How to Groom a Belgian Malinoi

At first glance, you might confuse a Belgian Malinoi with a German Shepherd due to their similar general appearance, but Malinois are slimmer and don't have the German Shepherd's distinctive black marking on their backs. Malinois are full of energy and friendly, although they can become shy around unfamiliar people and animals. These dogs are easy to take care of, and you should only fully groom a Belgian Malinoi every 8 to 10 weeks. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Slicker brush
• Rake
• Natural bristle brush
• Metal comb
• Thinning shears
• Scissors

1. Use a natural bristle brush for frequent combings.

2. Keep the hair cut short, straight and hard enough to be somewhat weather resistant. Hair on the ears, head and lower legs should be cut very short, but it you can leave it longer on the neck, tail and backs of the thighs.

3. Trim long hairs found under the feet with scissors.

4. Use a force dryer to dry the dog. You may still have to manually dry the dog, but using the force dryer gets off extra water and can save a lot of time.

5. Use a slicker brush or metal comb to remove more hair during shedding season.

Tips & Warnings

• Unless there are special circumstances, the Belgian Malinoi does not need to be bathed very often if you use the natural bristle brush regularly.
• It's possible for Belgian Malinois to have a thick undercoat, although some of the shorter-haired breeds have relatively little.
• During shedding season, Belgian Malinois may lose more hair than you might expect from a short haired breed, so be sure to brush frequently.
• Coat conditioners which add body to the dog's coat work well on Belgian Malinois.