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Belgian Tervuren: Breed Personality, Fitness & Care
About Belgian Tervuren
Country of Origin, History of Belgian Tervurens
Belgium is the country of origin of the Belgian Tervuren. The name of the breed comes from the Belgian village of Tervuren. The founder of the Tervuren breed was Brewer M. Corbeel a resident of Tervuren. It was his fawn dog that was bred with a black longhaired dog of M. Donhieux to give rise to the dog that became the prototype for the Tervuren standard.
Since 1959 the Tervuren has been recognized as a breed distinct from Groenendael and Malinois (the other Belgian Sheepdogs). Its popularity as a companion dog is rising though its similarity in appearance to the German Shepherd Dog has hindered its prospects of being regarded as a top-ranking dog.
Belgian Tervuren Tools
Breed Selector Tool - is the Belgian Tervuren the right breed for you?
Is the Belgian Tervuren the right breed for you and your family?
Find out by using our Free Dog Breed Selector Tool
Check Your Belgian Tervuren's Learning Style
Are you aware dogs also have a learning style that can greatly affect their ability to housetrain as well as be trained correctly. Evaluate your Belgian Tervuren's learning style and personality using our free Learning Style tool so that you are better able to provide him with the proper Belgian Tervuren training methods.
Is your Belgian Tervuren dominating over you?
Does your Belgian Tervuren bark unnecessarily? Does your Belgian Tervuren come to you when you call? Download a FREE Report on Dog Dominance for you and your Belgian Tervuren and learn how to control your dog.
Do you make these mistakes with your Belgian Tervuren?
Are you inadvertently snow-balling bad behavior in your Belgian Tervuren? Evaluate your Dog Training Style from our Free Tool and learn how best to deal with your dog.
Belgian Tervuren Calorie Calculator
Do you know how many calories your Belgian Tervuren needs every day and how many cups of food you should be giving it every day? Click here to use our Belgian Tervuren Calorie Calculator.
Description of the Breed
The Belgian Tervuren like other Belgian Sheepdogs is a medium sized and square proportioned dog.
The dog’s hindquarters are muscular but not look very heavy. Its fore legs are straight and parallel to each other and have round cat-feet. The dewclaws ought to be removed from the back legs and may also be removed from the front legs. The skull is flat and is parallel to the plane of the tapering muzzle. The dog is black-nosed and has tight lips. The lips enclose teeth that meet in a scissors bite.
Coat
It has got a characteristic thick double coat that has a mahogany color with varying degrees of black overlay, including a black mask. There may be a small patch of white on the chest and white tips on toes. Sable or gray colored Tervuren may also be available.
Height
Dogs have heights ranging between
24'' and 26''
Bitches have heights ranging between 22'' and 24''
Weight
Dogs weigh 65-75 pounds
Bitches weigh 60-70 pounds.
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Free Course on Belgian Tervuren Training & Obedience
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Belgian Tervuren Personality Traits
Temperament of the Breed
These are energetic and intelligent dogs. Bring working/herding dogs they need a job to keep themselves occupied. Herding, obedience, agility, flyball, tracking, protection and search and rescue work can keep them well occupied.
The dogs have a territorial and protective instinct. They need to be trained and socialized well from early age so as to ensure that they can get along fine with children, other dogs and other pets of the family. The dogs best respond to a training procedure that is firm but not harsh.
The dogs make loyal companions that bond wonderfully with the family. However, they stay aloof from strangers. They just hate being locked up in kennels and enjoy being with members of the owners' family. They make great watchdogs. The Belgian Shepherd Dogs are however not recommended for everyone because their maintenance level is pretty high and only experienced dog owners/trainers can best handle them. Owners need make the dogs a part of themselves if they wish to keep the dog happy and make them properly trained.
Living Conditions
They can stay fine in homes/apartments provided they get adequate exercise. The dog stays only moderately active indoors. Hence, it is advisable to provide a yard of at least of average size for the dog to play/run around to its heart's content.
The dog prefers cooler climates. However, it can adapt well to other climates too. It prefers staying with people though it can live outdoors all by itself too.
Exercise
An active outdoor life is what the dog is best suited for. Hence, it needs to be given lot of exercises. A long daily walk is important for the dog apart from other exercises. Letting the dogs off-leash in some safe area and allowing it to play and run can go a long way to keep the dog happy and fit in both mind and body.
Grooming
The thick double coat of the dog that is constantly shed throughout the year requires considerable grooming. The coat is shed lightly throughout the year in all dogs and males shed heavily once a year while females shed heavily twice a year. A good thorough brushing of the coat once or twice a week is a must apart from a daily combing/brushing ritual. The mats that form especially in the ruff and on the legs are to be clipped out. Similarly hairs that form between the toes and on the outer ears are also to be clipped occasionally.
Free Belgian Tervuren Training Secrets
Free Course on Belgian Tervuren Training & Obedience
Stop All Bad Behavior, Excessive Barking and Biting
Health and Care
By and large this is a healthy and hardy breed. There are no major health concerns associated with the breed. However, there are some minor health problems of the breed that have been observed- epilepsy, skin allergies, eye problems. Hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia are also occasionally seen. Some dogs show excessive shyness and some show excessive aggressiveness. This can be considered as a health problem too. The dog also has a tendency to become lazy and obese. So, it should not be overfed.
Life Expectancy: 12-14 years.
National Breed Clubs
Breed Club: www.abtc.org
Rescue Link: www.abtc.org/adoptrescue.htm
Group: Herding Group
AKC Popularity Ranking: 106
Also Known As: Chien de Berger Belge, Tervuren, Belgian Shepherd Dog (Tervuren).
Train Your Belgian Tervuren To Listen To You
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Sign up for our Free Belgian Tervuren Mini Course to have a housebroken, obedient dog that happily comes to you every time you call.
You'll learn new commands to obedience-train your dog as well as how to housebreak your dog in 6 days or less.
You'll also learn how to eliminate bad habits like barking, nipping or biting, jumping, or pulling on the leash.Here's just s small fraction of what else you'll learn in the course:
How to lead and think like a pack dog - the new psychology.
3 dangerous mistakes that most Tervuren owners make when they are trying to potty train their dogs.
The 2 main reasons why your dog barks excessively and how to control its excessive barking.
How to obedience train your Belgian Tervuren to permanently end behavioral problems like Jumping, Aggression, Pulling on Leash.
A surprisingly easy way to teach your dog cool new tricks.
How to improve your dog's lifespan and keep it from getting overly heavy with a healthy and nutritious diet.
Getting Pro help fast - how to get access to our expert trainers when you need them most.
One hidden psychological trigger that all Belgian Tervurens have... that practically allows you to "analyze" and "control" your dog's every action.
Priority access to the free online seminars conducted by our training experts.
Whereas other dog training related web sites and books offer generic information for dogs in general, ours is the ONLY web site that offers Tervuren information specifically, from a renowned panel of experts - because as you probably know, Tervurens have their own special training requirements that other dogs don't have.
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