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I like dogs a lot. This breed, the Belgian Shepherd, or Malinois, has always intrigued me. It's essentially a slimmer German Shepherd with a long black coat. I don't know if I've seen one, except in the pictorial "dog charts."
I did some reading on them, and it didn't paint a good picture. The literature said they are aloof, overly protective, and not good with kids. Surprisingly, bulkier German Shepherds were ranked higher for warming up to family friends and being better with kids around.
Does anyone know about this breed? Are these observations accurate?
OP Mals can and are for the most part great dogs. They are eager to please, intelligent, and very easy to train. Despite these and many other perks you must remember hat these are WORKING dogs. High energy dogs breed with a "job" in mind to do. They get bored easily, which can lead to destructive behavior and in the hand of the inexperience or unknowledgeable owner.......quite dangerous.
This of course depends on which line you obtain your dog from. If your wanting a just a "family" dog then I would go with a "show line" dog. They tend to be "less drivey" compared to their "working" counter parts. Of course that doesn't mean to neglect understanding the breed as a working dog. Many sport clubs, Police Departments, use Mals for a very good reason, but it comes with a "price."
A GSD would be another good choice for a family dog. Again I would go with the "show line" shepherd as opposed to the working type, for the same reasons above. Just be sure to do your research. Contact a breed club or working club and tell them what your looking for. They will be able to point you in the right direction.
I like dogs a lot. This breed, the Belgian Shepherd, or Malinois, has always intrigued me. It's essentially a slimmer German Shepherd with a long black coat. I don't know if I've seen one, except in the pictorial "dog charts."
I did some reading on them, and it didn't paint a good picture. The literature said they are aloof, overly protective, and not good with kids. Surprisingly, bulkier German Shepherds were ranked higher for warming up to family friends and being better with kids around.
Does anyone know about this breed? Are these observations accurate?
They are gaining favor as police dogs in many cities here in the U.S. When I lived in Las Cruces, NM, their entire K-9 unit was comprised of Belgian Malinois.
I saw a demo once, and the handler said that the reason that they use them is that they are very responsive to training, very, very smart, and quite fearless. They also currently don't suffer from the same range of health problems that more commonly bred dogs suffer from.
As with any of the working breeds, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time training and socializing. These are not "couch potato" dogs and they have to have some sort of "job" to keep from becoming bored and destructive.
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They are used by the military and police a lot. They are good, smart dogs. Whether they are suitable for a family depends upon whether the family knows how to raise it.
Around here I have seen law enforcement going back to GSDs....still a lot of Malinois but they are not too tolerant of bad handlers as are GSDs and the demand rose the price. CHEAP was the driver for a lot of earlier Malinois sales. A good Malinois is a great dog but a lot of pacing, self mutilation etc. in some, because many cannot "turn off". The "off switch" is, I think, more prevalent in GSDs.
For getting a GSD - do some real research. I would not give a blanket endorsement for a show line over a workingline as a family pet. My best house dog has been a 100% Czech/East German dog out of z PS (Czech police lines). Very sweet and mellow in the house, loves kids, intimidating to strangers but very self confident and self controlled-he is a retired (mine) working dog but has been a fine house dog all his life. A lot of workinglines can be over the top in energy but there is more inbreeding associated with showlines which can cause other problems.
It may seem like a "blanket statement" but its a place to start for someone who might not have a clue. There are exceptions with anything. I agree research first and foremost comes first.
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