- Dogs suitable for experienced owners
- Extra training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys vigorous walks
- Enjoys more than two hours of walking a day
- Large dog
- Minimum drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks, alerts and may be physically protective/suspicious of visitors
- Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
- May need additional training to live with other pets
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a large garden
- Best suited to countryside
- Can be left occasionally with training
Key Facts
Lifespan: | 12 – 14 years |
Weight: | 20 – 30kg |
Height: | 56 – 66cm |
Colours: | Malinois are fawn, red or grey, with a black mask and black shading to the hair tips. Tails are usually darker or have a black tip, ears are mostly black |
Size: | Large |
UK Kennel Club Groups: | Pastoral |
Ratings
Family-friendly: | 4/5 |
Exercise needs: | 5/5 |
Easy to train: | 5/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 3/5 |
Likes other pets: | 2/5 |
Energy level: | 5/5 |
Grooming needs: | 3/5 |
Shedding: | 2/5 |

Personality
To say that the Malinois is not for the faint-hearted is something of an understatement, they are not nicknamed the ‘Maligator’ for nothing. This is an affectionate, devoted but intense breed that requires an experienced owner, dedicated to training not just as a hobby, but as a lifestyle.
A well trained Malinois is capable of excelling in any sport, but they are predisposed to guard and to bite, and it would be unwise to expect anything less.
Intelligent, sharp, alert, loyal and clever, the Malinois is not a dog to under-estimate, nor to leave to entertain themselves!

History and Origins
Country of Origin: Belgium
The Malinois is one of four varieties of Belgian Shepherd dog, (the others being the Laekenois, Tervueren and Groenendael), named for the areas of Belgium they originate from.
Whilst hard working sheepdog types have been recognised in Belgium since the Middle Ages, it was in the 1890s that a professor of the Belgian School of Veterinary Sciences recorded breed standards for the four types. He noted that the main differences were in coat type, and divided the breed into the four types and advised breeding them as separate breeds.
The Malinois was the first to develop a standard type and breed true to that type and remains the most popular of the four today. They were the first Belgian breed to be used as a police dog or border patrol dog, work they excelled at and indeed still do.

Did You Know?
- Belgian Malinois have become very popular recently due to the many films featuring or starring members of the breed.
- Long before that though, Malinois were true working heroes, serving in the First World War as messengers and assistants to the Red Cross, pulling ambulance carts and carts carrying firearms.
- Today, Malinois are still very popular as military dogs, and a Belgian Malinois called Cairo was part of the Navy SEAL team who captured Osama bin Laden in 2011.
- Belgian Malinois are used to guard the grounds of the White House.
- The Belgian Malinois is the favoured breed of Navy Seals due to their bravery which is essential as they’re trained to leap out of airplanes and skydive with their handlers!