Belge in the Brussels Griffon

Not long ago, we talked about “belge,” and what it looks like in the Affenpinscher. The color also appears in the Brussels Griffon, as seen at the left in this little chap, “Rufus,” a Smooth Griff.

“Belge” is an interesting color in the Brussels Griffon; Genetically speaking, there are two colors in the breed, black and red, and all other varieties are simply factors of these two colors. Someone “off the street” may described “belge” as black and tan, maybe even sable with black tipping, if they know dogs, but creators of the breed called it “belge,” and it’s an expression of the red gene.

As far as we know, black is a dominant color in all animals, and this is no different in Griffons. Black trumps red (or put another way, red is recessive to black) and a dog that looks black and tan is phenotypically black and tan (what you see), but genotypically red (what’s in the genes).  The black and tan factor is expressed and simply covers the red gene.  Further expression of that red gene is belge. Interestingly, the official stud book of the Belgian Kennel Club – LOSH – showed that for the years 1901 to 1999,  56% of all Griffon Belge that were registered were designated as black and red intermixed with patterning.

Perhaps this is a bit off topic, but interesting, nonetheless. The Belgian Kennel Club is a member of the FCI, or Fédération Cynologique Internationale, and under FCI rules, Brussels Griffons that differ only in color or coat type, rough or smooth, are seen as separate breeds, and as such, don’t compete for a Certificat d’Aptitude au Champion (CAC) against each other. They are:

  • The Griffon Bruxellois or red Griffon;
  • The black, black & tan and red mixed with black, or Griffon Belge (black) Griffon Belge (black & Tan);
  • The Petit Brabancon (red), or smooth-coated Griffon that may differ in no other way except color and coat.

In the UK the breed is called Griffon Bruxellois no matter what color or coat type,while in the US, we call it the Brussels Griffon no matter what its color or coat type. It is also interesting to note that the UK standard doesn’t allow the red mixed with black, as in the other standards.

As always, we defer to breed experts and welcome their input!

Image of Rufus (bred by Lew Olson) shared by owner, Pam Loeb 

4 thoughts on “Belge in the Brussels Griffon”

  1. i really wish AKC and FCI would standardize color names. It’s not “red” as in the E gene — the ‘red” of Golden Retrievers and Irish Setters. That would be ee — ( The gene known as the E locus is the Melanocortin Receptor 1 gene (MC1R), formerly called the Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Receptor Gene (MSHr). The MC1R gene has been mapped to dog chromosome 5.) The black mask and black overlay on “red” is SABLE. (agouti gene, usually indicated as the A series). it’s the same color as in most Belgian Tervuren. Ay is actually DOMINANT to black and tan (at). I refer you to http://munster.sasktelwebsite.net/DogColor/dogcolorgenetics.html the use of the term Belge for this color is interesting –despite having Belgian herding dogs for many years, I’ve never heard a Tervuren or Malinois of that color called that.

    • From a breeder’s perspective, the standardization of color names would certainly be helpful, but (selfishly) from our point of view, the different ways that dogs have been described over time have been quirky, colorful (ha, a pun) and even insightful with regards to the times in which the standards were written. We’d personally hate to see AKC standards go the way of other registries: cookie cutter standards, dry, droll, and lacking individuality. But we’ve veered wildly from the point, and that’s the use of “belge.” The word doesn’t appear anywhere near Belgian herding dogs that we’ve ever encountered, and believe the Griffon is the only breed to have it listed as a color.

  2. If you ever get a white pup do you cull them to keep the breed pure or would you sell if fixed before they left you

    • If you are asking *us,* Debra, we would place the dog in a loving pet home under a spay/neuter contract, or, to be absolutely sure, neuter the dog before placing. Certain traits are difficult to erase once embedded in a breeding program, and white in this breed is such a trait.

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