Welcome

Steve and Jackie would like to welcome you to the home of Protegimus Belgians.  We first came accross Belgian Shepherds in the late 90's whilst looking after a friend's dog whenever they went away without him. Such was the impression that he made, that when the time came to introduce a canine friend into our house, there really was only one contender.

"Storm" duly arrived and since then we have both wondered how we ever managed without him, even whilst trying to watch our favourite TV programmes through a pair of pert little ears!  From that point on we have been hooked and are now also the proud parents of "Thunder", "Lightening" and "Blaze", who are, without a doubt, the most important members of our family. We must thank Amanda McLaren at Corsini for all of them, and for all the help and advice that she has given us, both in and out of the Show ring. 

We would also like to introduce you to our newest member of Protegimus Belgians - "High Clearing's Galaxy", who is a very special little boy sired from Usky du Crepuscule des Loups and Casarborg's Foxy Elovena.   We must extend a huge Thank You to both Pauline and Jean-Louis of the world-renowned Van de Hoge Laer Kennel for letting us have this super little boy.  

We are presently living in Germany (Herford), and hope to campaign the boys on the Continent. 

We hope that you will enjoy our Boys as much as we do and will visit again soon.

Steve & Jackie Slater

Breed Standard

General Appearance
Medium-sized dog, well proportioned, intelligent, attentive, hardy and alert. 

Characteristics
With fine proportions and proud carriage of head, conveying an impression of graceful strength. Not only a sheep dog, but a guard dog.

Temperament
Wary, neither timid, nervous nor aggressive.

Head and Skull
Head finely chiselled, long but not excessively so. Skull and muzzle roughly equal in length, with at most slight bias in favour of muzzle, giving impression of a balanced whole. Skull of medium width in proportion to length of head, forehead flat, centre line not very pronounced; in profile, parallel to imaginary line extending muzzle line. Muzzle of medium length tapering gradually to nose. Nose black, well-flared nostrils. Moderate stop. Arches above eyes not prominent, muzzle finely chiselled under eyes. Cheeks spare, quite flat but well muscled.

Eyes
Medium size, neither protruding nor sunken, slightly almond-shaped, preferably dark brown; black rimmed eyelids. Direct, lively and enquiring look.

Ears
Distinctly triangular appearance, stiff and erect, set high, moderate length with external ear well rounded at base.

Mouth
Wide, lips thin-textured, very firm, strongly pigmented. Strong white teeth firmly set in well developed jaws. Scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Pincer bite tolerated.

Neck
Very supple. Neck slightly elongated, well muscled and without dewlap, broadening slightly towards shoulders. Nape very slightly arched.

Forequarters
Withers distinct, strongly boned throughout with wiry, powerful muscle structure. Shoulder blades long and oblique, firmly attached, flat, forming such angle with humerus as to enable elbows to work easily. Forelegs long, well muscled, parallel. Pasterns strong and short. Carpus clearly defined. Dewclaws permissible.

Body
Body powerful but elegant. In males, length from point of shoulders to point of buttocks approximately equal to height at withers. In females slightly longer permissible. Chest deep and well let down. Ribs moderately well sprung. Upper line of body straight, broad and powerfully muscled.Belly moderately developed neither drooping nor unduly cut up continuing lower line of chest in a graceful curve. Rump very slightly sloping, broad but not excessively so. Skin springy but quite taut over whole body. All external mucous membranes highly pigmented.

Hindquarters
Well muscled and powerful. Good but not excessive angulation; hocks well let down. Viewed from behind, legs parallel. Dewclaws to be removed.

Feet
Toes arched, very close together; soles thick and springy with large dark claws. Forefeet round. Hindfeet slightly oval.

Tail
Firmly set, strong at base, of medium length. When at rest, hangs down, with tip slightly bent backwards at level of hock; when moving it should lift accentuating curve towards tip, never curled, nor bent to one side. Tip may be carried slightly higher than topline.

Gait/Movement
Brisk, free and even.

Coat
Tervuren - Outer coat long, straight and abundant. Texture of medium harshness. Not silky or wiry. Undercoat extremely dense. Hair shorter on head, outside of ears and lower part of legs. Opening of ear protected by hair. Hair especially long and abundant, ruff-like around neck, particularly in males. Fringe of long hair down back of forelegs, long and abundant hair evident on hindquarters and tail. Males longer coated than females.

Colour
Tervueren - All shades of red, fawn, grey with black overlay. Coat characteristically double pigmented, wherein tip of each light coloured hair is blackened. On mature males this blackening especially pronounced on shoulders, back and rib sections. Black mask on face, not extended above line of eyes and ears mostly black. Tail should have a darker or black tip. Small to moderate white patch or strip permitted on chest, between pads of feet and on tips of hind toes. Frosting (white or grey) on the muzzle. Beyond the age of 18 months a washed out colour or colour too black undesirable.
No variation on these colours by coat type is acceptable.

Size
Ideal height: dogs: 61-66 cms (24-26 ins); bitches: 56-61 cms (22-24 ins). Weight, in proportion to size.

Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.