Malinois working dogs - Page 1

I have worked alot with a breeder who trains police dogs and has quite a few Malinois. Many of these were shipped in from all over the country plus some were bred by this trainer. While this has been a popular choice the Malinois is not without problems. One big problem is this bred tends to have a problem with shyness and MUST be heavily socialized as pups. While a good Mal is excellent anything less can be terrible. This breeds has problems with ears not staying pricked and one always flopping, not a problem for working though. Thought I would mention this as several posts have brought them up lately.

Correct DR. They too are good dogs in their own right. Popularity is getting the better of them the same as it did the GSD. I see them watering down and having more problems as time waxes on. We have a Mal here and my partner prefers them to GSD's, so it is a daily battle of the dogs. I feel GSD's are on their way back up, as people are spending more time ruining the Dutchy and Mals for now. I don't see the Mal ear issue as bad as it is in the GSD's though. Malinois have a waaay different personality and tempernment as Shepherds as you touched on. They deffinatly aren't for me. I like my GSD's a whole lot better. Also from a breeding aspect, it is much easier to find a pet home for a well bred GSD that doesn't turn out to be a working prospect, than it is to home a Mal. Just a lil sumptin' through my eyes.

I wasn't even going to post buuuuut - One thing that makes me absolutely livid are malinois breeders/handlers who use the breed as an excuse for poorly tempered dogs. "Of course it's a nervebag, it's a malinois." It should *not* be the norm and should not be accepted so readily like it has been. Temperment is a huge huge problem and I've had so many bad mals that I thought this was "just how they were" and I was really ready to give up on the breed this year. And then I got a good one, and then lucked out and got a pretty nice little bitch pup as well recently. So many breeders are going for the extreme in mals for sport purposes and aren't paying enough attention to proper temperment. Like mals aren't extreme enough to begin with? A mal breeder who pays as much attention to the temperment of the dogs they're producing as well as stability and working ability, are absolute gems and are few and far between. "Also from a breeding aspect, it is much easier to find a pet home for a well bred GSD that doesn't turn out to be a working prospect, than it is to home a Mal." I agree with that. You're more likely to find a mal that can't work because of temperment/fear/nerve issues than because of a lack of drive. And it's the blue juice for those dogs - you can't rehome them if they're psychotic, working people won't take them and pet people can't handle them. Aloofness to strangers is correct but shyness or dogs who are anti-social due to fear issues is absolutely not. GSDs and Mals are like comparing apples and oranges. Don't get me wrong though because I love GSDs as well and wouldn't hesitate to get another one. To me, mals are really fun to work but are not without their flaws, just like any other breed. Preaching to the choir though, I know :)

Agreew ith all you said Maligator I just didn't want to write that much...lol.

hahaha...you're so funny :)

I really don’t understand the point of the original post. Socialization of puppies is needed in all breeds, not just the Malinois. And dropped ears are simply not a problem in the breed. The vast majority of Malinois are bred strictly for working ability and since ear set as zero to do with working ability it’s not a problem. There have been some very good stud dogs with dropped ears. The GSDs problems are there own. The biggest problem that screwed up the GSD in my opinion is money and there is very little money in Malinois. The most I have ever heard of a Malinois puppy selling for is $1,200. These puppies were out of to world championship participants. The average price for a Malinois puppy is around $500. Many of he Malinois breeders actually compete their dogs. I’m not talking about breeders titling a dog at their home club a few times. I’m talking about taking dogs to high level competition on a regular basis. Did you know that about 25% of the American Working Malinois Association (AWMA) members participated at this years IPO national? That’s the highest percentage of any club in the country. The number just don’t support the supposition that the breed is being “watered down”. Go to ANY TYPE of big trial where the GSD and Malinois go head to head and you will find the Mals usually have higher average scores. If anyone here is truly interested about the Malinois feel free to read and post on the AWMA board. It’s open to non-members and has some of the best trainers in the country posting on a regular basis. http://www.workingmalinois.org/discuss/index.php?sid=a32101f8d788567b85f586616268ea27

Well they are going downhill, if you don't like the term watered down. Like any breed getting more popular, people who don't know what they are doing are starting to breed them and screwing it up. They are not what they used to be, I can say that. It wasn't too many years ago and even still today, not many people even know what a Mal is. $ was never touched on, but yeah it's much different too. Most breeders don't bother x-raying either for HD and elbow problems and paperwork isn't as important either. They can skip allot of steps GSD breeders cannot.

In looking at the most successful Mainois Working Breeders, who are the picks for the top 5...It appears that Mali breeders are few in comparsion to German Shepherd breeders...Would be very interested in the top 5 working Malinois breeders! Thanks

"Well they are going downhill, if you don't like the term watered down. Like any breed getting more popular, people who don't know what they are doing are starting to breed them and screwing it up. They are not what they used to be, I can say that." ------- You can say what you want, but back it up. Prove that the Malinois is going down hill. Do you have any facts to back-up you claim?

Just my own observation and the Mal is not my breed of choice, so I don't feel the neeeeed to "back it up" Just like I do not need to back it up that GSD's have suffered a downfall. We are all well aware of the fact. I'm at work and don't have time to write a long drawn out post on what I really don't care about.