BELGIAN MALINOIS VS GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG - WHO IS KING?

As a retired US Army Military Police Veteran, I can definitely say that I prefer the German Shepherd Dog (GSD). I might prefer the Belgian Malinois if I was an active Green Beret/Navy Seal, but I’m not. The GSD is much more practical for the vast majority of people, including myself. The Belgian Malinois is awesome, and does some amazing work, but it’s simply more than I need. I usually play with my two GSDs every day. I throw the ball for them, run around with them, act silly, jump, and entertain them, and they love it. But I probably couldn’t give the Belgian Malinois the life it really deserves. My GSDs are happy and I can walk them and lay on the couch with them and they chill with me while I watch Animal Watch lol. A Belgian Malinois would put me in a retirement home.

Had several German Shepherds as a Child. Extremely smart, they're willing to do anything for their owner. I had a very special bond with one especially exceptional animal. "BULLET" and I did everything together. I will forever miss him, his intelligentance and his sense of humor. He was a guard dog, companion and the more you worked with him, the better he got. Someday I'd love to have another, but there'll NEVER be another Bullet! When I lost him, he took a huge piece of me with him! RIP Buddy! Your never forgotten.

My German shepard watched us cutting firewood and bringing it back to the truck, and decided he was going to help. He would grab the biggest piece of cut firewood he could and load it into the truck. He can grab surprisingly large pieces of wood. I swear he is camera shy. He knows exactly when I turn it on. He can also tell when the motion sensing camera turns on and off. I think he can hear it. It's pretty incredible. He impresses me every day

We have a farm here in TX. I have 3 Belgian Malinois and One German Shepherd (Kujo). The German Shepherd acts as the Supervisor while Belgians do all the work and keep an eye on the Farm for security.

My german shepherd has been through a lot before we adopted him. He retired from the police force and the was shoved into a kennel for a hole year, he became so bored that he taught himself to chase his tail and bite it for his own entertainment. Not only that, the black flys chewed up his ear, and he was always picked on by the other dogs. After adopting him, he had soooo much anxiety, the vets told me he was suffering from anxiety and depression and gave me meds to give to him. But I refused them, after a long time of support, love, and care, he is the greatest companion I’ve ever had. So in my eyes, German shepherds will always be the kings 👑 ❤

As an ex K9 officer this is correct. German Shepherds rely more on brains and make better family pets. Malinois rely more on athletics. I have observed German Shepherds teach Malinois. I watched Shepherds teach Malinois how to play ball / fetch and tug. I've also witnessed Shepherds when they notice a visitor bark once run to the Malinois and agitate them then sit back and watch the Mali do all the work barking etc. And yes it was hillarious. I always had Shepherds but both are great great dogs. I would pick the Shepherd for the family setting though.

in my opinion, german shepherds are the best dogs on the planet. even with families. once you go with a german shepherd, its hard to ever go with any other breed. they are truly amazing dogs

My wife and I are on our 2nd German Shepherd. Our first we had to put to sleep because she had cancer of her jawbone. Her name was Sheba. That tore my heart out that day in the vet. I will never be over that. Now we have another German Shepherd at age 2. We got her about one year ago from our neighbor who found her running around on the street in Daytona Beach, Florida. Her name is Mindy. Amazing how each one has their own behaviors and do's and don't.s She is wonderful. She filled that empty hole in my heart. Although not all the way.

Trainability has nothing to do with size. Both deserved 5/5 for training, both are extremely smart.

My GS was the best dog I ever had. I miss him every day.

My 2 GSD’s were the sweetest and most fiercely loyal dogs I’ve ever had the privilege to own! Miss them every single day!!

When i was only a month old, i was left with friends of my parents for the day in an emergency situation. These friends had a German Shepherd who instinctively knew i was a helpless baby and stood guard by my side the whole day until my parents came to get me. I have always had a special place in my heart for the GSD, and to this day, i can't imagine my life without one❤

As a previous German shepherd owner, they're gonna be my go to breed for sure.

Spot on, my Malinois needs constant stimulation. He is on all the time. My German Shepherd knows when to be calm. Love them both, German Shepherd thinks, Malinois reacts.

My service dog is a Belgian, yes he does all the ptsd stuff but that's not his main uses, he is a mobility dog assisting with wheelchair, object retrieval, opening and closing doors, drawers and cabinets, he can turn the lights on and off, and he is a seizure dog he has a button in the house that if I have a seizure or fall he can call an ambulance for me then he would either lay on me to stop the seizing or roll me to the recovery position!

We have a GS/BM mix and it’s like getting the best of both worlds. He’s extremely intelligent, obedient, playful, athletically gifted, fiercely protective, but also super chill, calm, amazing with our kids, and loving.

My German Shepherd plays when we play, sleeps when we sleep, eats when we eat, and gets excited when family visits. She's always ready to sound the 'intruder alert', or play fetch. She's like a furry human. Her strong bark alone is enough to take our home off the easy target list.

I have a GSD and also worked alongside Mals while in the Marine Corps. If I were to chose for myself, GSD. Just a better “family” dog. Does just about everything the Mal does without the “high strung” behavior. Don’t get me wrong, Mals are great. But this is spot on about their CONSTANT need for stimulation.

Owned both, loved both. My shep was amazing at K9 tasks and a good buddy for recovery work. My Mal is an absolute beast, she can cuddle my 6 month old and a second later jump through a second story window the next minute. I don’t understand the Mal misconceptions, they are wonderful pals and great dogs in general. They really don’t need much more than a regular dog.

Having been exposed to MWDs in the Navy, I asked out of curiosity why the Maligator was preferred by the SEAL teams. The handlers told me their primary reasons for switching to BMs were weight and genetics. Weight is self-explanatory, while the genetics said is due to the medical issues Shepherds develop in life that BMs are fortunate to not develop, such as the notorious hip dysplasia. They love both dogs, but the BMs aggressiveness also won out. While deployed, there was one BM who entered the TOC regularly. She would walk around to each person and would stay next to that person until they petted her. Once she got a quick pet, she moved on to the next person, until she met every single individual. Alternatively, the other BM in our compound had to stay inside a crate with a blanket covering it, because he hated everyone but his handler, and if he saw someone walking by his crate, he would turn into the Tasmanian Devil trying to attack the person. He wasn't trained any differently from the other BM, it was just his personality. Once he was paired with someone, that handler became his all, and anyone else became the enemy. Interestingly, he never tried to attack me when I happened near his crate, even when the blanket happened to be off at the time. The handlers did take notice, but we never ventured into why. My luck, he was probably trying to lure me closer with false peace, just to scare me. I never dared venture close. Haha