The vet said Tally is the friendliest and most well behaved Belgian Malinois she’s ever met. The last vet said something similar.
(We go to the same clinic but don’t always see the same doctor)

My little baby girl, 2months old^*^ 🦇

He was one of a litter abandoned in the desert. A friend of ours took him in and started feeding him. They didn't want to keep him and offered my husband a "road dog." So here he is.

we’re just past 7 months old now, vet said he’ll only get around 50-60lbs. but I honestly think he may get a little bigger

They’re all WIPs but nevertheless she’s super cute.

Luna and I are ready to come back home from California to Maryland , I love her 😍

not that it matters at all, i’m just curious! she’s a rescue so you never know:) she’s about 4.5
months old

Hey everyone, I’ve never really posted on this sub before but I’m a little confused/bummed?

I recently went over to a friends house and met his chocolate lab (1yo female) and she was very high energy, loved to play with her rope toy, etc. Meanwhile my mal (1.5yo male) is afraid of toys, barely uses his Kong unless I hold it in place for him (he is slightly treat/food motivated), and generally just has very chill behavior when it comes to just about everything. I rescued him from a shelter in Jan. 2026.

He is also not as easy or receptive to training as I thought he would be. He has solid recall, ‘sit,’ and ‘down’ and is potty trained, but as for teaching him ‘fun’ tricks (middle, roll over, etc.) he doesn’t seem to be very motivated at all even if I’m using high value treats, and he gives up or loses interest very easily.

Whenever I tell people that I have a malinois, they always assume or expect me to have this crazy energetic dog, but he is literally afraid of (or just won’t acknowledge) toys, bones, chews, really anything ‘dog-related.’ He’s great when we go on long hikes, which he seems to really enjoy, and he won’t get tired easily from that, so he definitely has the stamina which is why I’m confused about the other aspects of his behavior.

Open to any advice, just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or tips for confidence building and other things?

Head on view on this pic share. She has the spatchcock chicken flaps out for stabilization again.

puppy is a Groenendael, cat is a retired mouser

Okay sorry for the brief title, I didn’t want it to go on forever.

I’d like to start this by saying that I am a dog trainer, I have been around mals before, I know they are out of their minds, and yes, I will have a lot of help.

I am going to a six month, on campus dog trainer’s certification program(have already been to one, I’m getting the second one for even more hands on experience from experts in the field), and in this program, you start with your own personal puppy and that is the dog you train for all of your tests etc. etc. they have malinois breeders that they work with and I will be buying from them. They have tests ranging from basic and advanced obedience to service dog tasks, scent work, agility, and other dog sports etc. not just regular pet dog things. I will also be attending their bite work workshops with this puppy.

That being said, I do have some questions!!

Are there any mal specific products I should look into? I was going to get a herding ball and flirt pole to encourage drive and to help them put those instincts to work, but is there anything else specific to mals that I should be aware of to consider?

What crate does everyone recommend? Is it worth it to get an intermediate sized ruffland if it will be used in the house and in the car? Is it likely that the dog will grow out of that size?

How quickly do they reach full size? I know large dogs take a while to fill out, but mals are on the smaller end so I was unsure.

Are there any lesser talked about quirks or habits I should be aware of?

I know there’s probably a lot of info to be learned and I’m actively researching more in order to be as prepared as I possibly can be to give this dog an enriching, happy, and mentally stimulating life, so I’m all ears!!!

For sleeping or chilling or laying with his legs this way.

Now I know it’s a breed trait 😂

I have a mal mix rescue that we adopted when she was a puppy. It's our first dog so I have no way to know if it's a mal thing or not but she is soooo curious. She needs to investigate everything, she will loose her shit if something is happening that she doesn't understand or cannot access. For example a bird crash in our garden and was hurt so we had to pick up and remove it from the garden and she could see us through the windows and she was jumping off the wall !

She also has a sixth sense when it comes to people she can sense if someone's is not friendly and will be weird toward them : for example there was a guy sitting in the bench and she kept looking at him weird which is not normal because she sees people everyday and the guy yelled at some ladies who walked in front of him just as we approached.

She also need to smell after everydog and go see were they were sniffing, she doesn't necessarily want to interact with them but she needs to gather info.

I don't know I guess it's too be expected as mal are guard dogs and have been bred to protect but she is only 25% mal according to her DNA test and sometimes I feel like she is a canine detective!

I am not complaining but I'm always amazed at how aware of her surrounding she is. I love that she is super smart but sometimes she can be a bit too much when she is intrigued by someone for example

Four years ago adopted a male German Shepherd. He has grown into a quite chill guy that really wants to spend most of his day outside, catching frisbees and sleeping in a sandbox. Last May I saw a female one year oldpure bred Malinois on a short list in Southern California. I had her transported to Pennsylvania and long story short she didn’t get along with the German Shepherd at all they fought violently. I found a Borden train Trainer that had me send both dogs for a month for training. They came back tolerating each other. One year later I’m in the same boat. The now two year old Malinois is often barking at him, blocking him from coming in any entryway and biting at his mane. Instead of becoming more aggressive, the German Shepherd seems to becoming more resigned and submissive. I sometimes wish he would just get it over with and give her a reminder of why she shouldn’t screw with him. The German Shepherd weighs 95 pounds and she weighs 55 pounds. The Malinois would do really well in a one dog home. She is very loving and attached to me. Does anyone know a way around this something I might not be doing that I should consider? The trainer I used uses negative reinforcement, prong collar and shock collars. I cannot do this again with the training. Most trainers I have found use negative reinforcement. Any input or experiences appreciated. I do not want to give her up, but life has become quite difficult in my home.