Malinios owners
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I agree, I love tervs and I would love a working bred terv in theory but then I think about the amount of hair we already have in our pool filters with two mals and I shudder.
And... this is fun to look at...
I love watching Sloan move, she's such a beefcake.
And... this is fun to look at...
I love watching Sloan move, she's such a beefcake.
I love him already and I don't even know him lol
Can you tell me alittle about them, just cause I am super curious and your dogs are adorable
lolEnergy level, shedding, health issues, train-ability, etc etc.
Sloans a midget, she's all of 48 lbs I think, she could be 50 lbs.
Energy level, shedding, health issues, train-ability, etc etc.
Energy, Sloan is through the roof, no off-switch, nutty. Backup is a bit more even and if you asked me last week he was a dream, he's almost 2 and finally found his off switch. We went on a trip and he slept in the bed with me in hotel room and slept in the car, etc. Now he's hurt and has been on crate rest for 7 days and he's a damned nightmare right now.
Shedding, it's average, they do shed but not as bad as a pug, lab, or gsd.
Health issues are minimal, they still have issues but not as bad as GSDs.
Trainability, through the roof. They crave learning and working. Some days Backup is harder, his drive out weighs his control and he has a lot of trouble slowing down and thinking. Sloan is a thinker, totally brilliant.
I can fill in more later but I'm actually running to class with Sloan right now.
Energy level, shedding, health issues, train-ability, etc etc.
Energy, Sloan is through the roof, no off-switch, nutty. Backup is a bit more even and if you asked me last week he was a dream, he's almost 2 and finally found his off switch. We went on a trip and he slept in the bed with me in hotel room and slept in the car, etc. Now he's hurt and has been on crate rest for 7 days and he's a damned nightmare right now.
Shedding, it's average, they do shed but not as bad as a pug, lab, or gsd.
Health issues are minimal, they still have issues but not as bad as GSDs.
Trainability, through the roof. They crave learning and working. Some days Backup is harder, his drive out weighs his control and he has a lot of trouble slowing down and thinking. Sloan is a thinker, totally brilliant.
I can fill in more later but I'm actually running to class with Sloan right now.
I'm thinking Aura might end up around 50 too- she's only 35lbs right now at 7 months.
Her energy is also through the roof - doesn't stop moving unless she absolutely HAS to (ie: when she is told to stay on her mat, or is crated lol) Puppies are definitely more high maintenance in this regard. And ditto to everything else Adrianne said.
Her energy is also through the roof - doesn't stop moving unless she absolutely HAS to (ie: when she is told to stay on her mat, or is crated lol) Puppies are definitely more high maintenance in this regard. And ditto to everything else Adrianne said.
In my experience, yes, they're nuts.
It obviously depends on your bloodline you're buying into. Show lines tend to be more timid, much quieter dogs in my experience. The working line (primarily bitework/sport) are nuttier, although still naturally aloof and a bit shy, they should maintain a strong air of confidence about them.
I prefer a dog with a bit of balance, I want over the top drive and desire and I will sacrifice some "ease of being a pet" for an phenomenal sport dog, however if I can get both I'll take it.
Neither of my two ever settled down, Sloan still doesn't have an "off switch" but we don't mind. She's a blast of a dog, always ready for more and always throws her heart into it. She recently jumped 25 feet at a dock dog event, for a dog that weighs about 45-48 lbs on a good day, that's pretty dang cool. She's also exceedingly fast, anyone who has seen her in my flyball circles has begged for us to run her. Unfortunately, with all give and take, she has potentially dangerously strong prey drive and after a few recalls where she jumped other dogs we decided to pull her from the sport. She's currently going for her CD and her BH this winter and should be totally ready for her IPO 1 early next year before her second birthday. I am also training her in agility, Denis (my boyfriend) is her handler for everything else, and she's showing a ton of promise.
Backup is a bit more of a dingbat. He's lucky he's a hilarious dog. He is not what I would call a thinker, he's smart don't get me wrong, but he moves too fast for his brain to react most of the time. He's also a spinner, if you can't handle dogs that pace and spin and pant frantically then this isn't the breed for you. Not all dogs do it but the likelihood is high. Backup recently, as I said, has started to learn how to calm himself a bit and relax when I'm not moving nor touching him. Backup is a great counterpart to Sloan in many ways, where he lacks some of her thinking he benefits from not over thinking things. Things that confuse or spook her because she's over thinking them are like second nature to Backup. He has done very well in herding (where as Sloan tried to eat the goats) and in flyball he's a dream by way of he doesn't look at other animals as anything important to chase or fear or anything. He's also one of those dogs who will jump first and ask later, training him Extreme Vertical has been a breeze where as other dogs really don't understand it. We're hoping the same for Backup as with Sloan, a CD and BH this winter and his IPO 1 early next year (if we can ever get a solid Hold and Bark on him).
I don't recommend the breed to very many people because honestly they're a lot of work. They're fabulous dogs but you have to enjoy them for what they are. At 5 am Sloan begins to stir, she paces her great dane sized crate and wags her tail clinking every bar. She goes side to side and squeaks and whines. Once let out she shoots out like a bullet and slams into whomever isn't awake yet. She then runs down and up the stairs until you catch up and then off to the toy bucket and the day continues as such, throw this, tug that, lets go-go-go-go. She's a very interactively dependent dog. Backup is content to grab a toy and spin in circles. We love every minute of it and have a great sense of humor with them.
We chose not to cap any drive as puppies and enforce any off switches. We may do differently with our next puppies but I'm not sure, it's not *that* bad for us but it may be god awful for other people.
I could go on and on describing the other mals we train with and know as each are a bit different and have their own traits but over all the general fact is you'll lose sleep, you'll learn to laugh or you'll cry a lot, you'll get bitten (a lot) and you'll find yourself obsessed with the breed, they're addictive.
It obviously depends on your bloodline you're buying into. Show lines tend to be more timid, much quieter dogs in my experience. The working line (primarily bitework/sport) are nuttier, although still naturally aloof and a bit shy, they should maintain a strong air of confidence about them.
I prefer a dog with a bit of balance, I want over the top drive and desire and I will sacrifice some "ease of being a pet" for an phenomenal sport dog, however if I can get both I'll take it.
Neither of my two ever settled down, Sloan still doesn't have an "off switch" but we don't mind. She's a blast of a dog, always ready for more and always throws her heart into it. She recently jumped 25 feet at a dock dog event, for a dog that weighs about 45-48 lbs on a good day, that's pretty dang cool. She's also exceedingly fast, anyone who has seen her in my flyball circles has begged for us to run her. Unfortunately, with all give and take, she has potentially dangerously strong prey drive and after a few recalls where she jumped other dogs we decided to pull her from the sport. She's currently going for her CD and her BH this winter and should be totally ready for her IPO 1 early next year before her second birthday. I am also training her in agility, Denis (my boyfriend) is her handler for everything else, and she's showing a ton of promise.
Backup is a bit more of a dingbat. He's lucky he's a hilarious dog. He is not what I would call a thinker, he's smart don't get me wrong, but he moves too fast for his brain to react most of the time. He's also a spinner, if you can't handle dogs that pace and spin and pant frantically then this isn't the breed for you. Not all dogs do it but the likelihood is high. Backup recently, as I said, has started to learn how to calm himself a bit and relax when I'm not moving nor touching him. Backup is a great counterpart to Sloan in many ways, where he lacks some of her thinking he benefits from not over thinking things. Things that confuse or spook her because she's over thinking them are like second nature to Backup. He has done very well in herding (where as Sloan tried to eat the goats) and in flyball he's a dream by way of he doesn't look at other animals as anything important to chase or fear or anything. He's also one of those dogs who will jump first and ask later, training him Extreme Vertical has been a breeze where as other dogs really don't understand it. We're hoping the same for Backup as with Sloan, a CD and BH this winter and his IPO 1 early next year (if we can ever get a solid Hold and Bark on him).
I don't recommend the breed to very many people because honestly they're a lot of work. They're fabulous dogs but you have to enjoy them for what they are. At 5 am Sloan begins to stir, she paces her great dane sized crate and wags her tail clinking every bar. She goes side to side and squeaks and whines. Once let out she shoots out like a bullet and slams into whomever isn't awake yet. She then runs down and up the stairs until you catch up and then off to the toy bucket and the day continues as such, throw this, tug that, lets go-go-go-go. She's a very interactively dependent dog. Backup is content to grab a toy and spin in circles. We love every minute of it and have a great sense of humor with them.
We chose not to cap any drive as puppies and enforce any off switches. We may do differently with our next puppies but I'm not sure, it's not *that* bad for us but it may be god awful for other people.
I could go on and on describing the other mals we train with and know as each are a bit different and have their own traits but over all the general fact is you'll lose sleep, you'll learn to laugh or you'll cry a lot, you'll get bitten (a lot) and you'll find yourself obsessed with the breed, they're addictive.
Honestly, their energy level does not bother me. If you've read my Chihuahuas thread then you'll know I am looking for a high energy dog to take hiking, camping, swimming (if possible), traveling, etc etc etc.
Granted, Mals might not be the right breed, but I'm still looking since its gonna be a couple years before I get a dog.
Granted, Mals might not be the right breed, but I'm still looking since its gonna be a couple years before I get a dog.
Thanks! I like the sleekness of Mals too. Really I like and am interested in all Belgians, not just black ones
The coats on the black dogs are not nearly as high maintenance as one might think. Higher maintenance than a Mal obviously but pretty easy compared to really hairy dogs like Sams. I rarely ever brush mine, just give them a good bath and blowing out as need. They don't tend to get mats, except behind the ears and on the bellies on a few of them. When they go swimming, they dry quickly. Dirt tends to dry up and fall off. Of course, that is when they have correct coats. Often once they are spayed or neutered, all bets are off. They grow these huge, wooly coats and the undercoat doesn't want to come out any more :yikes:
If you are interested in a Mal and don't want a high end sport prospect, Mal rescue always has plenty of dogs. And they seem to get puppies at least a couple times a year. So definitely worth looking into.
The temperament of Belgians varies a lot from line to line and individual to individual. I have lived with every sort of black Belgian though from very mellow and low drive to off the walls crazy high energy. That variation exists within all of the Belgian breeds. Not all show bred Mals are timid and low drive either, it depends on the breeder and what they are selecting their dogs for. Not all working bred Mals are insanely hyper either, it depends on the breeder and what they are selecting their dogs for. And like all Belgians, Mals from any line can have poor nerves, be overly suspicious of strangers, intolerant of handling, overly sharp or reactive, sight/sound sensitive, resource guarding issues, etc. But also like all Belgians, proper early training and socialization can go a long way.
The coats on the black dogs are not nearly as high maintenance as one might think. Higher maintenance than a Mal obviously but pretty easy compared to really hairy dogs like Sams. I rarely ever brush mine, just give them a good bath and blowing out as need. They don't tend to get mats, except behind the ears and on the bellies on a few of them. When they go swimming, they dry quickly. Dirt tends to dry up and fall off. Of course, that is when they have correct coats. Often once they are spayed or neutered, all bets are off. They grow these huge, wooly coats and the undercoat doesn't want to come out any more :yikes:
If you are interested in a Mal and don't want a high end sport prospect, Mal rescue always has plenty of dogs. And they seem to get puppies at least a couple times a year. So definitely worth looking into.
The temperament of Belgians varies a lot from line to line and individual to individual. I have lived with every sort of black Belgian though from very mellow and low drive to off the walls crazy high energy. That variation exists within all of the Belgian breeds. Not all show bred Mals are timid and low drive either, it depends on the breeder and what they are selecting their dogs for. Not all working bred Mals are insanely hyper either, it depends on the breeder and what they are selecting their dogs for. And like all Belgians, Mals from any line can have poor nerves, be overly suspicious of strangers, intolerant of handling, overly sharp or reactive, sight/sound sensitive, resource guarding issues, etc. But also like all Belgians, proper early training and socialization can go a long way.
There is a rescue here that mainly deals with sport prospect dogs, but they often have senior mals. I always adore the senior Mals and ACDs. Both breeds that I don't know if I am cut out for owning for a decade or so, but that I would love to have during their golden years.
Ryan and I have also talked quite a bit about eventually adding a senior Doberman.
Ryan and I have also talked quite a bit about eventually adding a senior Doberman.
Mals are VERY VERY VERY far and few between here.
I have met ONE in Georgia. And he was a crazy, goofy, go go go dog, and oooh man was he awesome lol.
But rescues/shelters down here literally do not have Mals. The closest place would probably be Tennessee, and I'm in south GA, so to the TN line, its probably 5-6ish hours from me.
I have met ONE in Georgia. And he was a crazy, goofy, go go go dog, and oooh man was he awesome lol.
But rescues/shelters down here literally do not have Mals. The closest place would probably be Tennessee, and I'm in south GA, so to the TN line, its probably 5-6ish hours from me.
Mal rescue often can help get a transport together Actually, looking at their website it looks like they have a foster in GA.
ABMC Belgian Malinois Rescue - A First Time Mal Owner's Experience
Actually, looking at their website it looks like they have a foster in GA.ABMC Belgian Malinois Rescue - A First Time Mal Owner's Experience
