Breeds / Large
Belgian Malinois puppies
The Belgian Malinois is a squarely built herding dog bred to work hard all day, confident, highly trainable and intensely focused on their handler. They need a real job and daily mental work, and they are a poor fit for a quiet household.
The facts
- Size class Large
- Country of origin Belgium
- Adult weight 18.1 to 36.3 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 40 to 80 lb
- Adult height 56 to 66 cm
- Energy level High
- Grooming Moderate
- Coat type Short smooth
- Shedding Moderate
- Typical lifespan 14 to 16 years
- Good with children Fine with supervision
- Good with other dogs Fine with supervision
About the Belgian Malinois
The Belgian Malinois is the short coated Belgian shepherd, named for the city of Malines and bred as a working sheepdog long before police and military services adopted them. They are squarely built and light on their feet, 56 to 66cm at the shoulder with a wide weight range of 18.1 to 36.3kg, in a fawn coat with a black mask. Their defining quality is intensity: they lock onto their handler, learn quickly, and rate at the very top for trainability while sitting mid scale with children and other pets.
Very few homes suit this dog. They need daily hard exercise plus structured mental work, ideally alongside their owner, and they will invent jobs, usually destructive ones, when none is provided. Grooming is minimal, a weekly brush with heavier shedding twice a year. Socialisation from puppyhood is essential and supervision around children is the rule. The dog you watched working on video needs that kind of life at home too: give a Malinois a quiet suburban routine and you get anxiety, nipping and noise.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Belgian Malinois puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and they will need a job to do long before they need long walks. Grooming needs are moderate, so build the brushing habit now while the coat is still short and easy. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything they meet calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of their life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Hip and elbow dysplasia, screened by hip and elbow evaluation of breeding stock
- Progressive retinal atrophy, a gradual degeneration of the retina, picked up by an ophthalmologist evaluation
- Cataracts, a clouding of the lens, found on a veterinary eye exam
- Pannus and other chronic eye conditions, monitored by regular eye examinations
- Joint injury from repetitive high impact work, so growth plates should be respected before heavy jumping
Your Belgian Malinois puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Belgian Malinois.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 18.1 to 36.3 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Kit sizes: crate 42 inch (42 x 28 x 30 in, 107 x 71 x 76 cm) for an adult of up to 36.3 kg; chew toys made for large breeds. Worked out the same way as the crate size calculator. PetMD bases a crate on the dog's own measurements, not weight or breed alone, so measure once the puppy is home.
Buying guides for this
Other large breeds
More on the Belgian Malinois
Previous: Belgian Laekenois · Next: Belgian Sheepdog
Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.
Sources
- akc.org for adult weight and height, life expectancy, energy, grooming, shedding and the temperament ratings, coat type and health notes
- fci.be for country of origin
- Health notes from Belgian Malinois breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/belgian-malinois/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Photo: User:Caronna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. All photographers are listed on the photo credits page.