Dutch Shepherd Dog

		Dutch Shepherd Dog
		FCI standard Nº 223

Origin		The Netherlands
Translation		N.H.C. (Nederlandse Herdershonden Club, 08.07.2008)
Group		Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs
Section		Section 1 Sheepdogs
Working		Without working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Wednesday 11 May 1955
Publication of the official valid standard		Saturday 21 December 2019
Last update		Thursday 09 January 2020
En français, cette race se dit		Berger hollandais
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Holländischer Schäferhund
En español, esta raza se dice		Pastor holandés
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Hollandse Herdershond

Usage

Companion dog and Sheepdog.

Brief historical summary

Originally the main function of the Dutch Shepherd Dog was that of a shepherd’s dog in the countryside. From early times, the Dutch had an arable culture that was – among other things – maintained by flocks of sheep. The dogs had to keep the flock away from the crops, which they did by patrolling the borders of the road and the fields. They also accompanied the flocks on their way to the common meadows, markets and ports.
At the farm, they kept the hens away from the kitchen garden, they herded the cows together for milking and pulled the milk carts. They also alerted the farmers if strangers entered the farmyard. Around 1900, sheep flocks had for the greater part disappeared in the Netherlands. The versatile skills of the Dutch Shepherd Dog made him suitable for dog training, which was then starting to become popular. Thus he started on a new career as a police dog, as a search- and tracking dog and as a guide dog for the blind. He is, however, still capable of herding sheep. The breed’s first standard dates from 12 June 1898.

General appearance

A medium-sized, middle-weighted, well-muscled dog of powerful and well-balanced structure. A dog with lots of endurance, a lively temperament and an intelligent expression. Depending on the coat the breed is distinguished in the following varieties: short-, long- and wire haired.

Important proportions

The length of the body (from point of shoulder to point of buttock) exceeds the height at the withers, approximately at a ratio of 10:9, as suits a trotting dog.
The proportion of the length of the skull to the muzzle is 1:1.

Behaviour / temperament

Very loyal and reliable, always alert, watchful, active, independent, with persistence, intelligence, prepared to be obedient and gifted with the true shepherding temperament. The Dutch Shepherd Dog works willingly together with its owner and he deals independently with any task which is assigned to him.
When herding larger flocks he must have the capacity to work together with several other dogs.

Head
Cranial region
Head		In good proportion to the body. Seen from above and in profile it is wedge-shaped. Its shape is rather elongated, without wrinkles; dry, with flat cheeks and no pronounced cheekbones. Because of the coat, the head of the wire-haired variety appears to look more square, but this is an illusion.
Skull		Flat.
Stop		Slight, though clearly present.

Facial region
Nose		Black.
Muzzle		Slightly longer than the flat forehead. Bridge of the muzzle straight and parallel to the top line of the cranial region.
Lips		Tight and well pigmented.
Jaws and teeth		Scissors bite, strong, regular and complete.
Eyes		Dark coloured and medium sized. The eyes are almond shaped and slightly oblique. The eyes should not be set too wide and should not protrude.
Ears		Medium sized. When the dog is alert, the ears are carried high and erect.

Neck

Not too short, dry, without folds and gradually flowing into the body.

Body
Body		Firm, but not coarse.
Topline		There is a smooth, gentle transition from the neck to the top line of the body, in which head and neck are carried in a natural pose.
Back		Straight and firm.
Loin		Firm, neither long nor narrow.
Croup		Slightly sloping, not short.
Chest		Deep and long enough, not narrow, ribs slightly sprung. Fore chest fairly well developed.
Underline and belly		Slight tuck up.

Tail

At rest, hanging straight down or with a slight curve. Reaches to the hock. In action, carried gracefully upwards, never curled or carried sideways.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		The forelegs are powerful, of good length, well muscled. The bone is solid but not heavy. Always generally showing a straight line, but with sufficient suppleness of pastern.
Shoulders		Shoulder-blades well joined to the body and well sloping.
Upper arm		Approximately equal length to the shoulder-blades and well angulated with the connecting bones.
Elbows		Well attached.
Forefeet		Oval. Well knit, toes arched. Black nails and elastic dark pads.

Hindquarters
Generality		The hind-legs are powerful and well muscled. The bone is solid but never heavy. Not excessively angulated.
Upper thigh		Thigh and lower thigh of approximately equal length.
Hock		Perpendicular below the point of buttock. Dewclaws none present.
Hind feet		Oval. Well knit, toes arched. Black nails and elastic dark pads.

Gait and movement

The Dutch Shepherd Dog is a trotter with free, smooth and supple movement, without exaggerated drive or stride.

Coat
Short hair
Hair		All over the body, quite hard, close-fitting, not too short coat with woolly undercoat. Ruff, breeches and tail plume are clearly visible.
Long hair
Hair		All over the body, long, straight, well fitting, harsh to the touch, without curls or waves and with a woolly undercoat. Distinct ruff and breeches. Tail abundantly coated. Head, ears and feet and also the hind legs below the hocks are short and densely coated. The backsides of the forelegs show a strongly developed coat, shortening in length towards the feet, the so-called feathering. No fringes at the ears.
Wire hair
Hair		Dense, harsh tousled coat and a woolly, dense undercoat all over the body except for the head. The coat should be close. Upper- and lower lip should be well-covered with hair, the whiskers and beard, and two well defined, coarse rough eyebrows that are distinct but not exaggerated. Furnishings are not soft. The hair on the skull and on the cheeks is less strongly developed. In profile it seems as if the head has a more square appearance. Strongly developed breeches are desirable. Tail is covered all round with hair. The brindle colour may be less pronounced because of the tousled coat. The wire hair coat should be hand-plucked on average twice a year.
Colour		Brindle. The basic colour is golden or silver. Golden can vary from light sand- coloured to chestnut red. The brindle is clearly present all over the body, in the ruff, breeches and tail. Too much black is undesirable. A black mask is preferable. Heavy white markings on chest or feet is not desirable.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males : 57 - 62 cm. Females : 55- 60 cm.

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 and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy.

Lack of breed-type.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Additional information from visitors

lumped under the name of Continental Sheepdog with them in the past, although some old Bullenbeisser blood is thought to flow through its veins as well. Developed in Brabant and other parts of southern Holland and what is now northern Belgium in the early 1800's, the breed was originally common in a variety of types, but by the beginning of the 20th century, the Hollandse Herdershond was standardized in three coat variants, these being the longhaired, shorthaired and bearded types. Like its Belgian cousin, the Malinois, the Dutch Shepherd has been periodically enriched with the blood of other breeds, such as the American Pit Bull Terrier, German Shepherd and its aforementioned relative from Belgium, as well as a few other breeds used as outcrosses with intentions of increasing agility, prey drive and trainability.
This is a very versatile worker, traditionally used for livestock herding and guarding, cart-pulling, property protection and police duties. Not as popular as the GSD or the Belgian dogs, the Dutch Shepherd Dog is still quite rare outside Netherlands, but its fantastic drive, agility and trainability are slowly, but steadily making it more common in America, especially with the U.S. Military. An agile breed of great intelligence, it makes a good watchdog and family pet. The body is muscular, with a straight back, deep chest and strong legs. The head is fairly narrow, but substantial. The stop is slight, the muzzle is long and the cheek muscles are well developed. The ears are naturally erect. The dense coat is weatherproof and easy to take care of. As stated earlier, there are longhaired, short-coated and rough-coated dogs accepted by the Standard, but regardless of coat type, the common colourings for the Dutch Shepherd are fawn, brown, gray, black and brindle. The average height is around 24 inches.

Details: Written by: Francis Vandersteen; Also available:; Last Updated: 26 January 2024; Hits: 782

Dutch Shepherd Dog