History & Description Of The Belgian Malinois

History of the Belgian Malinois

Belg Ch.(B)RE Qu'Rack du Bois D'Emblise,s(B)71,CQN,Brevet,FR3

Near the end of 1891 a Belgian veterinarian by the name of Adolphe Reul, gathered more than one hundred Belgian Shepherds (also known as the Chien de Berger Belge) and their owners. He had decided to establish a breed standard for the Belgian breed. When the dogs were brought together he found them to be ununified in type. He advised the owners to breed their dogs only to other dogs of the same coat type regardless of their color. Most of the breeders agreed and a standard was drawn up. The following May the first specialty show took place and the Belgian Shepherd started its long track to uniformity.

Mondo Ring Ch.& Ch.Tr.Elgos du Chemin des Plaines,TAN,FR3, MR3,BR1

In the early 1900's the Belgian Shepherd was recognized by the Societie Royal St. Hubert, as one breed with four varieties. In 1914 World War I broke out and the efforts of the breeders and the number of breeding dogs were diminished. Movements were made to save the breed from extinction. Breeding regulations were linnet and any dogs of quality of was recognized regardless of color. All the dogs were allowed to breed regardless of their coat color or type. As a result different variety pups were born in the litters. The Societie Royal St. Hubert registered the pups as the variety they were born and not the variety of the parents. To date this is the desired practice for determining the variety.

BISS Ch.Crocs-Blancs' JumpnJack Flash,HIC OFA Excellent

Around twenty years later as the breed finally started to flourish once more, war broke out once more again losing valuable breeding stock. Thankfully the loss was not as great as the first war. Many of the dogs, thousands, were brought into military service. They were used as messengers, scouts, border patrol, and Red Cross dogs.

Tomy

There are four varieties of Belgian Shepherds: the Laekenois, the rough coated fawn, named for the area they were mainly developed, the Chateau de Laeken, were Queen Marie-Henriette named them her favorite; the Groenendael, the long haired black, named from the Chateau de Groenendael, were the two forbears of the variety lived, Piccard d'Uccle and a bitch named Petite; Piccard and Petite were also the forbears of the third variety, the Tervuren, the long haired fawn with black mask and points. Their black son, Duc du Groenendael, was mated to a fawn bitch, Miss, and produced the famous Milsart, the first Tervuren champion; The last variety was the Malinois, short haired fawn with black mask and points. The malinois Tomy is considered the foundation of the variety. The malinois acquired its name from the city of Malines.

Fr.Ch.B. & Tr.Othar de la Noaillerie,FR3, Multi Selectifs, Campagne,5 Times Fr. Ring Champion(1981-1985)

In 1911 the Belgian Shepherds gained recognition by the American Kennel Club. Later in 1959 the AKC decided to split the Belgian Shepherd into separate breeds. The malinois and tervuren kept their original names, but the groenendael changed theirs to the sheepdog, and the laekenois was dropped from recognition. From 1950 to 1965 the malinois was placed into the Miscellaneous class. In 1965 the AKC gave the malinois full AKC recognition and placed them into the Working group. In 1983 they were moved into the Herding group were they reside today.

Today the topic of recombination is still in the works. There are those that oppose it and those that accept it. AKC is the ONLY registry to recognize the Belgians as separate breeds, and excludes the laekenois.

Ch.Etoile De La Courtepointe, HIC,2X BOS Nat. Spec. ('84 & '87) Switz. Import,OFA Pass

Description of the Belgian Malinois

VDH/AKC/SKC Ch.James des Deux Pottois, CD,TT,CGC,SchH 3,ZTPR,Brevet,ROM CL1 Belg. Import, OFA Good/CERF

If you are looking into purchasing a malinois you need to think a few things out before purchasing that adorable little puppy. For one the malinois is a medium size dog that requires A LOT of interaction and exercise. This is a breed that was breed to work, they will not be happy sitting at home on the couch all day. They will find something to do, and when you return home to a house full of broken item and ripped linens, you will understand what I mean. The malinois has a very strong working drive and herding instinct. They are naturally protective and require early obedience classes. A malinois is very very smart and extremely willing to please, use of positive reinforcement will take you a long way in training, but the use of negative reinforcement will cause a complete shutdown. Yes the malinois is handler sensitive. The malinois requires a lot of exercise, if you live in the city and have very little time to take your dog for walks or runs, than I would suggest you purchase a more laid back breed. The malinois is also double coated, this means you will go through a major shedding twice a year, some malinois continuously shed throughout the year. A malinois should also not be a first time breed for an owner, not that every new dog owner could not handle them, it is that they require so much that it is often too much for a person to learn about dogs with this breed. Early socialization is essential to the malinois, they should be around people, kids, and other animals as soon as possible. So if you are looking for a laid back dog, a malinois is not for you; but if you are looking for a dog that is ready to go anywhere and do anything 24 hours a day, than perhaps this is the breed for you.

2X BISS Am/Can.Ch.Desaray's Damask Daccord,Am/Can.CD, ROM,TDI,HIC, 2X Westminster BOB OFA Good