The Belgian Malinois is intelligent, courageous and alert with unwavering devotion to their master. They are used today for herding, therapy dogs, search and rescue, obedience, among other things. They move in a single track with a lively, graceful stride covering maximum ground without effort. He is adaptable to extremes of climate.
The Belgian Malinois belongs to the group of Belgian shepherd dogs consisting of four varieties based on the coat color, texture and length - Belgian Malinois, Belgian Tervuren, Groenendael and Laekenois. 
In the United states, only 3 of the 4 varieties are recognized by the American Kennel Club - the Belgian Malinois, the Belgian Tervuren and the Belgian Sheepdog, which is the Groenendael variety. The Belgian Laekenois is registered through the AKC's Foundation Stock Service but cannot compete in AKC shows. There are two accepted pronunciations of the name Malinois: malinoy in the US and malinwah in Europe.
These dogs are built like sturdy, slightly smaller German Shepherds. They need to be carefully trained to control a natural tendency to aggressiveness. Belgian Malinois are renowned for their incredible sense of smell. Mexican drug smugglers offered $70,000 to anyone who would kill Rocky or Barco, 2 Belgian Malinois dogs who were experts in locating hidden drugs. Their skills resulted in the seizure of more than 300 million dollars worth of drugs. Fortunately, the dogs were never harmed.
The breed plays a major role in the fight against terrorism. The Secret Service, Customs Service, Park Service, the military, police and numerous law enforcement agencies depend on Belgian Malinois's keen sense of smell to find bombs and hidden plastic explosives.
Their spirit and energy mark them as some of the Europe's finest all-purpose working dogs.