mactyre.net: our malinois

Norris

Our redheaded dog is a Belgian Malinois, a breed that most people outside of law enforcement haven't heard of. They're a very intense type of dog, very loyal, very smart -- and very hard-headed on occasion, too. I've never had a dog that simply needed me as much -- he's my shadow everywhere I go, and he doesn't like for me to be out of his sight.

Norris is a pretty cool dog, though we did seek an animal behaviorist's help in working on his aggression. Through increased socialization, he's become friendly to most strangers. He has a high prey drive -- this means he never interacts with the ferrets, unfortunately. Basic obedience wasn't as easy with him as it was with our Border Collie, but was probably more typical of most dogs (I started out with the BC -- she'll do whatever you want her to, so long as you explain it!)

He likes to eat Kleenex, which is pretty nasty; he likes to sleep on top of our clothes (pulling them down from wherever they are to lie on them); he can shake with both paws and he knows his left and right.

Norris came from a kennel in North Carolina that produces working dogs. While I've heard many debates about whether a pet dog should come from show lines or working lines, I have to say I am pleased with Norris. He's been bred from a Dutch line of Malinois, which I've heard are significantly more intense than the Belgian bred dogs -- from the stories I've heard, I'd believe it.

Malinois are used increasingly in police work. A K9 officer I spoke to recently said that LAPD's K9 department is going exclusively to Malinois. In addition to being a genetically more stable dog than the GSD (though they are wonderful), Mals are smaller and able to maneuver better in cars they might be searching.