All about the Belgian Shepherd dog quartet: do you know a Malinois from a Laekenois?

There are four varieties of Belgian Shepherd dogs, which date back to medieval times. These are the Malinois, Groendendael, Tervueren and Laekenois, and each one is named after Belgian villages, although Malinois veers slightly off the original Mechelar. The main differences between each breed are their coat, in texture, colour and length of hair. All four breeds are athletic, medium-sized dogs, bred to herd and guard flocks, with well-set, distinctive triangular ears.

The Groenendael is the easiest to distinguish, being exclusively black, with a long coat. The Tervueren and Malinois come in the same colours: red, fawn or grey. The Tervueren has a long coat, while the Malinois’ fur is short and dense. The Laekenois has a harsh, wiry coat in red or fawn with some black shading.

While he was bred to herd and guard, nowadays these protective and territorial instincts have been honed into other areas, such as security patrolling, law enforcement, bomb and gas detection, search and rescue, and as service dogs. In common with other pastoral breeds, such as the German Shepherd, this is a highly intelligent, trainable and obedient dog, with a strong work ethic.

They are strong, muscular and alert, with a proud head carriage and intelligent, questioning eyes. Brilliant, loyal and smart when well trained and socialised, this is a breed that can cause problems if it is neglected. They want to be active, given a purpose in life alongside their human partner and to form an unbreakable bond.

Belgian Shepherd: fact file

Kennel Club breed group: pastoral

Size: medium

Daily exercise: more than two hours per day

Coat: medium; shedding

Colours: depending on the breed, they come in variations of fawn, grey, red, and black; with black mask and shadings..

Lifespan: more than 10 years

Bark: this is a vocal breed that has a natural instinct to bark. Because of its roots as guardian of flocks of sheep, its default mode is to protect its territory, raising the alarm with a fierce-sounding bark. This can become excessive so check out these tips on how to stop a dog barking to prevent it developing into a nuisance.

Distinctive features: proud head carriage with alert triangular ears and sparkling eyes. Athletic-looking, muscular power with elegance. Short, dense hair overall, thicker on the tail and around the neck.

Temperament: vigilant, alert and intelligent. Devoted to his owners, reserved with strangers.

Things to consider: Belgian Shepherds thrive on companionship and a sense of purpose, so need steady routines and plenty of exercise and stimulation.

While mental stimulation with the best dog puzzle toys might be useful as a short-term measure, this is a breed that craves plenty of physical work, by your side. A good way to ensure he gets sufficient exercise while in your company is to train him to run alongside you, either on foot or on bike, so you can cover plenty of ground.

Training: Belgian Shepherds are natural workaholics, who thrive on training. They should start socialisation and training from a young age, but luckily they are super intelligent and love to learn so pick up commands quickly.

They are naturals at almost all canine disciplines, from agility to scent work, herding competitions and flyball, as well as canicross.

Thanks to their intelligence levels, this is a breed you can teach impressive tricks, too. Start with a simple “roll over”, and you’ll soon progress to more advanced stunts.

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