Will a malinois suit me? - Page 1

Hi everyone,

Sorry to post yet another thread about malinois owner suitability, but hopefully you can all appreciate i want to be crystal clear before making a regrettable decision.

As it is obvious I would love to get a malinois, I have always been fascinated by the intelligence of the shepherd breeds, but have not yet owned one. My family have always had bull and terrier breeds (staffordshire bull terriers, English bull terriers and even a pbt's before the outlaw (I live in London, England)).

But now I'm looking for a dog that can take up a lot of my time, luckily my work hours are incentive driven so I can be home quicker if I work quicker, usually around earliest is 12 noon average of 2pm and latest of 4pm some days he/she could come with me and I understand the malinois needs lots of time and attention which I am more than willing to provide, as I am a very active individual.

I have a lot of support as I join a security company's and American bulldog breeders training sessions, as if I ever had any problems I have direct advice and help, aswel as all the online information there is.

But here comes my concern. My mum looks after children. (yh I live with my mum at the moment, I'm 18 give me a break! Haha) they're 12 and 9 and have experience with our past dogs, my mums looked after them since they were less than 6 months old! But sometimes they have befriends come over or parents come to collect them and I don't want my mum to lose her job my dogs behaviour.

After all the research and training ive witnessed I've learnt socialisation is mega important, would the constant coming and going of children and parents aswell as socialisation people who aren't in my situation have to subject their mals. to be enough or is it just not a good idea to get a malinois?

Sooo sorry for such a long post but thank you to anyone who can manage to read it through and post me a reply on there opinion of what I should do or wants to ask me any more questions, thanks for your time.
Harry

If you want a Mal buy a Mal but you need one with a personality that fits your needs .. both GSD and Mal have plenty of dogs that you can work with in your situation.  A strong quiet female would be my choice around children either Mal or GSD.

As a Malinois owner, I would tell you to not get one. Where will the Mal be when your at work? Sticking it in a crate for hours is just going to lead to issues. Also, with kids in and out of the house, what will the Mal be doing during this time? It won't entertain itself. They need to be mentally stimulated in a positive way and have their energy focused into something beneficial. If they are left to their own devices, it will just cause problems for you and the dog. I would suggest something calmer. Yes, there are calmer Mals, but the breed is meant to be high energy to work in various fields. My male is calm, but only because I extensively work with him. I would tell you to do a lot of research before you get one. Not just on this board, but articles, books, speak with other Mal owners, etc.

Thank you for the replies, I can totally understand your concerns sorry I couldn't cram all the info in. you are probably right, but just to answer your questions; the dog would get a good walk/run in before I got to work (I'm used to the early morning runs from boxing haha) and would always be out in the garden which is very generous for a London property, I understand their are fencing issues with the breed but one it has a 16' wall one side and 10' fencing the rest. My mum is home throughout the day and can walk, play with him. I am nearly always home before the children come home so I would be out on our long walk or training. if I could ask what breed would you recommend if after I do some mor research and decide that a mal is definately not for me? like I said I go to training with an American bulldog breeder an being abit more experienced with bull breeds would it be sensible getting one of them or something closer to a shepherd? One again thanks so much guys. Harry

Harry...
You are young...I have been in the breed for 35 years, trained and worked. My last Malinois before I retired him, worked 16 hours a day as a patrol/detection dog outside, 100 plus degrees, searching the contents of up to 50 tractor trailers a day after they were unloaded.
We went home, he slept on the drive there and then bounced off the walls looking to do something else.
A Malinois is supposed to be a WORKING dog, not a pet and not that many people can live with one. It needs and must have work to do and a little run around the block or some training wont make it. Trust me when I tell you, 99% of those outside the working world who got a Malinois, were sorry they ever did. Your life, your choice, this is just my advice. Good luck.

Females of both GSD and Mal are as a rule easier to live with than many intact males .. all dogs are not male because if they were there would be no dogs.

Mals are a working breed. They need to work.

Hired Dog:
I couldn't agree with you more!!!

Doubleaitch:
I don't know what kind of breed to recommend because I don't have experience with all those different breeds that are out there. You need to research the breed characteristics and see what matches with your life style and your personality. I really don't think a Malinois is a good breed for you. It's your choice in the end, but I would hate to see a dog in a shelter because of a bad choice. Since the dog would just be a pet, I would highly consider a different, calmer breed. If you want a running partner, there are plenty of wonderful breeds that would be wonderful for that purpose.
 

Thanks everyone for the replies, you have given me a great insight into what I would be getting into, believe me the last thing I want to do is put a dog in a shelter. And im so sorry I wasnt clear I made it sound a lot like I wanted a pet but I did want to work it, I've been joining training sessions with a security company who have a variation of breeds theres a few mal handlers but usually to much is going on to ask them questions. anyway, they say they are more than happy to help and guide me through gaining my sia license and nasdu certification if I have a dog up to the mark. I suppose being to young and inexperienced I thought that the Mali being wrote up as the super dog it is would be a great suiter. Clearly I was wrong. I will try gain some more experience and hopefully soon I will have a dog to devote my time too, thank you everyone for your help, Harry.

I'm hoping I can tag onto this thread a bit, as someone on the weekend suggested a Mal might be something to look into for myself, if/when I get a second dog down the road (no plans for this in the immediate future), but I'm not sure about them.

I've started playing flyball and Mals being smaller and faster are a better fit than GSD's, but I like the intensity and drive that my WL GSD has.

You guys are saying that someone who works full time, that a Mal is not a good fit? I'm just wondering what Mal owners do to afford their dogs, I suppose? lol  I'm not being sarcastic here, I guess what I'm asking is how does anyone own a Mal and have a job? Are they not a good idea for someone who works? For those who do work, what is your daily routine like and how does your dog handle it?

How do Mals compare to GSD's, temperament wise? My GSD can go for days, but has a nice off switch when we come in for the night, which I really like. She's crated during the day and I have someone to come in and let her out for a bathroom break and let her bomb around our riding arena for a bit and she does just fine with this routine. Then we have flyball practice/tournaments a couple of days a week.

I don't know a lot about Mals, when I was looking at dogs I went with a GSD because I was told Mals are like 'Border Collies on crack'  :D and I was told Mals can be nervy? I guess that has as much to do with the bloodlines as anything, but I'm speaking in general terms? Just trying to round out my picture of them.