The Belgian Shepherd Tervueren is a breed of dog that owes its name to the place where it originated (Tervueren, Belgium), that is to say that the Belgian Shepherd has four varieties among which are these specimens together with the groenendael, Malinois and Laekenois.
Now, of these four varieties, only two have long fur, these are: the Belgian Shepherd Tervueren and the Groenendael, a characteristic that has made them somewhat more popular among lovers of dog pets. even though it is a breed made for work thanks to other characteristics that we will be detailing later.
Origin of the Belgian Shepherd tervueren
The breed first made its appearance on Tervueren, a Belgian villa. Although at first the breed was not very popular and was on the verge of extinction, in 1945 it resumed its validity thanks to its beauty and skills for work. These specimens arise from the cross between the Belgian Shepherd Groenendael and the collie long-haired.
How is the physical appearance?
In general, it is a strong-looking dog that shows good muscles, they are square and light, features that allow you great agility to perform practically any type of work that is recommended, especially when it comes to surveillance or protection.
Males are always distinguished by being slightly larger than femalesThese have a height at the withers that ranges from 60 to 66 centimeters and the weight is 25 to 30 kilograms in their adult stage. On the other hand, the females have a height at the withers between 56 and 62 centimeters with a weight of 20 to 25 kilograms.
Their ears are triangular and are erect and pointed at the end, they are located on the top of the head and are small. His gaze is deep and with a hint of nostalgia thanks to a pair of dark-toned, almond-shaped eyes.
The muzzle is wide at the base and becomes thinner at the end but without being pointed, it houses powerful teeth with a scissor-shaped bite. Regarding the extremities these are especially powerful The rear ones, although they do not seem like it, these present an adequate angulation while the previous ones are parallel and straight.
The Belgian Shepherd tervueren despite the fact that it is distinguished by its long coatThis is usually short on the head, outside of the ears and on the underside of the legs, while the other parts of the body show long hair, including the back of the forearms.
The hair on the neck is especially long, smooth and abundant. as well as on the windowsill where a kind of necklace is formed that makes it look elegant and imposing. In the tail it also has a prominent amount that makes it stand out, it must reach the hock.
Another of the features that are very specific to him is the black mask that does not vary even when the color of the coat is charcoal gray or charcoal red, which incidentally are the officially accepted colors for this breed. It is called carbonado due to the black color that the hairs have at the end, which gives them a darker effect at the base.
The character of Belgian shepherd tervueren
In terms of protection and vigilance, this breed is one of the best since its protective instinct is very acute, to such an extent, that socialization is very necessary since it is a puppy, since he is extremely territorial and careful with his own.
He remains on constant alert, he is energetic and vital reasons for providing them with activities on a continuous basis since sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical and mental exercise lead to behavioral problems. Do not forget that it is a working dog and for them it is important keep busy daily in various activities.
Care
Many seek this breed as pets which is totally feasible even if you live in an apartment, as long as you provide the amount of daily exercise, you need to burn all that energy that is natural in them.
However, the most successful thing is to take them to live in places where they have space free for your physical activities, such as a patio or garden and just as important are the daily walks that must be long, exercise and company since it is not advisable to leave them alone for a long time outside the home.
As the coat is one of its great attractions it deserves continuous attention and care, for this it will be enough to brush them regularly every two days and take it periodically to the dog groomer. It is important that you know that this breed loses, a significant amount of hair during the year.
In the case of males, they experience significant hair loss only once a year, whereas females do it twice a year.
Very important among the care of these pets the periodic visit to the veterinarian, keep a control strict vaccination, deworming, etc.
How is the health of the Belgian Shepherd Tervueren
The specimens of this breed in general are very strong and healthy, which does not imply that you do not keep a close monitoring of the development, and the health of your dog with the help of the veterinarian.
In this case, look for a good specialist with experience in this breed. so that they are always in the best conditions, as well as to prevent certain pathologies that may occur in them such as pancreatic ailments, hip dysplasia, thyroid secretion or epilepsy.
Educate your Belgian Shepherd tervueren from an early age
The first thing is that if you do not know how to train your dog, you go to a canine trainer with experience in this breed, since the use of the wrong methods can bring many inconveniences in the future behavior of your canine.
They are generally very easy to train when done the right way, always looking for cooperation instead of domination, positive reinforcement instead of physical punishment. You have to be very careful when training it that it does not feel intimidated by its owner or the coach as this will lead to some undesirable character problems.
The master of a tervueren must know a lot about this breed It is not recommended for those who have a pet for the first time and do not know their needs.
On the other hand, if you know how this breed behaves, what it needs and what its nature is, coupled with a good breeding, they will undoubtedly make it a wonderful dog whether it is used as a pet, as pastor or as guardian. Everything is that the training is adequate.
In summary, the Belgian Shepherd Tervueren is a breed of dog that in addition to its majestic beauty, He has a strong and muscular appearance but at the same time it shows the great lightness it has when moving.
His character is very sociable, friendly, faithful, intelligent and loves company so it is perfect to give him herding work, surveillance, as a companion in hiking as it has a lot of energy, for sports and to have them at home, that is if trying daily exercise at least three times a day.