Belgian Malinois
Learn about the temperament and personality of the Belgian Malinois. Discover what he's like to live with, his traits and characteristics and how he generally behaves. And look at lots of Belgian Malinois photos.
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Belgian Malinois Temperament
The Belgian Malinois is a very-fast-learning, highly-trainable, high-energy, versatile working dog. They can make great pets for highly-active, high-energy families. But a Belgian Malinois will not be happy unless he gets lots of daily exercise and has a job to do. Because of this breed's trainability and intelligence, Belgian Malinois are often used today as police dogs, military dogs, and homeland security dogs. Domestic Belgian Malinois excel at obedience, schutzhund, agility, flyball, Frisbee, herding, sledding, and tracking. It doesn't matter so much what their job is, as long as they have one. These are busy "perpetual motion" dogs who need more than just a daily walk. They enjoy hiking, running, and biking, and make good jogging partners. They do best with a fenced-in area to thrash around in. (The alternative is the Malinois zipping around your house, leaping over furniture and smashing into things.) The Malinois is very loving toward his family and reserved toward strangers. They are naturally protective of their owners without being aggressive. They make good watchdogs as they are incredibly alert and will notice sights, sounds, and smells that you don't. They have a high prey drive and will chase small animals. Many Malinois will chase vehicles. When raised around children, Malinois are good with them. However, young children need to be taught not to run past the Malinois waving their arms and shrieking, as this may trigger the Malinois' prey drive. Also, keep in mind that Malinois are tremendously physical animals and might run into a child accidentally... over and over again. He might also try to herd children. (He might also try to herd you and other animals in the house, sometimes all at the same time.) The Malinois is extremely sensitive and social and will want to be part of your family. If he feels neglected, he will entertain himself. By digging holes in your mattress, for example.
Belgian Malinois Training
The Belgian Malinois is very intelligent and easy to train. He learns new commands very fast.
Belgian Malinois Shedding
The Belgian Malinois is a very heavy shedder. He sheds an awful lot of hair! You'll find hair all over your home, stuck to everything! You'll probably even find it in the butter!
Belgian Malinois Grooming
The Belgian Malinois only requires an occasional brushing. But because he sheds excessively you may find yourself brushing him daily to remove loose hair. (What you get out with a brush doesn't fall out in your home!)
Adopt a Belgian Malinois
Belgian Malinois Photos
Rating: Ease of training
Tells you how easy or difficult a breed is to train.
A higher rating means the breed is easier to train, a lower rating means the breed is harder to train.
An easy to train breed require less time and patience to train.
Rating: Intelligence
Tells you how intelligent a breed is in terms of how quickly it can learn commands from humans. A higher rating means the breed will learn your commands faster (and is therefore generally considered to be more intelligent), while a lower rating means the breed will learn your commands more slowly (and is therefore generally considered to be less intelligent).
Keep in mind that this is only one way to measure a dog's intelligence and a low rating might still mean the breed is highly intelligent in other ways.
Rating: Shedding
Tells you how much hair the breed sheds. The higher the rating the more hair the breed sheds.
Rating: Watchdog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a watchdog and raising the alarm when a stranger approaches. A higher rating means the breed will bark vigorously to warn you of a stranger's presence on your property. A low rating means the breed probably won't bark much if a stranger enters your property.
Rating: Guard dog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a guard dog due to the appearance, size, and strength of the breed. A breed with a high guard dog rating will make an intruder think twice before stepping foot on your property.
Rating: Popularity
Tells you how popular the breed is in terms of ownership. A higher rating means that more people own the breed. The more popular a breed is the easier it is to find and purchase one because there are more breeders breeding it.
Rating: Size
Tells you how large or small the breed is. A lower rating means the breed is smaller and a higher rating means the breed is larger. It gives you a quick idea of how physically large or small the breed is compared with all the other breeds.
Rating: Agility
Tells you how agile the breed is. A higher rating means the breed is fast and nimble on its feet while a lower rating means the breed is heavier and slower on its feet.
Rating: Good with kids
Tells you how good the breed is with children. A higher rating means the breed is good with children. Note: all breeds are generally good with kids when they're raised with them.
