The Malinois is a medium-to-large breed of dog, sometimes classified as a variety of the Belgian Shepherd dog rather than as a separate breed. The name “Malinois” is derived from Malines, the French name for the breed’s Flemish city of origin, Mechelen.

The breed is used as a working dog for tasks including detection of odours such as explosives, accelerants (for arson investigation), and narcotics; tracking humans for suspect apprehension in police work, and search and rescue missions. The U.S. Secret Service uses Belgian Malinois to guard the grounds of the White House.

Appearance

The Malinois is a medium-to-large and square-proportioned dog in the sheepdog family. The Malinois has a short mahogany coat with black markings. It has black erect ears and a black muzzle. It has a square build in comparison to the German Shepherd.

Coat and colour

Due to its history as a working dog (i.e., being bred for function over form), the Malinois can vary greatly in appearance. The acceptable colours of pure-bred Malinois are a base colour fawn to mahogany and tan with a black mask and black ears with some degree of black tipping on the hairs, giving an overlay appearance. The colour tends to be lighter with less black agouti or overlay on the dog’s underside, breeching, and inner leg. White markings are also allowed on the tips of the toes and the chest. A Belgian malinois may have a longer and darker hair coat than the typical malinois, but may still be referred to as a Belgian malinois.

The other varieties of Belgian Shepherd are distinguished by their coats and colours: the Tervuren is the same colour as the Malinois but has long hair, the wire-coated Laekenois is fawn and lacks the black mask and ears, and the Groenendael (registered as Belgian Sheepdog by the American Kennel Club) has long hair and is solid black. When the Malinois was first bred, the four breeds would usually be cross-bred; this would result in Malinois with longer hair or even a darker coat. Today the four breeds are considered different breeds.

Working dog

In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, the Malinois is bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sports work like Schutzhund. The United States Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force use the breed along with other working lines such as Dutch Shepherd, and also GSD. In the United States Armed Forces, German shepherds lead the way but close behind follows the Belgian Malinois.

In India, the ITBP and National Security Guard (NSG) commando unit have inducted Malinois breed into its K-9 unit.

Malinois dogs are used by the Oketz, the K-9 unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Malinois are a suitable size to be picked up by their handlers when required, while still being large enough to control human aggressors.

In 2011, United States Navy SEALs used a Belgian Malinois war dog named “Cairo” in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed.

In 2014, two Belgian Malinois dogs, Jordan and Hurricane, were used to stop a man who jumped over a fence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Belgian Malinois have also been called a “game-changer” in the fight against rhino poaching in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, where one dog, K9 Killer, has been responsible for more than 100 arrests.

In 2019, a male Belgian Malinois, Conan, was used during the Barisha raid to chase Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.