The breed descends from a common type of shepherd dog found throughout Western Europe that includes such modern breeds as the Bouvier des Ardennes, Dutch Shepherd and German Shepherd. A common sight in the service of Belgian shepherds for centuries, it was not until the end of the 19th century that a breed club was formed and attempts were made to standardise the breed.
Belgian Shepherd
Belgian Shepherds descend from a common type of herding dog as similar Western European breeds like the Bouvier des Ardennes, Dutch Shepherd and German Shepherd, and for centuries they were used by Belgian shepherds for this task.[4][8][9] Unlike in other European countries where, throughout the 19th century, shepherd breeds were standardised and breeders made efforts to perpetuate their breeds, by the end of the century the Belgian Shepherd was becoming obsolete and was at danger of extinction.[1][4][8] In 1891, the Club de Chien Berger Belge was formed with the purpose of saving the type and a team led by Professor Adolphe Reul of the Cureghem Veterinary School conducted a field survey of the type.[1][4][9] As the Belgian Shepherd had for centuries been bred for working ability with little consideration given to form, Professor Reul found the type to vary greatly in appearance.[4][6] As a part of their work, Professor Reul's team assembled 117 specimens and began the process of standardising them into distinct varieties.[1][4] Classifying them as a single breed, initially Professor Reul's team divided the breed into six different varieties based on coat type and colour; between 1892 when the first breed standard was drafted and 1956, as few as two varieties and as many as eight were recognised by either the Club de Chien Berger Belge or the SociÃtà Royale Saint-Hubert.[6][8]
The Groenendael variety is believed to have been created in 1885 by Nicholas Rose, owner of the ChÃteau de Groenendael.[4][8] Rose owned a long-haired, black Belgian Shepherd bitch called "Petite", liking her look so much he spent over a year searching for a suitable mate, eventually finding a dog named "Piccard D'Uccle" who belonged to a shepherd called Mr Beernaert, these two are considered the foundation stock of the variety.[4][8] Their finest progeny were called "Duc de Groenendael" and "Barroness" who were mated widely to Belgian Shepherds of different appearances with the black progeny retained.[6][8] Initially Rose had wanted to name the variety the "Rose", but it was deemed this could cause confusion given their black colour so they were instead named after his chÃteau, Groenendael.[10] During the First World War, Groenendaels were used by the Belgian Army to locate wounded soldiers and carry messages, their bravery was recognised by U.S. soldiers during the war and examples were imported to the U.S. in the following years; to this day in the US the name Belgian Shepherd or Belgian Sheepdog is commonly used to refer to the Groenendael.[6]
The Malinois variety was said to be the first variety to breed true to type and initially they became so well-known in Belgium that at one time the other varieties were collectively called "other-than-Malinois", it was the Malinois that the other varieties were gauged against.[2][6] The variety takes its name from the Mechelen region (called Malines in French), where it was the predominant coat type used by the local shepherds.[2][4][6]
The Laekenois variety has always been the rarest; they take their name from the ChÃteau de Laeken, a residence of the Belgian royal family.[2][8] The Laekenois was a favourite of Queen Marie Henriette, who frequently watched them in the service of the shepherds who grazed the royal domains around the chÃteau; this patronage contributed to their popularity at the time.[2][6] In addition to being used as herding dogs, rough-haired Belgian Shepherds were traditionally used as guard dogs in the regions surrounding Boom, guarding valuable linens put out to bleach in the sun.[6]
The Belgian Sheepdog (known as the Groenendael in Europe) is the solid-colored variety of the four Belgian shepherd dogs. Elegant and graceful, he has a long black coat and an imposing appearance. He's athletic as well as beautiful and maintains the working ability for which he was originally known, making him an excellent choice for agility, herding, and obedience competitions.
The Belgian Sheepdog is one of four varieties of shepherd dogs that were developed in Belgium in the late 1800s. The four varieties are the Malinois (fawn-mahogany, short coat with black mask), Tervuren (fawn-mahogany, long coat with black mask) the Laekenois (fawn, rough coat), and the Belgian Sheepdog, or Groenendael (black, long coat). The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes all but the Laekenois as separate breeds in the U.S., while the United Kennel Club recognizes all four types as one.
The Club du Chien de Berger Belge (Belgian Shepherd Dog Club) was formed in September 1891 to determine which of the many different types of dogs was representative only of the shepherd dogs developed in Belgium. In November of that same year, breeders and fanciers met on the outskirts of Brussels to examine shepherd dogs from that area. After much deliberation, veterinary professor Adolphe Reul and a panel of judges concluded that the native shepherd dog of that province were square, medium-size dogs with well-set triangular ears and very dark brown eyes and differed only in the texture, color, and length of hair. Subsequent examinations of dogs in other Belgian provinces resulted in similar findings.
Belgian sheepdogs go back to the 1880s when these dogs (with German shepherds, French shepherds and Dutch shepherds) were called continental shepherd dogs. In 1891, the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club was formed. Judges determined that the native shepherd dog was square and medium-sized with triangular ears. These dogs differed only in the texture, color and length of hair.
Idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is a common neurological disorder in the domestic dog, and is defined as repeated seizure activity having no identifiable underlying cause. Some breeds, such as the Belgian shepherd dog, have a greater prevalence of the disorder. Previous studies in this and other breeds have identified ADAM23 as a gene that confers risk of IE, although additional loci are known to exist. The present study sought to identify additional loci that influence IE in the Belgian shepherd dog.
Two interacting loci, one each on CFAs 14 and 37, predictive of IE in the Belgian shepherd were identified. The loci are adjacent to potential candidate genes associated with neurological function. Further exploration of the region is warranted to identify causal variants underlying the association. Additionally, although the two loci were very good at predicting IE, they failed to capture all the risk, indicating additional loci or incomplete penetrance are also likely contributing to IE expression in the Belgian shepherd dog.
Many dog breeds suffer from repeated seizure disorders. Idiopathic epilepsy, known to be inherited, is typically characterized as adult onset seizure activity with no identifiable underlying cause. Genetic association studies have been undertaken to reveal the causal DNA risk variants responsible for IE, although few significant genomic regions of association have been discovered. ADAM23, on canine chromosome 37 (CFA 37) has been identified as an IE gene common to many breeds. The present study investigated IE in the Belgian shepherd dog and found two regions of association, one on CFA 14 and a second suggestive region on CFA 37 in the vicinity of ADAM23. Using the statistical tool of logistic regression, the two regions were found to interact, with certain genotypes within the regions being associated with increased risk of IE in this breed.
Idiopathic epilepsy, or repeated seizure activity with no clear etiology, has been observed across mixed and purebred dogs [1, 2], although some breeds, such as Belgian shepherd, Irish Wolfhound, Labrador Retriever, Border Terrier, Petit Basset Griffon VendÃn, Finnish Spitz, Italian Spinone, and German shepherd [3, 4] exhibit a higher prevalence. Despite epilepsy being the most common neurological condition in dogs [5], and IE likely having the presence of genetic risk factors, there have been great challenges in identifying the genetic underpinnings of the disorder. It is well understood that in most cases IE is polygenic with particular genotypes contributing to risk [4, 6,7,8,9]. It is also speculated that each affected breed may have its own breed-specific genetic susceptibility profile that interacts with other risk loci that are common across breeds. Although there may be instances of specific seizure disorders presenting as a monogenic condition, at this time only in the Lagotto Romagnolo breed has a single gene (LGI2) influencing IE been identified [10] and a deletion in the DIRAS gene is associated with generalized juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in Rhodesian ridgeback dogs [11]. In contrast, many single genes have been identified as responsible for other forms of epilepsy such as the progressive myoclonic epilepsies in which a metabolic disturbance underlies the seizure episodes: NHLRC1/EPM2B for Lafora disease and CLN8, CLN5, CTSD, TPP1, PPT1, ARSG, CLN6, ATP13A2 for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis [2]. The prevalence of IE in the Belgian shepherd is a recognized health concern in the breed and breeders have sought means to reduce the incidence [12]. Although the prevalence appears to have decreased with time [13], owners and breeders would like more specific breeding tools, including genetic testing, to further decrease it. Approaches to identify risk variants leading to IE have relied upon candidate gene analysis and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) [7, 14,15,16,17]. Within the Belgian shepherd, a risk factor for IE was identified in ADAM23 but additional suggestive loci were noted [16]. The present study sought to identify additional IE risk loci in Belgian shepherd dogs using well-phenotyped cases, aged controls, and the high-density Illumina single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array to increase the likelihood of loci discovery.
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