Is the Belgian Shepherd a good breed for me?
Posted: April 4th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: Belgian, breed, Good, Shepherd | 7 Comments »I’m 14 years old and I’ve trained our Husky mix very well and now my parents and I have been thinking of getting another dog. I really like the Belgian Groenendael breed but am not sure if it would be a good match, can someone help me out?
1. I’d like a medium-large size dog.
2. I’d like it’s coat medium-long lenght and wouldn’t mind brushing about twice a week.
3. I’d like a herding breed that’s very handler orientated and willing to please and work alongside a person. Also one that leanrs quickly.
4. I would be teaching the dog a variety of commands, and i’d be doing a lot of advanced obedience and taking dog training classes and courses.
5. My mother runs, jogs, bikes and X-country skiis and would be taking the dog out while I’m at school. Before school and when I get home I would train it and walk it and play with it.
6. My parents work from home so the dog would almost never be alone at home. We have 2 other dogs that it would have for company and a safe pen for if we weren’t at home.
7. I’d be doing the majority of the training and would be the dog’s ‘alpha’.
8. Other than our 2 dogs we have a cat. There are also no younger children in the house but we have neighbourhood children that the dog would get used to.
9. I would like to do Competitve Obediance with the dog, I’d like to do Agilty and I’d like to enter it in shows. I might also do Ski-jouring with the dog.
10. Our climate is warm summers and fairly cold winters.
Does the Belgian Sheepdog sound like a good breed for me?
I’d like a dog with papers (a female). I would also RESONSIBLY breed it with a stud of the same breed and of good bloodlines. Maybe 1-3 times or so.
Sounds like it would be a good breed. That’s my husbands’ second favorite breed, rottweilers being the first.
It sounds like it’d be a really great fit for you, and you’ve done all the research. You are very well prepared.
The only thing, though…….why would you want to breed her?
Sounds like a good match and you’ve done your homework. Good for you.
I have a couple of concerns. One is your age. You are going to be going to college (?) in a few years. What will happen to the dog then?
Second is the breeding bit. It would be *extremely* unlikely for a responsible breeder to sell an intact female to a 14-year old with no “history” in dogs, so to speak. Now it is possible that a breeder might “take you under her wing” and mentor you. That is a possibility you can look into. But generally, people have to “earn” this right.
You do realize this is not going to be a cheap proposition. Belgian Sheepdogs are not an extremely common breed and the initial cost alone is going to be quite high. Then there is the cost of the training, the show costs, etc. It’s not something to be taken lightly. But if you are financially able to handle it, it sounds like it might work.
Until I read your comments under Additional Details, I thought you’d be a great home for a Belgian. Those comments changed my mind. No reputable breeder is going to sell a show quality female to an unexperienced person – they go to proven show homes only and pet quality dogs can never be bred. And given the many tempermant problems in Belgians, you need to go with a reputable breeder.
If you give up the ideas of breeding (unless you were to co-own with the breeder), I think you’d be a great home.
My Belgian, who just turned a year, gets out for about 2 hours a day, plus he gets obedience training, rally training, show training daily, and classes 1 or 2 times a week. He’ll be in the conformation ring this weekend and I believe he’ll be ready for rally trials this fall. After that, it’ll be traditional obedience competitions, and herding.
And they definitely are incredibly smart dogs, and not only fast learners, they absolutely love to work.
You’d be wise to really study Belgians’ temperaments and socializing needs and choose your breeder carefully.
You’ll be doing a lot more brushing than that. More like daily brushing! Also remember: If the dog is being exercised by your mother and is going to be spending the day with her. The dog may view your MOTHER as the pack leader and you as a “secondary” owner. That’s fine for a family dog but if you want a dog that’s “your’s” you should keep that in mind.
I have had Belgian Shepherd Groenendaels in the past and they are terrific dogs. Despite the long coat they are fairly low maintenance and a good brush 2 to 3 times a week will help to keep them looking nice. Of course, when they do moult you will need to brush them more to get all of the old coat out as quickly as possible.
They are incredibly intelligent dogs and very handler oriented and learn very quickly. Having said that, because they are so intelligent you have to stay one step ahead of them while they are young to prevent them developing bad habits. This is far better than allowing the bad habits to develop and then trying to fix them.
My Groenies were trialled in Obedience and also were part of the Club’s Dog Obedience Demo team – in my opinion the most impressive members of that team. My boy, Zulu, was the only Demo team member which would jump through the burning hoop off-lead and he looked spectacular. My 2 were also the lead dogs in the team of dogs which pulled Santa’s sleigh for the Town Xmas Party. The team were my 2 Groenies in the lead, followed by 2 red and white Border Collies, followed by 2 black and white Border Collies. A lovely sight.
I now have a Belgian Shepherd Malinois which my 14 year old daughter is training and will be handling in shows, agility and obedience. I see no reason why, with the support of your parents, you couldn’t train this breed as you described.
My boy was the pick of the Junior Handlers to take into the show ring as he was such a dream to show.
They do have a high prey drive and my 2 were never introduced to small animals when young so they would chase and kill chooks, bandicoots and other small animals. I can’t see why, though, if you get the dog as a pup, you can’t train her to accept the cats as part of the family.
Make sure you get your bi tch from a really good breeder and check out the parent’s temperaments as there is nothing worse than a nervous and shy Belgian Shepherd. They can tend to become aggressive.
Make sure you give your pup plenty of socialisation with alot of different people, places and environments. The more socialised your Groenie, the better dog she will be.
I am not into breeding – I never bred my Groenie male and female despite the fact that they held show and obedience titles and were multiple In-Group winners, and a Reserve in Show to boot. This breed is still fairly unknown so it isn’t easy to find good forever homes (not to my standard anyway). They are also a breed which can be a really great breed in the right home and a shocking breed in the wrong home. I hate to think of my pups being in the wrong home. I prefer to leave the breeding (and the headaches) to others and take my pick from their quality bred litters.
Well, 30+ years ago I made a similar list and save my pennies (sometimes literally) and purchased my first show dog at 16, a Dobe. Nice dog but 3 years later after more research I purchased my first Belgian. I wanted to breed dogs from the time I was in 6th grade but wanted to do it responsibly too and found out over the years what that entailed and have tried to do it for the last 30 years. My first litter resulted in 3 Chs shown by me and a working police dog. This year a girl that goes back to my first Belgian won the National Specialty.
Find a good breeder who will mentor you and think about what will happen to her when you go to college. I lived at home and commuted to UC Berkeley so I could keep my dog with me. A breeder may wish to co-own since you are a teen. Be sure and get a happy outgoing puppy and you can do a lot with her.
Good luck!
Lorra