Belgian Malinois - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Belgian Shepherd

There are four varieties of Belgian Shepherd – all named after Belgian villages – The Malinois, Groenendale, Tervuren and Lakenois. The Belgian Malinois is the shorthaired type of the Belgian Shepherd.

2) Bred for herding

Although, the Belgian Malinois are today used as police and protection dogs, their original purpose was herding. The history of the Belgian Malinois goes back to the 1880s, when they were called continental shepherd dog.

3) Skydiving

One of the reason, why Belgian Malinois are so favourite among the military is, that they are great at skydiving. They are fearless and also lighter than german shepherd, so it is easier to do a tandem jump with them.

4) Military and police

It is widely known, that Belgian malinois is a favourite breed for police purposes. But they also served in the World War I, mostly as messangers and they are even today very important members of the US military.

5) Size

This is medium sized, well proportioned, squared dog. Males should be around 24 to 26 inches tall which is 25 to 34 kg and they should weigh between 55 to 75 pounds which is 25 to 34 kg. Females are little bit smaller with height between 22 to 24 inches and weight between 40 to 60 pounds.

6) High Energy level

Belgian Malinois are great dogs, there is no doubt about it. But they are not good choice for everyone. You should be an active person to keep up with them. They love any kind of activity or dog sport, including obedience, agility, flyball, herding trials or tracking.

7) They caught bin Laden

The famous Belgian Malinois named Cairo, was a brave dog that served at NAVY Seals and they helped to také down Osama bin Laden in 2011. Dogs like Cairo have their own body armor and sometimes they even have their own night vision goggles.

8) People oriented dogs

From this video, it might sound, that Belgian Malinois are only tough and fearless working dogs. But they are extremely people oriented and they love to be included in all the family activities. They are also very playful, positive and fun to be around dogs.

9) White House guards

I already mentioned, that this is protective dog. But you might not heard, that they serve as guards at the White House. The U.S. Secret service uses Belgian Malinois to guard the grounds of the White house.

10) Socialization

If you want to have a Belgian Malinois as a family pet, the socialization is extremely important. They have they own mind and they can easily decide who to trust and who to avoid. If you will not socialize the Malinois early with the whole family, they will become one or two person dog and they will stick to them almost all the time.