow the prolongation of the forearm upwards you will end up in the neck or in the head of the dog. This has the effect of limiting the length of step and creating disharmonious movement.
The hind leg consists of the pelvis, first thigh, second thigh, rear pastern and paw. Draw a straight line through the pelvis and down to the ground – the hind leg can reach no further backward. Do the same thing with a line through the first thigh down to the ground to show the limit of forward reach for the hind leg.
The knee of a Belgian should be approx. perpendicular below the hip bone and the rear pastern should be approx. perpendicular below the point of the buttocks. The first and second thigh should be of equal length. Other square breeds often have a longer second thigh and more accentuated angulations, placing the hind legs outside the square. This admits a longer step because the distance between the front and hind legs becomes longer.
The anatomical croup consists of three vertebrae fused together and placed between the last loin vertebrae and the first tail vertebrae. The breed standard says “croup slightly sloping”. In practice we talk about an angulation of approx. 10°, which means a tail set slightly below the prolongation of the top line. A croup that is too sloping is a common fault.
When we refer to a sloping croup in the show ring, we mean the angulation of the pelvis. This angle is measured from the hip bone to the point of the buttock. In a Belgian this angle should be somewhere between 30° - 40° from the horizontal. The length of the pelvis should be moderate as a long pelvis often results in more accentuated angles than are desirable in a Belgian.
The Belgian Shepherd is a beautiful breed. For a dog owner, the most important thing is to have a healthy and mentally sound dog. As breeders, we should not forget that the exterior is also our responsibility. The exterior means not only a beautiful dog, but one that is functional.
Anders Lyrholm
Show judge
