Belgian Malinois 

The Belgian Malinois is from Malines, Belgium. That is how the breed earned its name. The Malinois is a shorthaired version of the Belgian Shepherd dog.

The Malinois looks like a German Shepherd, but there are distinct differences. A Belgian Malinois is a smaller dog with lighter bones. The German Shepherd walks flatly on its feet and has a long, sloping back. The Malinois has a more defined head. A Malinois has small triangle-shaped ears and walks on its toes. Malinois’ coats tend to be yellow-brown with black tips. They have black faces. German Shepherds are tan colored with a black section on the back.

These dogs need to get used to other dogs and people when they’re very young. The Malinois is a “protection breed.” They have a good nature when raised properly and treated well. The Malinois is good at search and rescue and other kinds of police work.

German Shepherds

There were a lot of changes in the world in the late 19^th century. And breeders wanted to produce dogs with more talents to meet new challenges. They did that by breeding the German Shepherd.

In Germany, Captain Max von Stephanitz was one of those breeders. He knew the new industrial world needed more than just farm dogs. He found a new all-purpose breed in the local sheepdog’s strength and intelligence. When he found a dog at a dog show to start the new line, he formed a society, the Verein fur deutsche Schaferhunde (SV), to help his breeding efforts.

Labrador Retrievers

Labrador Retrievers can be traced to the island of Newfoundland in the Labrador Sea back to the late 1700s. There were two breeds of dogs: the Greater and Lesser Newfoundland. Both breeds were friends to the fishermen in the area. The Greater Newfoundland hauled carts with the fishermen’s daily catch. 

The Lesser Newfoundland worked with the fishermen on the boats and at home. This is today’s Labrador Retriever.

The Labradors were small and rode on the boats. Their short coat allowed them to be good swimmers. They got their name by retrieving the fish that fell overboard. The Labrador Retriever also retrieved birds for hunters.

Children discovered they were gentle and loyal playmates.