Talk:Malinois dog

Negative description of the dogs characteristics
I currently have 8 Belgian Malinois, and they have absolutely wonderful temperaments. They are extremely intelligent, active, and high-energy, and highly interactive with people and within the pack. They also are very loving and affectionate and calm when not playing. The key to the calmness is that they get ample opportunity to run, play, and interact. This breed needs to be in the hands of a owner who is dedicated to providing an environment for these dogs to utilize their physical and mental skills.--Tjpaws (talk) 14:30, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

The description that is given on the Belgian Shepherd Dog is a bit negative. There are plenty of dogs that are agressive as well and therefore not suitable for the not-so experienced dogowner. These dogs are not only chosen for their agressiveness but also because they are fast learners. Compared to other dogs they are extremely intelligent, that is: they can learn new tricks fast. The whole paragraph needs to be rewritten in my opinion. Let me hear your view on this.

Wereldburger758

They certainly are very intelligent and quick learning, and this should definately be mentioned in the article. But I think we should keep the part about aggression and unsuitability for the average owner. It might be "negative", but it's also true. Rachel24


 * I agree.. The majority of working Malinois lines are not meant as pets or simple companion animals. They should be raised in working homes (police, security, protection, protection sport, SAR, etc.).  Their energy level should not be understated.  No serious Mal owner would have any issue with these dogs being described as "too much for most people"...they don't want people getting these dogs as pets.


 * I own a Malinois (10 years now). Maybe I'm not a serious dog owner, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as "too much for most people". It has been very easy to train, and is perhaps the most non-confrontational dog of it's size I've ever met.  But thats not the point.  The point is that your or my opinion of the dog does not belong in wikipedia.  If you want to state a fact like "Malinois require a stronger commitment on the part of the owner" which is non-obvious and with which somebody (me) seriously disagrees, you need to cite a reference.  Until then, I am removing the offending section.  I would welcome back the section (perhaps with a more encyclopedic tone of language) if you can find a source.Njerseyguy 06:00, 12 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Then surely we should remove the part about the breed being intelligent and quick learning as well, unless someone can turn up an objective source for that information? Rachel24  —Preceding unsigned comment added by

My family had malinois for herding in Europe, I now have a one year old female, sired by a working police dog. She is not "agressive" but very confident and afraid of NOTHING. She is protective of her home. The only time i have heard her growl is at strange noises in or around the house and when I try to move her when she is dead asleep. If she did not play so rough I would trust her with kids. This of course is a training issue not a temperment issue. Great dogs, very smart, need lots of exercise, mental and physical.76.29.111.226 (talk) 14:27, 15 April 2009 (UTC)Amelia de Rudder 130.123.128.114 (talk) 01:34, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm a new and inexperienced dog owner, with an 8 month old Malinois pup. Other than needing quite a bit of exercise, this dog is easy. Her eagerness to please makes training a snap. I agree the section does not belong, as it is subjective and overly broad. Like any other breed, each dog's temperament is different. I know it's anecdotal, but none of the Malinois I encountered when searching for a puppy were aggressive. I searched a dangerous dog registry, and not one Malinois. This is not a breed like Caucasian Ovcharka where aggression is innate. They are herding dogs, that can be trained for protection work. Quite a difference. VirginiaGirl20100 (talk) 13:49, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Aggressiveness, Speed and Training sections
I deleted the sections Aggressiveness, Speed and Training because none of them were sourced, and the first two were contentious. Reliable sources regarding the breed covering any of these points, or disagreements about these points, would be welcome. Simply stating, "It's a mean breed!" or "I own Malinois and they're the sweetest dogs in the world!" does not work. Thundersnow 07:26, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

New notable addition candidate
The Drudge Report this morning Sep 1 2016 has a linked story about a 10-month-old Belgian Malinois: "Overboard in lake, dog swims 6 miles, walks 12 more to find family..." which goes to an Associated Press story dated Aug 31 2016. Because it's on Drudge, it will receive wide international coverage by news organizations, so I want to note it here in case the story, possibly with follow-up coverage, qualifies the dog as being notable for this Wikipedia article. This is my first and only visit here, so I will leave this to regular editors to monitor this and make a decision. 5Q5 (talk) 11:39, 1 September 2016 (UTC)

Possible merger to Belgian Shepherd
Please see discussion at Talk:Belgian Shepherd. Cavalryman (talk) 04:44, 30 September 2020 (UTC).