Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois)

The Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) is a medium sized dog. They belong to the pastoral group. They were originally bread for herding and guarding live stock. Now days they are trained and used as watch dogs and rescue dogs all over the world. They also make for good therapy dogs as they like the companionship of humans.

They have a coat made of very rough hair. This rough fur also makes them weather proof and enables them to deal with cold weather better. They are easy to maintain on a daily basis, as they tend to eat whatever is given to them. They don’t demand specials meals and have a good appetite to whatever dog-food you happen to serve them.

The newly born puppies of the Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) cost around £500 to £800, and there is always a waiting list for the selectively bred ones. There are chances of them quoting for more than the normal, but that’s only in the case where only a few puppies are available to be sold. The average puppy litter size by them is around 6 to 8. A healthy and a fit Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) has a life expectancy of 9 to 15 years.

The male Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) weigh in at around 27.5 to28.5 kg and their female counter parts weigh in at around 20 to23 kg. Like most medium sized dogs, they stand tall at an average of 61 to 66 cm for the males and at an average of 56 to 61 cm for the females. Anyone looking to buy a new Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) puppy should make sure that the puppy’s parents are free from any symptoms of Hip Dysplasia. Epilepsy is also of very common occurrence among this breed. All these diseases can be very well reduced through selective breeding.

The Belgian Shepherd Dog (Laekenois) are a very intelligent breed of dogs, this is the reason they happen to learn very quickly. When training them, it is very advisable to have a consistent yet soft approach. They tend to get very dominant as adults, hence training them at a very young age is the best thing to do, because once they get to realize that you are in command, they will obey well. They are good house pets. But they are good with children and other house pets only if they have been socialised with each other from an early age.

They are full of high energy and once adopted as a pet, they get intensely devoted to the families and the owner. They aren’t meant for kennels or to be left outside and away from human companionships for long. They get bored easily and they tend to act hyper be destructive around the household. They are definitely not a breed if you are on among the people looking for just a dog to play with. They take serious pride in protecting their owners and their properties, and these protective instincts cannot be taught to them.