True Facts About Belgian Malinois You Should know

Belgian Malinois

Actully The smart, confident, and versatile Belgian Malinois is a world-class worker who forges an unbreakable bond with his human partner. Belgian Malinois This is our own Belgian Malinois, Opie. He is from world champion Ot Vitosha lines. We wanted to make this public announcement out of experience and respect for this amazing breed due to the upcoming release of the movie Max.

The Belgian Malinois(pronounced MAL-in-wah) is a medium-size Belgian Malinois shepherd dog that at first glance resembles a German Shepherd Dog.Belgian Malinois are shorthaired, fawn-colored dogs with a black mask.The Belgian Malinois is one of the varieties of the Belgian shepherd. All are named for Belgian villages: Groenendael, Laekenois, Mechelar (Malinois) and Tervuren.

The Malinois and maelɪnwɑː/ is a medium-to-large breed of dog, sometimes classified as a variety of the Belgian Malinois Shepherd dog rather than as a separate breed.

I Will Advice You To Finish Reading This Article So That You Can Learn more about the Belgian Shepherds Malinois breed and find out if this Dog is the right fit for your home at Petfinder!

The movie Max is coming out and I can just see it now, everyone rushing out to get that type of dog. The Belgian Malinois is not your typical family dog. They will need lots and patience. They are beautiful dogs and very, very smart, however, they are not your typical family dog. Famous for protecting livestock, the Belgian Malinois is now known for protecting man. They are great dogs. But with high work ethic, they need the perfect combination of stimulation, physical activity, and socialization. They do not work well for the average pet family.

The Breed

This breed is very active and will thrive on lots of regular and varied physical exercise and mental stimulation. Problems can arise when this smart, people-oriented dog is underemployed and neglected. Exercise, and plenty of it, preferably side by side with their adored owner. Intelligent and trainable, the Belgian Malinois possesses a strong desire to work and is happiest with regular activity and a job to do.

Advice From The Dog Trainer

A dog trainer friend of mine Chivon Winter from C3K9 training has this breed and she wrote the below information to get the word out to anyone thinking of getting the Belgian Malinois. Read below what she has to say….

This movie is based on a Malinois accompanying a young boy. Many MANY people are going to want to buy one because he is a “cool” dog. Little do they know, these dogs were designed to have extremely high energy levels and a bigger prey drive which leads them to want to bite. A lot. And hard.

These dogs are not going to be suited for a typical family or typical dog owner. Even as puppies, they will bite (yes even the kids), tear up and chew up various items, and become so restless and frustrated due to not having a job to do, that they’ll be sold on craigslist or dumped back in the shelter just to die.

Although we don’t want any dog in a shelter, the problem lies with the genetics of this breed having the same fate as the Dalmatian with aggression and blindness (101 dalmations),

the German Shepherd (severe over breeding and hip dysplasia), Cocker Spaniels (lady and the tramp with what we call “cocker rage”) and the list goes on. The bigger issue is that those breeds just listed could have made great family pets before over breeding became a problem. The Malinois? Not so much. They will, in a typical home, bite you and your children, and destroy your belongings.

Please don’t rush out to get this breed because of some movie showing how cool they are. There are plenty of excellent pet candidates that look cool in shelters and rescues that will die because everyone wants a purebred bad ass dog.

EDITED: Apparently, we need to make it perfectly clear that all dogs can and will bite if their stress threshold is reached; not just the Belgian Malinois. However, these dogs bite out of FUN. They have a reputation for being police/military/protection dogs which consists of breeding and developing their bites and bite grips. Go to Youtube and watch how a litter of Belgian Malinois puppies “play” and interact. Now picture a young child with one of those dogs that don’t know any better with a home that was expecting a walk-in-the-park kind of dog. We are NOT trying to paint these dogs in a bad light…we LOVE working with them, bringing out their true potential….and that is why we don’t want them to have the same fate as other popularized dogs from movies and television.

A petition asking Warner brothers to include the “saving max” clip before the film. Many of our pet-related business friends have made posts about this film and although we are glad that it has reached over 200,000 people, our post was not the first post on the matter. We honestly were just reaching out to our little community. Top tier k9 created an amazing video that also spreads awareness about the Malinois breed and a petition is started to ask Warner Brothers to include it as a precursor to their film.

The Belgian Malinois is an elegant, well-proportioned, natural, medium-sized, square dog.

Belgian Malinois

He gives the impression of elegant robustness. He is a hardy dog, accustomed to living outdoors with a coat built to resist the damp Belgian climate. His elegance and expression denote great strength of character, making him a proud representative of the herding breeds.

The Belgian Malinois is an enthusiastic and quick dog with a natural tendency to be in motion. Males are 24 to 26 inches tall and weigh 55 to 75 pounds (25 to 34 kilograms). Females are 22 to 24 inches and weigh 40 to 60 pounds (18 to 27 kilograms).

The coat should be comparatively short and straight, hard enough to be weather resistant, with a dense undercoat. It should be very short on the head, ears and lower legs.

The hair is somewhat longer around the neck where it forms a collarette, and on the tail and backs of the thighs. The coat should conform to the body without standing out or hanging down.

The basic coloring is a rich fawn to mahogany, with black tips on the hairs giving an overlay appearance. The mask and ears are black.

The Belgian Malinois is a double-coated breed and will generally shed twice a year. Bathing when dirty, brushing once or twice a week, and clipping the nails will keep your Malinois in great condition.

Personality:

The Belgian Malinois excels not only in herding, but also in protection and law enforcement; drug, bomb, and gas detection; search and rescue; tracking; obedience; sledding; agility; and therapy assistance to disabled, ill or elderly people.

This dog is demanding and needs an experienced owner. A wide range is seen in temperament and aggressiveness. They want nothing more than to be with their family, which makes them unsuitable as a kennel dog.

Living With:

The Belgian Malinois is a very smart and obedient dog. He has strong protective and territorial instincts. This breed needs extensive socialization from an early age, and firm, but not harsh, training. Belgians are instinctively protective so they should be trained and socialized very well from an early age.

Unless you are specifically working in a protection sport, you do not need to give your Belgian any protection training, as it will come naturally to them. Belgians make excellent pets for the right homes, as they thrive on loving companionship.

Malinois instinctively display herding behavior such as chasing and circling, moving effortlessly for hours and nipping at people's heels. The dog is good for working and competitive obedience, but not for toddlers who run and scream. A Belgian Malinois will constantly be trying to keep the toddler in one spot!

The Belgian Malinois can live in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. Moderately active indoors, he will do best with at least an average-sized yard. He prefers cool climates, but readily adapts well to others. A Belgian Malinois should live to be 12 to 15 years.

History:

The history of the Belgian Malinois goes back to the 1880s when these dogs (with German shepherds, French shepherds and Dutch shepherds) were called continental shepherd dogs. In 1891, the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club was formed, and a panel of judges determined that there was a congruous type of native shepherd dog that was a square, medium-sized dog with well-set triangular ears.

These dogs differed only in the texture, color and length of hair. In 1892, the first Belgian shepherd dog standard was written recognizing three varieties: dogs with long coats, short coats and rough coats.

The Belgian Malinois, along with the Groenendael, was the first variety to appear in the United States in the early part of the 1900s. The Belgian Sheepdog Club of America (the Malinois, Groenendael, and Tervuren were all the same breed at that time) was formed and the breed began to show in the American Kennel Club in the early 1950s. In 1959 the Belgians separated into the three AKC breeds recognized today, sheepdog, Tervuren and Malinois.