Today’s post could go on and on as I rant about the self righteous “trainers” all over the Internet who tell people they don’t need a Belgian Malinois. This has all been brought on by the recent publicity about a Malinois being the dog who took down another ISIS leader. Now, I’ll be as short I can be but many things need to be said.
First, let’s get one fact straight. Conan the Belgian Malinois didn’t take down anyone really. The dog was part of a team of highly trained soldiers who raided his compound and flushed him out. Conan did what a special ops military dog was trained to do. We have sold lots of dogs to SEALS, RANGERS and such for their own family dogs. They don’t train them the same way military dogs are trained because they don’t need that at home.
The people dictating to you what you need and don’t need are driven by a massive ego and desire to show how “cool” they can be. At least “cool” is how one recently described himself in his ranting video. They want you to believe they can have a Belgian Malinois but you can’t. That is total B.S. my friends.
Does everyone need a Belgian Malinois? No! These dogs don’t train themselves. They don’t tolerate laziness very well and they crave attention like crazy. So how can regular people own a Malinois with success? That would require a long definition of “regular people.” Do regular families watch TV all weekend and have almost no time for exercising their dog during the week? Do they spend tons of time hiking, camping, traveling, training for competition dog sports and have excess time for working with the dog everyday? Those are two different groups but these experts are lumping everyone into one group.
Do a high number of Belgian Malinois end up in shelters? Not when you look at the ratio sold verses the number surrendered. It’s not anywhere near as high as Pit Bulls but these people aren’t saying don’t get a Pit Bull. There’s a reason for this and it has nothing to do with whether you get a Malinois or not. It’s all about free publicity. Ring the dinner bell and the publicity hounds come to the table.
The whole ISIS topic is at the top of the news and each time there is a raid involving great success it gets lots of online attention. This attention drives online searches for the dogs up and if you are talking about them on your blog, podcast or whatever it gets them attention.
We truly breed our dogs to be great family dogs and it works.
Families can have the breed if they understand them and agree to the terms of making the relationship work. You can’t tell me it doesn’t work when I see it work over and over. How many Wolfsbane K9 dogs have ended up in a shelter? Over the last 20 years with this breed the number is 4 to the best of my knowledge. That number could easily be zero if client having trouble would just reach out to us for help. In fact our contract now includes a steep penalty if someone gets rid of a dog from us without giving our kennel the first chance to get the dog back.
Conclusion: Many can have this breed and do well with them. HOWEVER you need a breeder with strong customer service who will be there when you encounter a problem. This breeder should interview you and make sure you can offer what the dog needs. You need one who will honestly tell you when it isn’t the dog’s fault. You need a breeder who is also a trainer specializing in Belgian Malinois dogs and not a jack of all trades. Research, research, research and go with the kennel you think is right for your needs.
