The name of this breed can bring to mind the beautiful flower fields of Belgium in the springtime, the wonderful storybook city of Bruges (or Brugge) in the North and the bustling cities of Antwerp and Brussels. But the Belgian Malinois came from the farms of this great country, where he spent his days herding the livestock, protecting his family, their property and their farm.

The histories of many breeds of dog are difficult to trace and in previous centuries very few, if any, records were kept of the dogs that were used for breeding. The dog that performed the best at his bred-for purpose was mated to a similar animal that excelled at the same task. Dogs selected were picked for their intelligence, abilities and devotion to their masters. Within a few generations, litters of puppies would begin to look alike, and the dogs would be able to perform specific tasks with ever-improving precision and skill.

With the Belgian Malinois, we know that he hails from Belgium and that his basic task was, and still is, to herd…be it sheep or cattle, and sometimes even his owner, as the herding instinct lies deep within the breed. In addition to his herding abilities, the Belgian Malinois excels in a number of canine activities such as agility, obedience, tracking, Schutzhund and guard work.

On September 29, 1891, the Club du Chien de Berger Belge (the Belgian Shepherd Dog Club) was founded. The same year, on November 15, veterinarian Prof. Dr. Adolphe Reul assembled a group of individuals from the various Belgian counties at the veterinary faculty in Cureghem. This meeting was called in order to determine whether a national shepherd-dog type actually existed. The expert panel reviewed 117 representatives and it was determined that there was indeed a consistent type of a Belgian shepherd breed. Forty dogs were selected from this group, all of which were anatomically alike, though their coats varied greatly in length, texture and color.

A quartet of the Belgian shepherding breeds.

Tjop (Tomy x Cora I), a famous ancestor of today’s Malinois.

The varieties of the Belgian shepherds were named, more or less, for the towns in which they originated. The Malinois was named after the city of Malines (the French name for Mechelen). The Tervuren came from the town of Tervuren where the dogs were originally bred by M. F. Corbeel. The Groenendael was named after the village where Nicholas Rose bred the black Belgians. The Laekenois, bred around Antwerp and Boom, was named not after its hometown but after the royal park of Laeken where the dogs worked for shepherd Adrien Janssens.

Tomy (Samlo x Diane), the ancestor of the Malinois and the first short-haired Belgian Shepherd with a charcoal fawn coat and a black mask.

It should be noted when reading about the varieties of the Belgian sheepdog that in the United States only three of the four breeds are recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC): the Belgian Malinois, the Belgian Tervuren and the Belgian Sheepdog, which is the Groenendael variety. They are all classified and shown in the Herding Group. The Belgian Laekenois is registered through the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service but cannot compete in A