Talk:Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois)

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[edit] Moving back to Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois)

See List of dog breeds for a fairly well-researched & negotiated list of dog breeds to use in Wikipedia. Wikipedia:WikiProject Dog breeds also has discussions at various levels and sublevels. AKC is the only registry that calls the breed Belgian Malinois; all other major English-language registries call it Belgian Shepherd Dog and consider it just a coat variation, or Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois). That's why it was the way it was. If Belgian Malinois wasn't already set up as a redir to BSD (M), that was an oversight. Elf | Talk 04:13, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Negative description of the dogs characteristics

I currently have 8 Belgian Malinois, and they have absolutely wonderful temperaments. They are extremely intelligent, active, and high-energy, and highly interactive with people and within the pack. They also are very loving and affectionate and calm when not playing. The key to the calmness is that they get ample opportunity to run, play, and interact. This breed needs to be in the hands of a owner who is dedicated to providing an environment for these dogs to utilize their physical and mental skills.--Tjpaws (talk) 14:30, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

The description that is given on the Belgian Shepherd Dog is a bit negative. There are plenty of dogs that are agressive as well and therefore not suitable for the not-so experienced dogowner. These dogs are not only chosen for their agressiveness but also because they are fast learners. Compared to other dogs they are extremely intelligent, that is: they can learn new tricks fast. The whole paragraph needs to be rewritten in my opinion. Let me hear your view on this.

Wereldburger758

They certainly are very intelligent and quick learning, and this should definately be mentioned in the article. But I think we should keep the part about aggression and unsuitability for the average owner. It might be "negative", but it's also true. Rachel24

I agree.. The majority of working Malinois lines are not meant as pets or simple companion animals. They should be raised in working homes (police, security, protection, protection sport, SAR, etc.). Their energy level should not be understated. No serious Mal owner would have any issue with these dogs being described as "too much for most people"...they don't want people getting these dogs as pets.

I own a Malinois (10 years now). Maybe I'm not a serious dog owner, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as "too much for most people". It has been very easy to train, and is perhaps the most non-confrontational dog of it's size I've ever met. But thats not the point. The point is that your or my opinion of the dog does not belong in wikipedia. If you want to state a fact like "Malinois require a stronger commitment on the part of the owner" which is non-obvious and with which somebody (me) seriously disagrees, you need to cite a reference. Until then, I am removing the offending section. I would welcome back the section (perhaps with a more encyclopedic tone of language) if you can find a source.Njerseyguy 06:00, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Then surely we should remove the part about the breed being intelligent and quick learning as well, unless someone can turn up an objective source for that information? Rachel24 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.123.128.114 (talk) 01:34, 14 April 2008 (UTC)