Belgian Sheepdog - Care and History

Belgian Sheepdog ("Groenendael" or "Chien de Berger Belge") formally recognized in Belgium in 1891, and developed from a wide assortment of sheepdogs. Also, considered as working dog to herd cattle and sheep. During World War I, Belgian Sheepdogs worked on the battlefields, serving as message carriers, ambulance dogs, and pulling machine guns. This breed of dog has four varieties, which was cataloged by Adolph Reul, professor of animal breeding (1891): The Groenendalel with sold long black coat, the Laekenois, a wire-coat or rough in fawn, red or brown, the Malinois, a short coated in fawn, red or brown and the Tervuren, a long coated fawn or dark red dog. These types of dogs resemble the German Shepherd dog, except the Belgian dogs are square, not rectangular, when viewed from the side.