> My Belgian Tervuren and I have a basic herding title and about 4 years of herding experience.
Do you happen to have any videos of a Tervuren doing actual herding work or competing in herding trials?
I was apparently under the wrong impression that Tervurens are no longer bred for herding. My girlfriend just told me that there are still dedicated herding lines, but when I started looking into it, I could hardly find any footage. Compared to the thousands of videos of Border Collies working stock, there seems to be very little material available.
I'd also be interested to hear more about what your dogs are like. Are they from a specialized herding line?
Do you see them as being closer to the typical working Malinois - very intense, high-drive dogs with a strong prey focus - or more like a blend of the classic German Shepherd and Border Collie traits?
The latter type, at least in my experience, can make excellent everyday companions as long as their owners know what they're doing and provide enough mental and physical stimulation.
The reason I'm asking is that I've been considering getting another Malinois. I used to own a fourth-hand Belgian Shepherd who eventually turned into a reasonably good everyday companion, but it was a long and sometimes difficult road. There were also certain situations where he could never really be trusted.
He also had a habit of finishing arguments that my Pointer started in a very Malinois-like fashion, while my Pointer was generally too stupid(and proud) to learn anything from that experience.
Feel free to write a wall of text if you feel like it.