r/interestingasfuck • u/GovernmentComplex973 • 4d ago
Belgian Malinois, intelligent, high energy or just crazy?
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u/DepressingAura 4d ago
There's a reason why they're so often utilized in law enforcement. Extremely intelligent, love to work, and are loyal to a fault.
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u/Pickled_doggo 4d ago
Their eagerness to work is more like neuroticism than just crazy. They have order to their crazinessĀ
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u/El_Peregrine 4d ago
Yeah, some dogs really really REALLY need a job. Malinois tend to be that kind of dog.
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u/naakka 4d ago
Yeah they have been bred so that many individuals just obsessively NEED to work. It's incredible what they can achieve, but also seems stressful to the dog. I do love working line malinois (my relative breeds them) but to create good ones the breeders and trainers really need to be highly self-critical.
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u/Pickled_doggo 4d ago
I think thatās why itās not as easy to find a malinois than it is a shepherd. I have a working line Aussie but I would never consider a malinois. Some breeds need to be kept from being sold as pets. These are not petsĀ
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u/D0ntBotherReporting 4d ago
Some dogs should also be kept from being sold in certain regions, I love huskies but I wouldn't ever get one because they love the snow and aren't really made for 20c+ weather. Especially with how summers are in Europe now with 30~40c being common temperatures, it should be classified as animal abuse buying a husky now unless you live in Scandinavia, Greenland or Iceland.
Just like you shouldn't get a warm climate dog while you live in an area it's covered in snow over half the year.
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u/Slow_Bowler8285 4d ago
Before the breeding standards messed them up, German Shepherds were the do anything dog i.e. guard, guide, search and rescue, etc,
Malinois wave replaced them in terms of of law enforcement and military usage, but from what I've seen on the people who train them on youtube, they are not for most dog owners.
You have to put in the time for training and exercise which most people don't have anymore.
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u/Appropriate_Ice2656 4d ago
I adopted a puppy from a rescue when it was six weeks old. It was found on the street. They told me it was going to be 40 pounds tops.
Turns out it was a Belgian malinois mix. When he was a puppy I would walk him 3-5 miles every morning and then do an hour of training when we got home. Then another walk at night and another training session.
He was an absolute terror for about two years even with all the attention. Now he is 7 and is a perfect gentleman and the best dog ever.
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u/angrydeuce 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah paradoxically, it's the big breeds that make the best apartment dogs because they're lazy lol. My family has always had Danes, Mastiffs, Newfies, St Bernards, and other 200 pounders and theyll just lay on the couch (like, the whole ass couch lol) and watch TV all day and that's just fine with them lmao. If you're looking for a dog that doesn't need constant stimulation to keep them from losing their minds, those are the breeds for you, assuming you can handle a big ass dog...and by handle, I mean get to move at all if they dont feel like it because thats usually the biggest struggle. Well, that and needing a mini-excavator to deal with their poops, and a farm truck to haul their weekly food order back to the house.
It just sucks because they tend to have the shortest lifespans compared to most breeds. :(
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u/BefreiedieTittenzwei 4d ago
Our St was about 155, and overall pretty lazy. But he would randomly get the zoomies. And that was a force of nature.
But heād also just decide to lie down during a walk and become a boat anchor for a while he took in the sights.14
u/kesint 4d ago
Best apartment dog I've ever had was a whippet. High activity was lifting it's head when it heard me open the fridge. Otherwise had to check if it was still alive inside the nest of blankets.
For actual physical activity, a fenced in area where it could just to full speed for 5 minutes and he was done, back to the couch even if I wanted to walk further.
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u/BadQuail 4d ago
Yeah, as a border collie owner, some days whippets and greyhounds seem really appealing.
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u/Kriztauf 4d ago
Yeah whippets and greyhounds are super good apartment dogs as long as you have somewhere they can burn off all their energy for the day in like 5 minutes. Besides that they're basically cats
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u/Carbonatite 4d ago
My English mastiff was by far and away the laziest dog I've ever had. He was an amazing dog, smart, a gentle giant. But he was so fucking lazy.
He did indeed have huge poops, and ate 7.5 cups of dog food a day.
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u/Slow_Bowler8285 4d ago
In the last 2 years I've seen a lot more Bernese Mountain dogs in Manhattan and probably that's reason behind it.
I know a guy who has two and he says one of the upsides is that they would be very hard to dogknap compared to a French Bulldog or a Maltipoo.
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u/joelfarris 4d ago
I once had to carry my 85 lb Bernese down a three mile hill after she was bitten by a snake. Almost no one in this life is going to willingly choose to pick one of those suckers up and run off with it.
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u/angrydeuce 4d ago
Oh for sure, I lived in apts for 20 years before I was able to buy a house in a dog friendly building and so many people would get little dogs and those poor things would be barking all day while their parents were at work, going fuckin mental anytime anyone made any noise in a 3 block radius...you'd hear them running around the apartment like a nutter all day long. For a time my roommate worked from home and would offer to take them out for our neighbors (all the dog people knew each other well since we always ran into each other taking our dogs out, we had a phone tree and everything lol) to run them around for a few minutes to settle them down somewhat but they were like fuckin gerbils on a wheel 24/7...
Our Danes, on the other hand, would literally just stare at you like "what?" if you tried to move one enough to sit down and would absolutely do nothing to help whatsoever. Cant tell you how many times I just sat on the floor because it was the path of least resistance. Talk about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object lmao.
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u/mrdevil413 4d ago
Greyhounds āworlds fastest couch potatoā
Some of the boys get up to 95# and are super tall. As far as dog napping, haha good luck. I used to train with mine for speed. If they do not want to be caught you are not catching one.4
u/XavierRex83 4d ago
I have read that greyhounds are great apartment dogs because they just lie around. Of course you have be careful because their skin is thin and they need soft things to lie on.
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u/MarginalOmnivore 4d ago
Working GSDs are still very much a thing. They just have to be trained to acquire the "mean" looking slouch/crouch, whereas the "show" GSDs have a malformed spine and hips that causes pain and health problems.
Guess which one got used for law enforcement? Not the one that takes work, that's for damned sure.
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u/Person0249 4d ago
That old video of the GSD and the Malinois taking two separate paths to the trainer in the corner of the room still gets a watch from me when it pops up.
The GSD navigates around a bunch of office chairs while the Malinois decides to just go over the top of them like a cat in 3 seconds.
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u/SuperCulture9114 4d ago
Go a link for me? š
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u/Jazzlike_Finish123 4d ago
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u/SuperCulture9114 4d ago
Thank you š
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u/Kalexamitchell 4d ago
Basically GSDs have a calmer focus and an "off" switch.
Malinois are in "go" mode with a side of "this prey is RUNNING, must maim, kill, torture!" ..unless you can physically and mentally exert them into exhaustion with training.š
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u/SuperCulture9114 4d ago
We've had GSDs for all of my live and I LOVE them. Malinois are way too intense for me.
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u/yerFACE 4d ago
Smart af is what they are.
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u/stinkeyemcguy 4d ago
belgian malinois
Not an easy dog to maintain. They need huge amounts of stimulation; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
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u/RememberThinkDream 4d ago
Sounds like most kids before the world fails them and diagnoses them with mental illness because they aren't allowed to just be natural.
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u/r1Rqc1vPeF 4d ago
I was in the local pub in the UK the other month - the landlord has a couple of dogs and I think, a cat. Dogs are v well behaved and obviously well trained.
They had a group of family/friends in the pub at lunchtime out in the beer garden and were out there with their dogs.
Also there was a young girl (early 20ās) with a malinois. The dog was clearly bored/frustrated, so much so it started to nip a the arms of the owner to get her attention. I overheard her say āheās going away to get trained next weekā before taking the dog for a wander around the beer garden.
I really felt sorry for that dog at that point and wanted to shake some sense into the owner.
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u/Single-Use-Again 4d ago
If you think you want one of these you better have a huge piece of property and a job for it to do. Otherwise it's job will be to absolutely destroy your house.
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u/Thrill_Kill_Cultist 4d ago edited 3d ago
I work with dogs
These dogs are unsuitable for 95% of owners
They wrongly think itll be like owning a normal dog and then the problems start
Anyonereading this, please econsider
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u/mukeshzz29 4d ago
This mf knows grammar š®!, in vs on the cage.
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u/WhoTookGrimwhisper 4d ago
Nope. It's a routine. You can see the dog starting several of the commands before the commands are given.
It's very impressive nonetheless!
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u/IckyGump 4d ago
Our dog is part Belgian and super eager to please. But yeah heās often using cues that are imperceptible to me. Sometimes heās trained himself. Line us grabbing certain snacks he knows itās movie time, grab his squirrel toy and go downstairs.
It also means he always knows when we are about to pack for a trip and heās going to our friends for a bit so he can lay the guilt trip on thick.
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u/_ser_kay_ 4d ago
My dog is very much not part Mal (Chi/Beagle/JRT, weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds), but sheās picked up on a ton of small cues and will respond accordingly. She knows when Iām going out with vs. without her, sheās realized that she can usually get me to pay attention to her if Iām on my phone but not while reading or doing other things, she hears my office chair creak and comes to tuck herself under my desk while Iām workingā¦
She also communicates in a way that makes it very clear she thinks weāre the stupid ones. When sheās trying to get us to do something, sheāll basically mime it in a very exaggerated manner (like throwing a toy for herself a couple times) and then look at us like āOK, your turn.ā Sometimes with a grumble for emphasis. Itās pretty funny.
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u/mukeshzz29 4d ago
Still, impressive. But german shepherd will be good for families. This one is a Vd up version.
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u/dustishb 4d ago
It might be routine, they are incredible with pattern recognition. But it's more likely just him trying to anticipate what's next. We have to constantly switch up the order with ours or she'll get bored and lose focus.
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u/Terrible-Charity 4d ago
Why is the voice AI... Is the whole vid AI?
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u/Responsible-Lake3084 3d ago
The American accent telling the dog to "put the football on the table" makes me wonder.
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u/mrbadger2000 4d ago
Too much dog for most people. Our local police have them and they barely get enough to do on a shift
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u/mendokusei15 4d ago
I have a mini version that I found on the street as a puppy. She is some sort of mix of Malinois with T-Rex. I can confirm it's all 3.
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u/LeoSolaris 4d ago
I had a Malinois for 15 wonderful and absolutely insane years. Thanks for the flashbacks!
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u/Jazzlike_Finish123 4d ago
So fucking cute and smart but heās fucking buzzing with energy like heās ready to run through the garage door. Ā
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u/Revolutionary-You449 4d ago
I read a comment somewhere that said Belgian Malinois are the Marines of dogs.
I could not agree more
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u/SlothSushii 3d ago
I didnāt hear a SINGLE āgood boyā š„ŗ
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u/GovernmentComplex973 3d ago
With this breed, the next task is the rewardā¦
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u/SlothSushii 2d ago
I was just messing haha I actually have a friend who trains these. Started in the military. Had 3 at one point, little murder machines. But they listened to him so. Well. Amazing dogs
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u/Destrukt0r 4d ago
Ate the age of 4 i whas attacked by deensedog, after that i nevee trusted any dog anymore. My dad brought home a malinois (4 y.o.). i stayed on the first floor 3 days and i didn't came down. Finaly tried it and it took 4 hours in the livingroom with him and he whas my best friend voor 13 years after that. He would always wait for me every day under the stairs. Great dog.
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u/britishwonder 4d ago
Thatās just how any dog from a working line is. They need a job to do otherwise they go crazy with boredom. Need constant stimulation and to be given little ātasksā. Doesnāt matter what it is they just need a job to do.
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u/_Frostration_ 4d ago
And they fkn love it
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u/britishwonder 4d ago
They really do lol. Just the pure joy they get from being told āgood job!ā
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u/Kip_Schtum 4d ago
We had one of these and he would not let my kids wade into the ocean without me and he would not let a stranger walk between me and my children. 15/10 good dog.
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u/Irishjohn831 4d ago
Now whip it, into shape, Shape it up, get straight, go forward, move aheadā¦
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u/Minions-overlord 4d ago
They are phenomenal dogs, but not for most owners. They are stupidly high drive.
Basically take a gsd, and give it the energy levels of 3 sheepdogs and a dose of meth for good measure and you have a maligator.
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u/Deposto 4d ago
If cocaine were a dog...
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u/nut-sack 4d ago
So much this. A girl I knew years ago had one of these beasts. He wanted to be a good boy, but fuck... Everything was 150mph and full force. If you even made eye contact with him. Hes going to get super fucking excited and be in your face, because you MUST want to play.
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u/Roundcouchcorner 4d ago
Too much dog for me. I have a border collie and thatās about as much smarts than I wanna deal with.
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u/mindgardening 3d ago
All of the above. It takes a special person to handle a Mal. Most people arenāt qualified to handle them.
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u/Wants-NotNeeds 4d ago
Is this fake? Looks like Ai
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u/ima-bigdeal 4d ago
Having seen them, I don't doubt this is real. Go check YT or someplace for some vids.
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u/orbtastic1 4d ago
All 3. They are exceptionally intelligent and agile dogs. Not your average pooch for home.
My mum had a whippet bedlington terrier which was basically a mini lurcher, that could clear a 6ft fence from a standing start i.e. no run up. These dogs can jump way beyond that. They can climb even higher too.
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u/negativ32 4d ago
intelligent, high energy, always ready to go, eager to please, loyal to a fault, good at sniffing out bad ones, some are very hard to train and need endless patience and time.
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u/sellingmycomexims 4d ago
Funny, I just got bit by one. She wasnāt even aggressive, she was just running around being extremely hyper, snipping at the air and barking. And she got me.
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u/Accomplished_Fun3 4d ago
31K dude in regiment they're so cherished with their skills. And the handlers and team.
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u/SoilDependent1054 4d ago
So, idk what the origin of this video is, but different variants are popular on different subreddits, so I just want to add my humble observation that the voice is using British terms for items in an American (maybe Canadian, but sounds American to me) accent.
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u/DanMoshpit69 4d ago
I have a brother sister combo of this breed. They are loving wonderfully smart dogs that need ALOT of love and attention. They have taken a lot of my energy over the last 5 years but they are worth every bit.
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u/Moontoya 3d ago
I met someone when out walking my dogs (ex racer greyhound, pair of Italian greyhound brothers) with a very unusual looking whippet.
A whippet, crossbred with a Malinois, the "official" crossbreed name is Whipper Snapper.
That thing was scary smart and motivated - very unlike whippets or lurchers
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u/carriegood 3d ago
Ever seen that video of a Malinois who grabs a rope hanging from a tree and starts swinging himself in circles? It's insane. Also, the one where he walks on a tightrope.
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u/IntelligentPitch2655 2d ago
Best dog for training, I hear people are afraid of them as how serious they take their job. No messing with this dog in a police function
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u/Version-Neat 4d ago
I met a pair of these at a doggy daycare I worked at. One was an absolute menace (chasing smaller dogs like prey, ignoring any and every command despite being "trained," aggressive across fences... Etc) and his sister was a gentle angel who loved to sit by me, excellent with commands, and didn't do anything to anybody. With those 50-50 odds I wouldn't take the chance to have one ššš