As many know, some breeds have clear distinctions as to whether they are working or show line, for instance, German Shepherd dogs, Show Line tend to be Tan with a Black Saddle. Working tends to be Black with Tan Points or Sable. Show line tend to have more angled backs, working line tend to have straighter backs when stacked 3 point. And so on. What many people don’t know is that Malinois are starting to develop a line down the middle between working and showing too.
1. Temperament/Behavior
The Temperament of a Working Line and Show Line Malinois is the biggest difference.
Working lines tend to be more;
Drivey
Tend to mouth even into adulthood and beyond.
Tend to be too much for the average dog owner.
Need a Job to do daily/almost daily or will become destructive and a general nightmare to be with.
Have less issues with seperation Anxiety.
Show lines tend to be;
Less drivey
Have some issues with Seperation Anxiety.
Are Calmer and more laidback
Can cope with doing Agility twice a week, but would prefer much more and long walks/jogs/hiking daily as long as it can catch a tennis ball daily and play brain games loads.
2. Appearance
The next difference is Appearance. Most people don’t notice this difference, but, most Working Mals don’t go by the standard. If their parents can work and look Mal enough, they are Mal I know a few Dutch Shepherd X Malinois who are registered and labelled as Malinois because they look like it.
So, Working Mals tend to be all over the place with tall, short, ect, but the trend I have noticed for the typical working mal is Blocky heads, short coat, and less of a “ruff” whereas Show Malinois tend to be preferred Lean, Thicker Coated and more of a Ruff. I have also noticed that Show Mals tend to have a Longer Muzzle and shorter ears a lot too.
A weird thing I’ve noticed as well is Show Line Malinois tend to have Silver Hairs in with their Black Masks or bordering it whereas Working Lines tend to have more solid masks.
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