Classifying them as a single breed, initially Professor Reul's team divided the breed into six different varieties based on coat type and colour between 1892 when the first breed standard was drafted and 1956, as few as two varieties and as many as eight were recognised by either the Club de Chien Berger Belge or the Société Royale Saint-Hubert.

As a part of their work, Professor Reul's team assembled 117 specimens and began the process of standardising them into distinct varieties. As the Belgian Shepherd had for centuries been bred for working ability with little consideration given to form, Professor Reul found the type to vary greatly in appearance. In 1891, the Club de Chien Berger Belge was formed with the purpose of saving the type and a team led by Professor Adolphe Reul of the Cureghem Veterinary School conducted a field survey of the type. Unlike in other European countries where, throughout the nineteenth century, shepherd breeds were standardised and breeders made efforts to perpetuate their breeds, by the end of the century the Belgian Shepherd was becoming obsolete and was at danger of extinction. The Belgian Shepherd descends from the same common type of herding dog as similar Western European breeds such as the Bouvier des Ardennes, the Dutch Shepherd and the German Shepherd, and for centuries was used by Belgian shepherds for this task. In the twenty-first century it is in use by a number of armed forces worldwide in a variety of roles. It has a long history of being used by Belgian police as well as military forces, serving for Belgian armed forces in both World Wars, as well as US Army since then. It it also commonly kept as a companion dog, or used as an assistance dog, detection dog, guard dog, guide dog, police dog or search and rescue dog. Its historical role was as a herding dog. At the end of the nineteenth century a breed club was formed and attempts were made to standardise the breed. The breed descends from a common type of shepherd dog found throughout Western Europe that includes such modern breeds as the Bouvier des Ardennes, Dutch Shepherd and German Shepherd, and was a common sight in the service of Belgian shepherds for centuries. The American Kennel Club considers the four varieties to be separate breeds. It is bred in four distinct varieties based on coat type and colour: the long-haired black Groenendael the rough-haired fawn Laekenois the short-haired fawn Malinois, and the long-haired fawn Tervuren. The Belgian Shepherd, also known as the Belgian Sheepdog or the Chien de Berger Belge, is a Belgian breed of herding dog of medium size. Fawn or grey with black overlay and a black mask

Pastor belga black