Belgian Malinois are extremely high-energy dogs that crave stimulating jobs. They need constant attention, including physical exercise and mental stimulation.
Regular activities (even walks and fetch) might not help your Belgian Malinois burn off all of their energy. When you need to help them thrive, these jobs can help.
Jobs and activities for your Belgian Malinois include extreme fetch, agility courses, scent work, and herding programs. You can also use meal toys, puzzle toys, and other types of stimulating treat-retrieval toys to keep them occupied.
Continue reading this article to discover 15 stimulating jobs and activities for your Belgian Malinois.
Do Belgian Malinois Need a Job?
The Belgian Malinois was bred to work. This breed was developed in Belgium, with the first organization to honor the breed founded in 1898.
These dogs are naturally alert, extremely intelligent, and very trainable. Belgian Malinois dogs are great for protection training, military service, and law enforcement.
Belgian Malinois are known to be cautious around strangers but very affectionate with their family. They aren’t one-owner dogs and often grow close to everyone in the household. They can also be extremely protective, but don’t tend towards aggression unless provoked.
Otherwise, the breed is intelligent, active, and needs stimulation to be fulfilled and happy.
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What Were Belgian Malinois Bred For?
Belgian Malinois were bred for herding and farm work. They were bred for movement and energy, as well as to protect flocks of sheep on the farm. They excel in these areas, and it wasn’t long before they were considered for protection, military service, border patrol, and law enforcement work.
15 Perfect Jobs for your Belgian Malinois
Try one (or more!) of these jobs and activities to keep your Belgian Malinois engaged, stimulated, and fulfilled!
Backyard Jobs for your Belgian Malinois
These jobs and activities can be performed right in your backyard.
1. Extreme Frisbee or Fetch
Belgian Malinois won’t be fulfilled with standard fetch or frisbee games. While this might work for a few moments, they can quickly become bored. Instead, try setting up hoops or an obstacle course to go along with your Frisbee or Fetch game.
An obstacle course works for both physical exercise and the much-needed Belgian Malinois mental stimulation. Together, your dog will be exhausted by the time you’re finished!
2. Obstacle Courses
These dogs were bred for ease of movement, so they are perfect for agility exercises. If you want to do some work in your backyard, pick up an obstacle course kit from any training retailer.
You can also set up a homemade course using whatever you have lying around (as long as it’s safe and durable). Hula hoops, crates, and old tires make a perfect obstacle course for the active Belgian Malinois.
Park Activities for your Belgian Malinois
If your Belgian Malinois is friendly and well-behaved, you can take them to the park for some of these activities.
3. Treasure Hunting
The park probably has a lot more open space than your backyard. For best results, choose a day or a time when your park is less crowded. Your dog might get distracted by a lot of noise, strangers, and movement going on around them. Still, giving them a job can help them focus.
First, go ahead of your dog and hide several treats in different areas. It’s best to make sure there are no other dogs around, especially if your dog is motivated by food.
Then, let your dog search for the treats around the park. Belgian Malinois have a great sense of smell and tracking capability, so this is a great way to keep them occupied.
Read Also: 15 Essential Training Commands for Your Belgian Malinois
4. Trail Companion
If your park has a lot of waking trails, you’re in luck! Park trails can take your dog’s multiple walks per day and turn them into a fun activity.
Since there’s so much more to see and do at the park (not to mention other dogs to meet, if your dog is friendly), they’ll be much more occupied.
Try walking, jogging, or biking with your Belgian Malinois at parks all around your city. If you have any National Parks or hiking trials where you live, your Belgian Malinois would love to check them out with you!
Home Activities for your Belgian Malinois
Bad weather? No problem! There are a lot of jobs and toys to help keep your Belgian Malinois occupied indoors, too. These special home activities and toys can help keep your dog occupied.
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5. Stuff a Kong
Kongs are sturdy toys that allow you to stuff peanut butter, broth, treats, or whatever your dog likes best into the middle. Your dog has to work to remove the treat.
It’s not as simple as turning it over, either – they have to actively work to find the solution. Kongs are a great way to keep more active dogs busy, and most are made of a hefty rubber that isn’t easy to chew through.
6. Puzzle Toys
Puzzle toys give your dog a unique sense of accomplishment. They work a little bit differently than other meal or treat toys, as the main objective isn’t to dispense food.
Rather, a puzzle toy helps give the dog an objective (usually to find food or a toy). These objectives vary in difficulty based on the toy. You can try multiple toys to find the sweet spot for your dog.
Either way, a good puzzle toy at your dog’s skill level can help keep your Belgian Malinois occupied for a while. Plus, they help with that all-important mental stimulation.
7. Food, Treat, and Meal Toys
Apart from puzzle toys, there’s a category that only deals with dispensing food, including treats and even meals.
These toys are specifically designed for mental stimulation, making your dog work for their food. Some dogs won’t like this, but some take to it.
At mealtime, set one of these toys up with the amount you want them to eat loaded inside. Some toys may include flipping cylinders or other, more complicated puzzles to keep your food-motivated dog occupied.
8. Hide and Seek
Belgian Malinois are great trackers. Hide and Seek is a great way to indulge their tracking instinct, especially if you want to get creative with it. You might have to step up your game if your Malinois is particularly intelligent.
However, are happy with tracking you all over the house and finding your hiding spot. A particularly engaged dog might even want to hide next!
Exercise and Training Jobs
Belgian Malinois are extremely trainable, so it might be worth looking into jobs or activities that are heavily focused on training. Get started with these options.
9. Obedience Training
Belgian Malinois may require obedience training. Early training can help your Mal be better behaved, and this is important (especially in high-stress situations). If your dog hasn’t had any obedience training yet, look into it. Even a well-behaved dog may benefit from an obedience training course.
10. Agility Competitions
These dogs were bred to move easier, faster, and better. Because of this, agility competitions are the perfect place to showcase their skills.
Agility competitions include a timed obstacle course with up to 20 hurdles and barriers for your dog to overcome. While most Agility work can be competitive, your dog can play along for fun, too!
11. Scent Work
Scent work is another great sport for your Belgian Malinois. Since these dogs already have excellent tracking instincts, this could be a perfect competition (or fun) sport for them. Your dog is trained to follow and detect certain odors, and the results are timed to see which dog can find the source fastest.
12. Herding Program
Herding programs may include both tests and trials. Only trials are competitive. Otherwise, training uses live ducks, sheep, or cattle to train or test your dog’s ability to direct and drive livestock. This is a great way to engage with your Mal’s herding and farm dog instincts in a safe environment.
13. Flyball
Flyball is an obstacle course-type fetching game where your dog races through a changeable course of hoops, hurdles, and other features to bring a tennis ball back to the finish line. Since Belgian Malinois are great at agility and retrieval, this can be a great sport to get their energy out!
Water Jobs
If your dog loves the water, they’ll love these jobs!
14. Water Retrieval
Some Belgian Malinois love water. If your dog loves to splash and swim around, water retrieval might be a great option to keep them occupied.
Water retrieval is often used to help hunters retrieve their prey – specifically, ducks and waterfowl shot down over the water. Even if you aren’t a hunter, your dog may enjoy water retrieval training.
15. Dock Diving
Dock diving involves your dog running off a dock and diving into the water for their favorite water toy. The length of their jump is measured and compared to other dogs in the competition.
This activity can also be non-competitive, and your Belgian Malinois will have the same amount of fun!
Related Questions
How do you stimulate a Belgian Malinois?
Belgian Malinois are extremely high-energy dogs. They need lots of physical exercises and mental stimulation to stay happy and fulfilled. Because of this, Belgian Malinois are best suited for training and formal competitions and activities that require discipline and mental focus.
How do I keep a Belgian Malinois busy?
In addition to lots of exercises, you can keep your Belgian Malinois busy with treat-finding games, dog puzzles, food-dispensing toys, and toys such as Kongs that require a lot of work to dispense treats.