Hello! I am not a malinois owner nor do I have the intent on owning one, but I am a working dog owner (GSD & beauceron) and dog enthusiast. I would love for someone thatās well versed in the breed to educate me on a few things, as I am just curious.
For starters Iām in America, so any breed standard that I am referring to is strictly the AKC but I would love otherās opinion from different countries. Under the AKC, the only in standard coats are fawn and mahogany. Recently I have come across many people who claim that their solid black dogs are purebred malinois with a proven pedigree. Is this actually true?
Thereās many dark mals that I see online, even some sable colors. I know that natural mutations like melanism are a thing, but these other coats throw me off. And even if the black is naturally occurring from a rare genetic mutation, how come itās so popular?
As a GSD I know that our show lines and working lines have a pretty dramatic split, but our working line colors are still technically within the breed standard. Whatās the difference with Malinois? Is there a difference?
Malinois standard color definition:
Color: The ideal coloring is a rich fawn to mahogany, with black tips on the hairs giving an
overlay appearance. The blackening must not appear as patched or brindled. The underparts of
the body, tail and breeches are lighter fawn. Washed-out fawn color on the body is a fault. The
mask must be pronounced and tends to encompass the top and bottom lip, the corners of the lips
and the eyelids in one single black zone. The mask and ears appear black. The tips of toes may
be white, and a small white spot on the breastbone is permitted, not to extend to the neck. White
markings, except as noted, are faulted. Any color or color combination not described in the
standard should be disqualified.
GSD standard color definition:
Color: The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors are permissible. Strong rich
colors are preferred. Pale, washed-out colors and blues or livers are serious faults. A white dog
must be disqualified.
My assumption is that these colors are coming from gsdxmal, and if these dogs are supposedly ā100% malā itās likely due to a test not going back far enough. I would love to be corrected though if this isnt the case!
Another thing I am curious about: Iāve read online that dutch shepherd and Malinois apparently come from similar lines or were closely related when developing, does this still make them two entirely different breeds? I know this sounds stupid, I feel stupid for even asking about it, but thereās so much debate online that it has me confused.
I know they are their own breeds with two different standards, what I donāt understand is.. why are so many people calling their brindle dogs a malinois. Why are there so many black malinoisā? IS THERE A DISTINCTION AND IVE BEEN GASLIT?!
I feel like Iām going a bit crazy. As a beauceron owner, I can easily look at a dog and tell you if itās a purebred beauceron or not. But these gsdxmalxdutch āsportā dogs have me SO damn confused, not to mention backyard breeding for colors. Iām also just a very literal person, thereās a good chance these dogs arenāt purebred and itās just easier to call them one breed. Which i get! But i donāt understand the people claiming pure pedigrees.
Literally any form of clarification will help me sleep at night. I would also love pictures of yalls doggies if possibleš«¶