Description: The Belgian Malinois dog breed is between 22 to 26 inches depending on the sex of the dog, and their weight is 55 to 65 pounds. To look at, this dog is descried as square in shape, which is in reference to the whole body. They have a deep chest and good straight top line. The skull is wide as it is long. The muzzle has a pointed look. And is equal to the top of the scull, it has a black nose.

This breed has tight tips and the teeth meet in a level or scissor bite. The eyes are brown and evenly spaced. This breed has erect ears that are triangular to look at. The tail is strong and reaches to the hock. Their legs are straight and their feet are cat like. This breed has a double coat that is short and smooth, with no curling or waves.

Colouring is rich and can be mahogany to black, fawn to red, with black tips. Their tail, under body and back end are fawn. The ears and their mask are black. Hair around the neck looks like a collar and is slightly longer than the rest of the body.

History: This breed has got its name from the city of Malinois in the country of Belgium. There it is a popular dog. It is one of four varieties and there is hot debate as to which to recognise by the clubs and standards. Some clubs, like the AKC since 1959, recognise three of the breeds.

The UKC registry does accept all four as varieties of one breed, these are Belgian Tervuren, Belgian Groenendael, Belgian Laekenois and of course the Belgian Malinois. This dog is a working dog, and has a history of being a sheepdog, but they are now used for narcotics and police work, bomb detection, search and rescue and protection. They can even sled and cart pull.

Temperament: This dog is intelligent, obedient with a strong protective and territorial nature. The need to socialize this breed is good practice. You will need to be firm with consistent rules and natural leadership qualities, to gain the best from this breed. They need training, daily exercise and companionship; they need to be part of the family not just a guard dog locked in a shop or garden.

If socialized with children, they are fine with them. They need to work and can get bored if left with nothing to do. Care must be taken when introducing this breed to non canine pets. They can be dominant towards other dogs so some care has to be taken. If they do not get their mental and physical needs met they can be very destructive. This is not a first time owner’s dog as you will need plenty of experience to deal correctly with this breed.

This dog can revert to instincts and start to herd people nipping at their ankles; this has to be discouraged at all times. Spend time talking to other owners and breeders before you really consider this breed as it cannot be stressed enough that only experience owners should have this dog.

Health issues: This breed is fairly clean, of the things that can blight other breeds, but they can suffer from aggressiveness or extreme shyness and skin allergies have been reported.

Grooming: This breed needs only to be brushed, with a bristle brush ,a few times a week. Bathing is not a good idea, but they can be bathed if really necessary.

Living conditions: This dog will be fine in an apartment but only if given the right amount of exercise. It will like a good garden. In cool climates it can live outdoors but would rather be with its human pack.

If you can't find a local breeder in your area don't worry, many breeders are using the major airlines like American, Delta, Continental and Northwest airlines for shipping their puppies.

At this time the airlines will ship puppies to the following States: Alabama AL - Alaska AK - Arizona AZ - Arkansas AR - California CA - Colorado CO - Connecticut CT - Delaware DE - Florida FL - Georgia GA - Hawaii HI - Idaho ID - Illinois IL - Indiana IN - Iowa IA - Kansas KS - Kentucky KY - Louisiana LA - Maine ME - Maryland MD - Massachusetts MA - Michigan MI - Minnesota MN - Mississippi MS - Missouri MO - Montana MT - Nebraska NE - Nevada NV - New Hampshire NH - New Jersey NJ - New Mexico NM - New York NY - North Carolina NC - North Dakota ND - Ohio OH - Oklahoma OK - Oregon OR - Pennsylvania PA - Rhode Island RI - South Carolina SC - South Dakota SD - Tennessee TN - Texas TX - Utah UT - Vermont VT - Virginia VA - Washington WA - Washington, D.C. - West Virginia WV - Wisconsin WI - Wyoming WY - Hawaii HI.