Appearance

People who are not familiar with the Belgian Malinois often associate them with the German Shepherd Dog. However, there are significant differences in the body structure and temperament of the two breeds. Like all Belgian Shepherds, the Malinois is medium-sized and square-proportioned dog in comparison to the German Shepherd Dog. They have a short mahogany coat with black markings. They have black ears that is erect and a black muzzle.

History

Belgian Malinois (pronounced as MAL-in-Wah), which is also known as the Belgian Shepherd Dog, is one of the four sheepherding dogs in Belgium and France. This breed shares a common foundation with the Belgian Groenedael (Belgian Sheepdog in the US), the Belgian Tervuren, and the Belgian Laekenois, although the American Kennel Club doesn’t recognize the third variant. Along with the German Shepherd Dog, they are bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work. The US Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force use this breed exclusively. The US Armed Forces prefer this breed and the German Shepherd for use as working dogs. A Belgian Malinois war dog named Karo was part of the Operation Neptune Spear by the US Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden.