Groenendael Dog

　　The Belgian Groenendael Sheepdog, abbreviated as Groenendael Dog, gives the audience an impression of being sturdy, agile, and muscular, with a long and dense black coat. Its physique is neither fat nor thin, and the overall proportions are very harmonious.
　　Morphological Characteristics
　　The length of the Belgian Groenendael Sheepdog’s body (detailed introduction) from the sternum to the rump basically equals its shoulder height, giving a sense of depth and reliability. The head is relatively long, always proudly held high, and remains alert at all times. The top of the head is slightly flat, not rounded, with width roughly equal to length. The eyes are brown or dark brown, medium-sized, slightly almond-shaped, not bulging. The expression shows intelligence, curiosity, alertness, and attention. The ears are triangular, erect, and proportional to the head. The muzzle is slightly pointed, approximately equal in length to the skull. The jaws are solid and powerful. The nose leather is black, without stains or fading. The lips are tight, black, with no pink visible externally. Teeth are complete, white, and strong.
　　The neck is arched and extends outward, gradually narrowing upward from its junction with the body, muscular, with tight skin. The topline is straight and firm. The chest is not wide but rather deep, with the depth reaching the elbows. The underline is smooth and graceful. The abdomen is moderately developed, neither overly tucked up nor large-bellied. Viewed from above, the loin appears short, wide, and firm, smoothly joined with the back. The croup length is moderate and sloping. The tail root is solid. At rest, the tail hangs down; when moving, the tail is slightly curled, with a firm and strong tip. The length and substance of the hind legs are very well proportional to the overall size; the bones are oval rather than round. The two hind legs are parallel to each other. The thighs are wide and very muscular. The hind feet are slightly long, toes arched and very tight, with thick pads. Nails are strong and black.
　　The outer coat is long, straight, and abundant. The texture is moderately coarse, and the undercoat is very dense, adaptable to various climatic conditions. The Belgian Groenendael Sheepdog has a unique adaptability to extreme climates and temperatures. The hair on the head, outer side of the ears, and lower parts of the legs is slightly shorter; the open ears are protected by tufts of hair. Certain parts have longer, thicker furnishings such as the mane around the neck; the furnishings behind the forearms; the long furnishings on the thighs and “pants” area; and the long, thick, abundant hair on the tail. The coat color is black, either pure black or black with white markings. White markings are limited to the following cases: small to medium amounts of white patches or streaks on the forechest. There may be white between the pads and toes, white on the hind foot toes, and white on the muzzle and chin (which may be white or gray).