Belgian Laekenois

Placed on this panel from 4 sequenced dogs, among 258 breeds.

Measured nearest to Belgian Malinois — but drop any one of the sequenced dogs behind this breed and a different one comes first, so naming a single closest breed would be a lie of precision. The top of this list is a tie.

The 12 breeds nearest to Belgian Laekenois.

The line starts at the tightest pairing this panel holds and ends at the widest separation measured on it, so how far along these marks sit is the answer to how close Belgian Laekenois really is to anything.

Belgian Malinois 2

Belgian Tervuren 3

Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael)4

Dutch Shepherd 5

White Swiss Shepherd Dog 6

Bohemian Shepherd 7

East-European shepherd 8

Picardy Shepherd 9

Czechoslovakian Wolfdog 10

Old German Shepherd 11

Briard 12

Bouvier des Flandres

Closeness is measured from the genomes, and nothing else. It has no units and no dates. Two breeds sitting close together means their lines separate late in this data. It does not mean either one came from the other.

4 sequenced dogs is a thin sample. This breed’s exact neighbours could move if more were added; the neighbourhood is steadier than the order within it.