I did not say no exercising for a few doay Mike. Your post said the ONLY off switch is to wear a dog out.

Big difference in a dog that needs daily exercise and one that doesn't know how and when to settle without first being worn out.

My dog runs 6 miles a day with me, then puts in a full day outside then goes running with my husband at night. Depending on the night she might have rally/agility or follow us trail riding.

She also goes with us on the horse show ciruit and some days is expected to just wait for hours on end for us to either show or work horse.

At the world Championships we took 16 horses and I was too exhausted to give her but the minimal of attention for 10 days. She probably wasn't happy but she was perfectly behaved.

She guards our property and seems to correctly know our hours of opperation.

Last year she was trained to now become my 5 year old nephews seizure alert dog.

She has saved my little dog from being eaten by the neighbor's cattle dog.

She got 18 stitches saving my niece from a Pitbull.

Right now she is at Wiscoinsin Dells going down water slides with my brother and his kids. My brother said two days at the hospital with his boy my dog did nothing but sleep at the end of the boys bed.

THAT is my idea of a TRUE working dog.

Good for you. So why are you looking at a thread about Malinois then? Sounds like you'd be happier with a confident medium drive pet. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not what I'm talking about.

Like I said the dog is now my nephew's. I am not interested in a dog that needs to be run into the ground to relax. My question is that what you meant with no off switch. If so, you are right DEFINATELY not my breed. I like brains along with athletic ability.

The brains are there, they just keep on going and going and going. People always seem to think the calmer dogs are "smarter." The fact is, a dog like a Mal will learn things 10x quicker than the calmer dog because they are constantly going, constantly thinking, constantly remembering everything they are doing that results in something that goes their way.

I love the look and intensity of the Mal.
I got a shepherd from a working line six months ago to discover the drive just isn't there. I am nuts about the dog but still feel unsatified as I really thought now we are shoing less horses I would enjoy working a dog.

What I do not want is a single minded dog. Hard to properly explain. Hard to have everything. I realize my one dog has spoiled me.

Ideally I would love to compete. Don't have to excel off the charts but competitive but then I want a companion. Lives in the house, works with me in the barn.

We have 42 clients plus 120 plus outside students so in order not to be kenneled the dog would need to have rock steady nerves.

My current GSD is kenneled during most work hours. He is aloof but trustworthy, just too young and untrained. I forsee him having free reign of the place but he is by no means a drivey dog.

I got the building drive dvd and progress is being made but the work is not going to be his passion.

I do not mean to hijack this thread but was in love with the Mallinois. Your comment about the "off switch" kind of hit on my worry.

At present I might be asking for too much. We will downsize more in several years so I might wait for a high end working dog as I need at present a true all around working dog.

Anyway, thanks Mike for the info and not getting testy with me. From other posts I have read of yours I value your assesment.

I think the "off switch" depends on the dog, and the owner. And I don't think high drives neccessarily equal a dog without an off switch. I'm not saying a high drive Malinois is a good choice for someone who wants a couch potato. But at the same time all my dogs are capable of settling and just hanging out when needed. If they couldn't, they would drive me bonkers. When I travel, I'm not interested in a dog who spins constantly trying to chase the cars we drive past (I know Malinois that do this), I want a dog who will just lay down in it's crate and nap, or watch the world go by. When I'm at training I expect my dogs to wait their turn calmly, not blow out all their energy spinning and barking for 2 hours straight until it's finally their turn to work. When we are at a seminar for 4 days straight, and my dog gets a few potty walks during the day and worked once or twice in the seminar, I want a dog who can come back to the hotel room with me and hang out loose in the evening so they aren't in a crate 20 out of 24 hours in a day, but isn't bouncing off the hotel room walls, tearing up the beds, etc. For that matter I want to be able to come home at the end of a normal work day, bring a couple of the dogs inside, and have them just hang out with us while I'm on the computer, or watching TV, or making dinner, etc.

All of my dogs are capable of doing this. Were they born this way? Not really, they were crazy, annoying Malinois pups who wanted to bite everything in site all the time. But by the time they were a year or so old, had learned some manners, etc they were able to behave like this. And they don't lack in drive. But they do have an "off switch". Sometimes it's a learned behavior, I've taken adults who were kennel raised and not good in the house, and turned them into good house dogs, but it took quite a bit of time and effort. But they have learned. I train on a regular basis, probably 4 days a week, but not every dog every day. Many days their exercise is chasing each other around the back yard, and they are perfectly happy with that.

I'm not trying to attempt to downplay the energy levels of a Malinois, because the reality is they are more dog then the average person wants or needs, but in my experience they don't have to be as crazy as some people indicate either, and they can still have the drive to work.

Kadi, sounds like your "off switch" is "obedience" combined with "exercise", which is exactly what I was trying to say. I would hardly call it a "breed trait," so when people start saying "well this breed is like that breed but it has an off switch," to me that says that either the dog is low in drive and energy, lacks work ethic, or people are full of ****

I'm sure that if you took one of your dogs at 3 years old and didn't let them pace at all in the house, had to act calm inside, no running laps around the yard, no training all week, and only a leashed walk around the block in the evening, that the dog would drive you crazy by the end of day 3 or sooner I'm sure you could tell them to knock it off, but I wouldn't call it an "off switch" in that scenario

Heck, Cujo isn't the most driven dog in the world and even he will start wagging his tail and trying to drag the rug accross the living room floor if he's had a boring day. He's about as "off switch" as you can get without the dog being boring :p I think that when he's bored he's the most annoying dog I have, because while I can tell the others to knock it off, he'll totally ignore it n keep trying to sneak away to cause trouble till I finally let him burn off that energy

Off switches in my house are called crates. Dog beds are used for about 15 minutes before the fidgeting starts even after hard working and exercise.
If I want the dogs to settle then they go in crates, since I am probably trying to settle as well and if I miss one of them slinking off their bed since they can be like stealth bombers, I will lose pillows, socks and other things that are not nailed down.

 Quote: cindy easton rhodes

If you use the search function on this forum you will find that this has been discussed many times. You may find the information you are looking for there.

I find it interesting that even with the search function. These threads always seem to have a mind of their own. Owning a driven working line Malinois myself I find it cool all the different behaviour traits that it seems most Mal owners come across. For every Mal that does one thing there is another that does something totally different.

 Quote: kadi thingvall

I think the "off switch" depends on the dog, and the owner. And I don't think high drives neccessarily equal a dog without an off switch. I'm not saying a high drive Malinois is a good choice for someone who wants a couch potato. I want a dog who can come back to the hotel room with me and hang out loose in the evening so they aren't in a crate 20 out of 24 hours in a day, but isn't bouncing off the hotel room walls, tearing up the beds, etc. For that matter I want to be able to come home at the end of a normal work day, bring a couple of the dogs inside, and have them just hang out with us while I'm on the computer, or watching TV, or making dinner, etc.

All of my dogs are capable of doing this. Were they born this way? Not really, they were crazy, annoying Malinois pups who wanted to bite everything in site all the time. But by the time they were a year or so old, had learned some manners, etc they were able to behave like this. And they don't lack in drive. But they do have an "off switch". Sometimes it's a learned behavior, I've taken adults who were kennel raised and not good in the house, and turned them into good house dogs, but it took quite a bit of time and effort. But they have learned. I train on a regular basis, probably 4 days a week, but not every dog every day. Many days their exercise is chasing each other around the back yard, and they are perfectly happy with that.

I'm not trying to attempt to downplay the energy levels of a Malinois, because the reality is they are more dog then the average person wants or needs, but in my experience they don't have to be as crazy as some people indicate either, and they can still have the drive to work.

This is true it is all about laying groundwork and spending time actually doing stuff with your dog ..

If you want a dog that you are prepared to work and or have fun with doing
dogsport, herding, disc, etc or as a running partner. Sure a Malinois can fill the bill.

One thing I'd like to add.. THEY ARE NOT GOLDEN RETRIEVERS!!!! If a person wants a dog with a drive or personality of a Golden .. Buy a Golden!!

I must say I'm glad I got my Mal from Kadi,
To hear about these KNPV Mals being nuts with no off switches seem like craziness.

I think I have a good thing going with my boy, lots of excerise, bitework from time to time, and lots of OB, is the way to go if you have a Mal.

If you own a driven dog like a Mal, It needs to be worked, no questions, then it will chill out. If not, you are going to have a lot of ripped up shoes in your house.

Man I love the Mal, by far the best dog I have owned