Is this dog a Malinois or Mal mix? - Page 2

She looks INTENSE, and I love that look!  Have had GSDs for 27 years and adopted a BelMal (retired MWD) earlier this year.  He's 8 and easily about the best dog I've EVER owned!  His intensity, drive, focus, and zest for life are awesome!  I still have one GSD bitch who's nine, but I'll certainly consider another BelMal/MWD when I'm dogless again. 

What's seems "interesting" to me is the fact that you seem to be trying very hard to "make" this dog a Malinois when it may not be the case.  If it's that important for you to have a Malinois, why didn't you just go buy a Malinois?  Or just take this animal in and have a DNA test done, they're really not that expensive.  I assume by going to a shelter to get a dog, you were just looking to get a dog for companionship, well you got one, and you seem to like it, so why not just like it for what it is and enjoy your time together?  Since it's probably (or should be) non-breedable, finding out it's lineage is really a moot point.

The fact is, knowing an animal's breeding enables one to know what you're working with. This info explains so much about this dogs's behavior and proclivities. It was going to be euthanized because the previous owner didn't t know how to deal with it. We soon saw it had been handled wrong and was definitely a working breed, not a pet. The nice thing is we have learned so much about the malinois in the process. They are a fascinating breed. My son says his next dog will be a pure bred mal. It's too bad some people on this forum are so unpleasant. It doesn't seem to be a breed thing, though, thank goodness! Lackschwarzegsd - thanks- this is my intro to intensity- and I've grown to really enjoy it! What a wonderful challenge. Yes, we may be spoiled for anything less in the future!

Too bad you deem education as unpleasant.

Is that dog tied out and attached to the live ring of a choke chain??????? If that is the case please take the dog off that line right away. From looking at the first picture it appears the leash is attached to the choke chain. This is very dangerous and the dog could potentially strangle itself. I'm not bing critical just offering some advice.. FWIW, Jim

Yes Jim, it's like walking on rice paper here in 2011, you certainly wouldn't want to offend anyone,,,,,you know bullying and all (dodgeball bad).  And yes, that would be the live ring of an upside down choke collar,,,,,,but don't tell anyone because then you would be negative.  BTW, there's nothing I liked better than hitting the wimpy kids in the face with a fastball that they had absolutely no chance of catching,,,,,ahhh good times.

Well "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball." 

I have a feeling Duderino was not only one of those whimpy kids, but that he also sat out of the games (due to fear), and probably wrote bitterly in his journal the whole time about how one day he would be succesful and talented and would prove to everyone he was better than them. Unfortunately, you're just as terrible at trolling messageboards about dogs as you were at sports :(

I will tend to agree with a few other people on here. She/He is German Shepherd Dog / Malinois mix...I feel that the dominant factor is German Shepherd.....

I can see a lot of German Shepherd in her but really not a whole lot of Belgian Malinois, but the photos aren't the greatest to judge by, either. Can you post a proper picture where she's standing with all four paws on the ground, taken from the side and level with her, so we can actually see what her body shape looks like?

I bet if she had "traditional" German Shepherd coloring, most people would say that she is either a purebred Shepherd or a very high Shepherd mix and probably wouldn't suggest Malinois at all. Seems to me that a lot of the time dogs come up that are "Malinois colored" (dark mask, fawn body) people automatically think Malinois rather than Shepherd, even though Shepherd mixes are infinitely more common.