Belgian Malinois
It is one of the four Belgian Sheepdogs
General appearance
A mediumsized dog, well proportioned, intelligent, hardy and bred to withstand adverse weather. It should be alert and attentive with a lively and enquiring mien.
Head and skull
The head should be finely chiselled, long (but not ecessively so) and gaunt. The skull and muzzle should be roughly equal in length with at most a slight bias in favour of the muzzle, giving the impression of a balanced whole. The skull should be of a medium width in proportion to the length of the head with a flattened rather than rounded forehead and the centre line not very pronounced; seen in profile it should be parallel to an imaginary line extending the muzzle line. The muzzle should be of medium length, tapering gradually towards the nose. The nose should be black with wellflared nostrils. Moderate stop.
Coat.
The hair should be very short on the head, the exterior of the ears and the lower parts of the legs, short on the rest of the body, and thicker on the tail and around the neck, where it should resemble a ridge or collar, beginning at the base of the ear and extending to the throat. In addition the hindquarters should be fringed with longer hair. The tail should be thick and bushy. The coat should be thiCk, close and of a good firm texture with a wool under-coat.
Colour.
Dark fawn with considerable black overlay; washed-out fawn or grey is highly undesirable, as is patchy black overlay or the total absence of black overlay. Black shading on muzzle and ears is desirable.
Tail
The tail should be firmly set, strong at the base and of medium length. At rest the dog should carry it hanging down with the tip slightly bent backwards at the level of the hock; on the move the dog should lift it, accentuating the curve towards the tip; however, it should under no circumstances curl up or bend to one side.
Feet
No specifrc requirements are laid down In the standard.