Belgian Shepherd Temperament - Is It the Right Dog For You?

Belgian Shepherds, in Jack's case the Groenendael variety have quite specific temperament traits. I specifically adopted Jack as I was wanting a dog that could be both protective and could also run and be an adventure companion. I quickly found there are not many dog breeds that can do both of these. Jack gets very anxious if I play hide and seek with him,
Discover what it’s like to own a Belgian Shepherd! Explore what life is like with Jack Flash, a black shepherd variety also called a Groenendael, Belgian sheepdog, Belga Pastor, Pastore belga or Perro pastor. From the time we adopted him as a teenage pup, Jack Flash has been a wonderful dog. We share all the things we have discovered about the breed since we adopted him. We train him using completely force-free methods. 🐾 This is also our first dog.
Think you want a Belgian Shepherd? Watch what we have gone through and see if it’s a good match for you too! 🐕‍🦺 Warning: They do love their exercise. If you don’t exercise, I advise do NOT get this breed. Having a large yard does not constitute as exercise.
Please like and subscribe to our channel. 💔
What you'll learn from this channel:
- Life in general with a Belgian Shepherd
- Training a Belgian Shepherd
- Running with a Belgian Shepherd (we are runners)
- What we feed our boy and why 🥩
- Grooming tips
- The small funny things we didn’t know about the breed
- How to use positive reinforcement and force-free techniques
- Other Tips
There are 4 varieties of Belgian shepherds, The 4 varieties are the very popular Belgian Malinois, Tervuren, Groenendael and Laekenois. Athletically they are all similar, but vary in coat, temperament and drive, and also between working and show lines.
This is not a dog training channel. It’s more a “Adventures of Jack” channel, but it does include some training elements.
We try and release multiple shorts per week for entertainment and education. In turn help us grow by subscribing. If you have any ideas/comments on what you want to see with my Belgian Shepherd, leave a comment and I will try and create it.
This channel is solely for the purpose of trying to raise money for my dogs Cryptorchidism (his testicles did not drop) so he needs a procedure to have his testicles removed internally which is quite expensive here. Apparently, they can become cancerous if not removed.
Love your 🐕‍🦺
#dog #groenendael #dogbehaviour #belgiansheepdog

[@dawnf2z1]

My daughter has had one of these for some years now and he’s fantastic! Very smart, switched on and lovable. They live a very active outdoor lifestyle and he loves being out with the horses. Excellent family dog ❤❤

[@belgian_groenendael]

Great to hear. Thanks for sharing!

[@christinehosch2374]

Thank you so much for this video! I have admired the breed for quite awhile and have been wondering if they would be a good match for me, they are so rare it's hard to find owners to ask what they are like to live with. Jack sounds very similar to Willow, my old working line German Shepherd, who was the best dog I've ever had.

[@belgian_groenendael]

I think they would be similar, except perhaps the exercise part. I think the Belgian would be more demanding for that

[@NinthEuphoric]

Thank you, super helpful again! My boy turned 1 year old at the start of this month and it's great to see so many of the same traits in another Belgian that comes across as so well balanced and well behaved. Ours is still very suspicious of strangers and will bark and sometimes growl at anyone who approaches us without a dog of their own. He's getting better all the time but still a while to go before he ends up like Jack :)

[@belgian_groenendael]

Good to hear that! Jack has always been very chill, and was very aloof at first too, but now he does go up to many people for a pat and many times to smell something inappropriate, which can embarassing for women. But he doesn't do this to everyone mind you. The part we are still working on is small children (8 or under) who run up and try and pat him. I bet your boy will get better over time, as Jack is now 19 months.

[@Yupppi]

I'm not terribly surprised of a dog giving a piece of mind to a person who touches them from behind without warning. It's one of those things that people who haven't had a dog or haven't interacted with dogs do, similar to towering over them and scratching from the top. Instead of approaching from the front with hands open and visible and scratching under the face. And to be fair presenting in front of them and allowing them to approach and sniff and at least acknowledge that you're about to approach and they have no objections. And I don't think it's too different from people, we're just more used to that interaction. I've heard people picking up the tracking hobby with their intelligent dogs around here, just for what you said, sniffing making them use a lot of mental capacity and tiring them out efficiently. Getting different scents in a bottle or so. And a lot of people also getting them in pairs just to help with exercising and keeping them busy and happy. Is Jack a working line or exhibition line dog? I've understood with belgians that is also a big deal on their temperament and psychology, how much they need stimulation and exercising and also how nervous they are. I assume the protectiveness of family and bonded person just inevidently leads to them being potential for separation anxiety. It's sort of their job, although some of them handle it better than others.

[@belgian_groenendael]

Thanks for your comment! Jack is a show line Belgian. Because Jack is unique in my area, I get people approaching him daily to pet him, and because some people don't know how to approach this type of dog, I sadly have to make the assumption and ask everyone to wait and let him approach. Jack was very nervous when I first got him, but he is really gaining a lot of confidence now and approaches and sniffs people daily. But he can get triggered around young children and give a low bark or a snap to keep them away if they are not calm in approaching him. Its a work in progress :)

[@corc543]

Thanks for the video! Considering getting one of these breeds and this was helpful.

[@belgian_groenendael]

Glad it helped! They will change your life!

[@buffbatman2]

ive got a litter of groenendaels on the way if anyone in the usa is interested. sometimes i even have a tervuren in the litter :)

[@belgian_groenendael]

Jacks grand-father is a Terv. You can kind of see the really dark brown sheen on his coat in the sun. Apparently it's common practice to keep the blood lines genetically stronger.

[@buffbatman2]

@@belgian_groenendael sadly in the usa the AKC claims the two as seperate breeds. So its considered a genetic flaw.

[@belgian_groenendael]

Treated as 1 breed here. I mentioned that as you said you have a Terv sometimes in the litter. Sometime in the past, a Terv was introduced.

[@buffbatman2]

@@belgian_groenendael all thats required is a recessive k gene in the mother. It unlocks the tervuren coat patterns in the litter. Ive have red, silver and dark phase tervs come from 2 registered groenendaels. Some even show quality.