are belgian malinois good hunting dogs

Are Belgian Malinois Good Hunting Dogs – A Complete Guide

The Belgian Malinois is a dog breed known for its intelligence, friendly nature, and good physique. It has excellent personality traits making this breed a wonderful working dog. Now, the question is, does this dog breed makes a good hunting dog?

The answer to this is yes, but it comes with several considerations. Belgian Malinois has excellent smelling sense and a good vision. But these attributes don’t make this breed a good hunting dog. It is a friendly dog that would rather chill than chase a squirrel or hunt a boa, and that’s their in-built nature.

Belgian Malinois is mainly used as a service dog and a therapy service dog as well. Read on as we delve further to know more about this dog breed and its nature.

Belgian Malinois: Features, Characteristics, and Personality Traits

can belgian malinois hunt
Can Belgian Malinois Make a Good Hunting Dog

People often get Belgian Malinois confused with German Shepherds. These breeds have similar resemblances and share more or fewer personality traits. Both fall under the working dog category.

Belgian Malinois have a firmer physique, lighter and less hairy than German Shepherds. This dog breed is super loyal, obedient, intelligent, friendly, etc.

A female Malinois weighs 40 to 60 pounds, and its size varies between 22 to 24 inches. In contrast, the male counterparts can grow up to 26 inches and weighs 60 to 80 pounds.

One of the personality traits that are most noticed is temperament. It develops a close bond with humans because of its pleasant and friendly nature. This breed makes a good protector or guard to its human friend. But pet parents should also teach from a young age.

Belgian Malinois is known for its athletic body as it has a firm chest and thick neck. It’s an attractive and elegant dog breed. This dog requires regular physical exercise as it can’t take the boredom and needs constant attention from its human partner.

If you plan to get a Malinois puppy, ensure that you give adequate attention. It’s a high-energy breed that needs constant physical exercise. Unlike other dog breeds, it sleeps less and loves the company of its pet parent.

What Are the Services Performed by Belgian Malinois?

Belgian Malinois is quite famous as a service dog both in the military and civilian life. Because of its obedience and intelligence, the Malinois breed has become a popular choice for carrying out various duties.

It makes an excellent military dog because of its sharp smell and strong sense.

Besides, this breed is good at following instructions and tends to sleep less than other breeds. Thus, making them suitable for carrying out tasks and duties diligently.

Besides military service, the Belgian Malinois is used as a therapy dog. This dog offers emotional support helping humans to ease their stress and tensions. Malinois has a caring nature and can sense a person’s stress or anxiety.

Furthermore, it bonds quickly with new owners and develops a strong bond. This dog breed is a guide to disabled people and performs duties like carrying groceries and bags.

This dog breed can do all these tasks and duties with some training. One needs to start training early on to get familiarized with the training process and daily routines.

Can Belgian Malinois Make a Good Hunting Dog?

Although the Belgian Malinois is known popularly as a service dog, it can also become a good hunting dog. Despite its cheerful and friendly nature, this dog has a good prey drive.

The key is to start teaching them early. This dog breed is super active and doesn’t like to stay still. It needs regular exercise and evening walks.

If you have a Malinois puppy, start training early to learn fast. Use positive techniques so that it doesn’t get scared but gets more excited instead during the training session.

Reward your pet when it follows an instruction or completes a task. Try to make the training session enjoyable, so it doesn’t hide or feel scared. Besides, Belgian Malinois has natural intelligence, making teaching easier if one follows the proper technique.

Belgian Malinois has all the attributes to make a good hunting dog. It is agile, has a strong sense, sharp smell, etc. It’s just their nature to be kind and caring, and they love to be around their pet parents.

This breed is super friendly, less aggressive, and doesn’t like to fight. And these aspects make them less popular as hunting dogs and are preferred as service dogs.

Hunting is not their forte despite having a good prey drive. However, with little training from the early stage, this breed can make an exceptional hunting dog.

What Makes a Good Hunting Dog?

Dog breeds are often categorized according to their personality traits, characteristics, features, etc. For instance, German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are classified as working dogs by AKC (American Kennel Club). A Beagle comes under the hound group, which has ancestral hunting traits.

A good hunting dog is loyal and follows instructions given by the owner. It has a strong mind presence while out on the field. Hunting dogs wait for the cue or command to pick the prey killed by the hunter. It also has the ability to hunt independently, like sniffing the target, etc.

Considering all these aspects, the Belgian Malinois has all the traits to make a good hunting dog. Although this breed doesn’t have ancestral hunting lineage, adequate training from an early stage will be helpful.

Some of the dog breeds with good hunting traits are as follow:

  • English Springer Spaniel
  • Beagle
  • English Setter
  • German Shorthaired Pointer
  • American Foxhound
  • Labrador Retriever

Conclusion on Are Belgian Malinois Good Hunting Dogs

are belgian malinois good hunting dogs

Belgian Malinois is a beautiful dog breed known for its friendly nature, loyalty, intelligence, etc. This breed loves the attention of its pet parents and requires constant physical exercise and evening walks.

It is mainly known as a service or therapy dog rather than a hunting dog. But this breed also has several characteristics that make them good hunting dogs. And for this, you need to train them from a young age.

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