In some areas of the world, Belgian Sheepdog refers to any one of the four distinct varieties of the breed that are recognized by the AKC. However, the AKC itself classifies only one of the four, the former Groenendael under the name Belgian Sheepdog. As with the other three varieties, the Groenendael emerged from a concentrated effort undertaken by a Belgian veterinarian just before the dawn of the 20th century, to develop Belgian Shepherd dogs of distinct coat types, since they all shared a common body type. Their colors were shared, but it was desirable to keep the coat types separate. (continued below)
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