Belgian Shepherd specifically, the Tervuren applied to the other varieties of the Belgian shepherd like the malinois or the groenendael. First of all, it’s essential to know that you can get a working line or a show line Belgian shepherd like with many different breeds. However, the difference between the lines isn’t as huge as it is between, for instance, the American show line german shepherd and a working line german shepherd. Generally, the appearance of the Belgian shepherd hasn’t changed much from what they initially looked like.
Show line Belgian Shepherd
A showing Belgian shepherd can still do well in sports such as herding agility or even IPO. If your goal is to compete at the highest level in protection sports, a working line will be a better choice for you. Working lines have a higher drive and are more potent than show lines.
They’re also said to be healthier and less shy or fearful. For examples of the differences between show line and working line Belgians, whether you want to get a show line or a working line Belgian shepherd, you should know that these dogs aren’t for everyone. And I’ll explain why, So not only do they need a lot of exercises, but they also need a job to do. So if you take your Belgian for an hour-long walk, they’re going to go to sleep for two hours, and then they’ll be ready to go again.
That’s why you need to wear them out mentally as well. You can do all the different dog sports with them, such as agility, dog dancing, Schutzhund and obedience, herding, cross, bike during, or teach your Belgian tricks at home. You choose to do with your dog, but they need some mental stimulation. And if you don’t give it to them, they’ll find a job themselves, and trust me you’re not like it.
Working Belgian Shepherd
A show-line dog, but compared to most other dogs we meet, his energy level is still like two to three times higher, so and when we’re on a walk, he still requires a lot of attention. He’ll usually give you some time off during the first half of the walk, but the moment we turn around, or the moment he gets bored of sniffing and running around, he grabs a stick, and he starts poking you with it, making it hard for you to walk, and he demands attention.
He needs that contact with you, and he wants you to give him commands and play with him, so it’s not a comfortable dog to own, and even though it can be pretty annoying, then you look at his happy face, and that will completely disarm you. And one little fun fact Belgians love looking you in the eye. Be prepared to be continuously watched; it’s like they’re always trying to figure out what’s in your mind. You guess it’s also connected to the fact that they love to work. And you think they’re always waiting for you to give them commands.
Getting Tired
But You also need to add one thing here, and it’s that they rarely show you that they’re tired, so as long as something fun is happening, they will never show you they’re tired. And it’s your responsibility to be wiser and make them stop before they drop dead. Another important thing is to start socialization early. Preferably the moment your puppy gets home, Belgians can become shy, fearful, distrustful towards strangers, or even aggressive or snappy if not socialized properly.
Start Socialising
To expose your pup to as many people, sounds, smells, objects, and situations as possible. You can start socializing your puppy before they are fully vaccinated, you can invite visitors to your home. Your dog to a friend’s house, and you can expose your pup to regular household activities like the vacuum, tv, and blow dryer. And when they’re fully vaccinated, you’ll need to step it up and expose the pup even more, and if you socialize your dog correctly, they should grow into a balanced dog.
Of course, genetics play a role too, and some individuals may be shyer than others by nature. That’s why finding a reputable breeder is essential. Still, sometimes even a good breeder will produce a more timid individual even though they selectively breed for specific traits, sometimes mother nature has a different plan. You should know is that these dogs will never be like golden retrievers, and even a very well-socialized dog may still be reserved with strangers.
They’re super attached to their family, and they would do anything for them, but they don’t necessarily enjoy cuddling with strangers. He doesn’t want to be hugged or held by them. They are very quickly excited. If you have a calm dog that reacts to a sudden noise by just turning its head slightly, a Belgian shepherd will usually jump up in the air.
You think this has got to do with the fact that they’re always ready to do something, and also, as one of our subscribers put it, the happier and more excited they are, the more you get bitten. And this is true. Of course, you can teach your dog not to do that, but quite honestly, it’s one of the things most love about them. It’s just something that always makes us laugh, and it’s so natural to him, and his face still glows with happiness when he does that. Another thing is that they often act before they think. And this may result in injuries, so having adequate health insurance is a good idea.
Very Active
They have a thing for jumping over walls even when he doesn’t know what’s behind them, or when he’s running with off-leash, he keeps looking at me and not watching where he’s going. He often hits a tree at high speed, or once he decided that he wanted to climb a ladder to get to me and, of course, he couldn’t, and he fell off. So you need to be always watching them and anticipating what excellent idea they could come up with.
When they’re not trying to kill themselves, they are super smart and eager to learn. They’re easy to train, and they have a great work ethic, but they’re also compassionate and don’t respond to harsh training methods. They need a strict handler but kind of another thing because they have a high prey drive, and they require extensive training and a physical outlet for their boundless energy.
When they were one year old, he suddenly started chasing cars, tractors, and wild animals. And back then, we thought he had a good recall, but we were wrong, and we had to work even more on his obedience to let him run off-leash again. Usually, they are slow to mature; they’re very playful, and they stay puppies for a long time. You have noticed that only now that four years old, he doesn’t want to play with unneutered adult males as much as he did before.
So until he was about three and a half, he would always instigate play immediately after meeting any dog. So guess he has now finally fully grown up, and here is our bonus tip. The one thing that we neglected, in the beginning, was getting used to being alone. If You had a puppy now, it would make it a priority to teach him alone. We should have started doing that from day one. We did try to teach him to be alone but think we didn’t have enough experience and didn’t know how important that was, and as a result, the whole thing was just very sloppy, and never liked being left alone.
Teach them to Be Alone
These dogs have overly attached to their owners, and they may get separation anxiety when left alone. So if you have a little puppy, start teaching your dog to be isolated from the very beginning so that you don’t have to deal with these issues later in life because it is stressful for all of us. all right, so these are all the things that we wanted you to know before you get a Belgian shepherd.
