American Belgian Laekenois Association
• •
Welcome to the official website of the American Belgian Laekenois Association.  Welcome to the official website of the American Belgian Laekenois Association.Welcome to the official website of the American Belgian Laekenois Association.
 

Get involved with the
Belgian Laekenois!

Contact Sharrii Hunt for
ABLA Membership information

 

Mission Statement:
 

The mission of the Club is to do all possible to bring the natural qualities of the Belgian Laekenois to perfection;
to encourage sufficient fanciers of the breed to meet the requirements of the American Kennel Club; and to do all in its power to protect and
advance the interests of the breed and to encourage sportsmanlike competition at dog shows and performance/companion events.


The Belgian Laekenois
attended the 2011
Eukanuba shows.

More to come.....

 
   
:: AKC Miscellaneous Class :: New Year is a good time for Belgian Laekenois

:: New Year is a good time for Belgian Laekenois (continued)
Information on showing in the Miscellaneous Class:

The regular Miscellaneous Classes for each breed shall be Puppy and Open. These classes shall be divided by sex. All class winners within a breed shall compete for Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed.

Each of the Miscellaneous Class Best of Breed winners shall be eligible to compete for Best in Miscellaneous Class. All entries for Best in Miscellaneous Class shall be made after judging of the individual Miscellaneous breed classes and no entry fee shall be charged.

In the event that the owner of a dog designated Best of Breed shall not exhibit the dog in the Best of Miscellaneous Class Competition, no other dog of the same breed shall be allowed to compete. There shall be no further competition for dogs entered in the Miscellaneous Class.  Dogs will not participate in regular AKC groups.

Winners of the Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed in each of the individual miscellaneous breeds will be awarded points towards the Certificate of Merit (CM) title based on the number of dogs competing. Upon completion of the CM title a dog may continue to compete in the Miscellaneous class so long as they are of an eligible breed.

The CM suffix title is an introductory title to AKC conformation events and will be superseded by the CH title when earned.

The Certificate of Merit requires 15 points (no majors) awarded in accordance with the following point structure:

Dogs Competing     Points

        2                        1        

        4                        2

        8                        3

       12                       4

       16                       5

 

The following is an article written for the examiner.com
by Deb Eldridge.
 

New Year is a good time for Belgian Laekenois

The 2011 year promises to bring great things to Belgian Laekenois fanciers. The ABLA (American Belgian Laekenois Association) received notice that at the November meeting of the AKC Board, the Laekenois was moved into the Miscellaneous class.  This is the next step towards full recognition of the Belgian Laekenois by AKC.

Sheila Walker is the ABLA Treasurer and also the liaison to AKC for Full Recognition of the breed. "The requirement for miscellaneous registration was dropped to 150 dogs with a three generation pedigree of Laeken parentage. The American Belgian Laekenois Association submitted records of AKC performance titles earned by Laekenois, any Specialty shows put on by the group, plus photographs of Laekens involved in various activities that AKC permitted them to do such as agility, obedience, rally, herding and tracking. In addition, the constitution, by laws and breed standard were all submitted for approval."


Surge is officially INT CH Winjammer's Electric Eye owned by Sheila Walker and Pat Morgan.
Photo: Sheila Walker
This represents a major undertaking by this small club with much time, work and effort being put forth by club members. The goal of course, is full recognition of the Laekens with eligibility to compete for championships in conformation. The move to the Miscellaneous Group takes place on June 30, 2011. Belgian Laekenois can then be judged in conformation at AKC shows but they will be in a separate division and not eligible for championship points from AKC yet.

Hopefully, the breed will move up to full recognition in 18 to 24 months. The move up will depend partly on the amount of activity by Laeken fanciers. The more Laeken that appear at AKC shows in the Miscellaneous Group, the faster the breed will be recognized.

Laeken lovers have been working towards these steps for a long time. The Laeken is recognized everywhere else in the world and by the United Kennel Club in the US as one of the varieties of the Belgian Shepherd. Laekens have been in existence right from the start of the Belgian herding breeds, even though they have not been as popular.

The ABLA deserves a huge cheer of thanks for the work they have done on behalf of the Laeken breed. I know I look forward to seeing Laekens at the shows!

 

For more information:
http://www.examiner.com/belgian-breeds-in-national/new-year-is-a-good-time-for-belgian-laekenois