Malinois Character

The Malinois is a high-energy, intense, agile dog. It can be hard on its body, your body, and the environment. It seeks body contact and will follow at (sometimes on) your heels. Most have a down time but not if there is something going on. Obviously the older a dog gets, the slower they get, but don't buy a Malinois if you expect it to lie around if there is something better to do. My older dogs live in the house; with my younger dogs I usually clear tables.

They are more reactive, more alert than most breeds. Sometimes their reality is not ours. With good training and sensible socialization, confident and "normal" habits will form in the functional adult dogs, but the pups may need help. Be prepared to go through adolescent weirdness with some lines.

Malinois can be noisy either through excitement and/or protectiveness. Some notice tumbleweeds moving on the horizon; some don't. Their reactivity depends somewhat on their nerves, drives, and what they can see going on around them. With some of my dogs I can't pick up a shovel or hose without hysteria; others go lie in the shade.

Although 100 years ago the Berger Belge (now in four varieties) was developed from herding dogs, their recent history shows them being used for sport and work involving protection, obedience, and detection skills. The breed is still evolving; different lines emphasize some attributes more than others. Generally this is a result of the different demands placed on the breed by various sports, i.e. Ring, KNPV, and more recently Schutzhund.

Malinois love to play with you and are usually very focused on their owners. They love to please sometimes to a fault as they can be very handler sensitive. They will either submit and give up if they feel too much pressure (physical or mental) from their handler or occasionally they try to bite to avoid the pressure of conflict or confusion.

Good training that promotes high drive with a clear understanding of the behavior wanted will avoid most problems. If your first response to fixing a mistake is compulsion, you may be happier with another breed. If you enjoy thinking about training, shaping, reinforcing, and channeling to produce drive and precision, this is a wonderful breed to work with.

The Malinois is overall a healthy dog with few genetic problems. Hip and elbow dysplasia, epilepsy, blindness, pancreatic, and thyroid problems have been reported.