Belgian Malinois

The Belgian Malinois is the short-coated Belgian shepherd — the working variety, and one of the most widely used police and military dogs in the world.

History

It is one of four Belgian sheepdog varieties separated by coat in the 1890s, named for the city of Mechelen. While the others stayed largely with shepherds and show breeders, the Malinois went into police work, and its selection for that has continued for over a century — which is why it now looks and behaves like a different animal from its three relatives.

Temperament

The breed is known for being intense, highly driven and enormously trainable, closely bonded to its handler and watchful with everyone else. The drive is the point of the dog and it does not switch off.

Care and training

It needs a great deal of exercise and, more importantly, a job — an under-worked Malinois is a well-documented household problem, not an inconvenience. It is not a first dog. The short coat is easy.

Health

Generally sound, with hip and elbow dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy among the known tendencies. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.