Is she is or is she ain't? (a Malinois, that is) - Page 1

Hello folks,

I got Katie from the shelter in September of 2010; they said she was about a year old then and she was all fur and bones at about 49 pounds. Now she's a healthy 65 or so. Here are a few photos:







She's very long... maybe about 45 inches from nose to base of tail and maybe 35 in height (to the top of her head that is, not including ears). Please take theses with a bit of a fudge factor; she didn't care for the measuring tape.

Temperment wise, she's very sweet. If you have two legs or four, she loves you. She's intensely curious about other animals and will chase anything smaller than she that moves. For the first six months of our relationship she loved nothing more than chasing after other dogs that were themselves chasing a ball. Once she discovered the ball for herself it's all she wants to do. She runs like a rocket and never seems to get tired.

And then when she gets back to me she drops it and runs circles around me until I fling it again. When we're outside she's virtually never standing still.

She was highly destructive initially and I lost a good number of items that I would rather have kept... digital camera, headphones, TV remote along with the usual shoes, etc. I work at home so she's with me pretty much all the time. But one must shop for dog food and other trifles. But thankfully now, at age 2 1/2 (so I'm estimating) she's calmed down. And she rarely barks. I think it's been a couple of months since I last heard one.

I've been reading the posts here and everyone is so great and so expert about the breed. I really don't care what she is. She's my girl and I love her. But I must admit I'm curious. I've had mixed breeds and purebreds and I love them all.

If anyone has any insights I'm all ears. (so is Katie)

Thanks everybody... you guys are great!
Balanchine

Looks like a German Shepherd Dog

I really don't see Mal in her at all, she may be built lean like a mal, but so are many purebred GSDs.
At 65 lbs she is ideal weight for a female GSD, and heavier than many (maybe most) female Mals.

She looks pure German Shepherd in all the photos.  My guess is she's from western European working lines.

Many thanks to you both. I really appreciate your taking the time to look at the photos and render what looks to be a unanimous opinion! I had initially thought she was a GSD, having owned a black one a few years back but not knowing anything about Mals. Then someone who seemed to know what she was talking about suggested the latter, I looked up a few photos online (one of the first under Google images of "black Belgian Malinois" is of a dog named Lancelot, who could from the photo almost be Katie's litter mate) and became convinced.

But I stand corrected.

Last add in re her weight: at one point last summer she was 69 pounds at the vet. That was before we started in on a twice-daily heavy exercise regimen. She didn't at all look heavy at that weight but since she loves to run so much I'm going with the flow.

Once again, thank you very much!
B

I have a male GSD/Mal cross and she looks a lot like him. Nichya was born in Dec. 2009. His sire was a mahogany Malinois with a lot of black in his coat and his dam was a black/tan GSD with a predominately black face.

That could be a GSD/greyhound/anything else tall and leggy cross, I don't see any Mal at all?