The Belgian Malinois

"The good Malinois is a fantastic dog as a pet in your home, but certainly also for use as a police dog"            

Jan kaldenbach

The Belgian Malinois (pronounced MAL-in-wah) is one of the varieties of the Belgian Shepherd Dog. In the United States, they are registered by the American Kennel Club as a separate breed.

In Belgium, at the end of the 1800’s there were a great many herding dogs, whose type was varied and whose coats were extremely dissimilar. In order to rationalize this state of affairs, some enthusiastic dog fanciers formed a group and sought guidance from Prof A Reul of the Cureghen Veterinary Medial School, whom one must consider to have been the real pioneer and founder of the breed.
                   
The breed was officially born between 1891 and 1897. On September 29th 1891 the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club (Club du Chien de Berger Belge) was founded in Brussels and in the same year on November 15th in Cureghem, Professor A Reul organized a gathering on 117 dogs, which allowed him to carry out a return and choose the best specimens. In the following years they began a real program of selection, carrying out some very close interbreeding involving a few stud dogs. By April 3rd 1892, a first detailed breed standard had been drawn up by the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club. One single breed was allowed, with 3 coat varieties. However, as was said at the time, the Belgian Shepherd only belonged to ordinary people and therefore the breed still lacked status.

As a result, it wasn’t until 1901 the first Belgians Shepherds were resisted with the Royal Saint-Hubert society Stud Book (L.O.S.H.).

The Malinois is a bright, bold, spirited, energetic, and instinctual animal with a lot of drives. He is territorial and protective of his pack. The breed possesses a strong desire to work and is quick and responsive to commands from his master. He is wary of strangers but affectionate to family members.

Malinois are very rapid learners, for both good and bad things. They need extensive exposures with a broad range of environments, people, and domestic animals from an early age, due to their heightened senses and natural aggression. A lack of early exposures might result as a shy, unsure, insecure, sensitive, or overly aggressive dog.

To bring out the best of their working ability, motivational training from handlers with strong emotional discipline is highly recommended. Harsh, unfair, and erratic handling will create either a very stubborn and handler aggressive dog, or an overly sensitive dog always worrying about punishments from his master.