White is also seen on the toes of Belgian Shepherds, but white on all the toes is not acceptable. Several white patches, or patches on the neck or belly, are to be severely penalized. In this breed, white spotting on the chest is common, and a small to moderate sized spot is acceptable it’s thought by some to be residual white with little genetic cause. In 1959, the AKC gave each variety a separate status, and the long-haired black dogs retained the AKC breed name of Belgian Sheepdog. To be clear, we’re discussing the Belgian Sheepdog known elsewhere as the Groenendael. Belgians were registered and shown as one breed in the United States until issues arose over color and inter-variety breeding. Assembly line breeders may not care about the presence of white on their Belgians, but heritage breeders do, and they know that where white shows up matters if the dog is to be shown or meet the breed standard.
It really can come in any color as long as it is black. That was never the case with the gorgeous Belgian Sheepdog. Black remained the sole color choice until 1926 when some models were offered in green, maroon, or gray with all with black fenders. Using a single color also meant the line didn’t have to stop for workers to clean equipment when paint colors were changed. Limiting the options to one cheap color reduced the time it took to build each car from more than 12 hours to an hour and a half. In late 1912, black was added as an available color, but the black-only policy began in 1914 because that was the year Ford began his new moving assembly line, his real contribution. In 1910, one could only get the car in dark green, and in 1911, all the Fords were blue. Initially, the Model T did come in colors: Red, gray, or green. The automaker, Henry Ford, is reported as having once said: “Any color the customer wants, as long as it’s black.” Evidence that Ford actually said this suggests that it’s half true.