Hello everyone! I have a malinois dog who is 8 months old right now. I noticed his hair is a little longer than the malinois breeds I have seen so far, so I wanted to know if someone would have an ideia if this is normal for the breed or if maybe he is from a different breed. I uploaded a picture from when he was a puppy and a recent one. Ps. The breeder mentioned this is normal.
@Guime Because the four varieties of Belgian Shepherd were originally a single breed with four regional varieties, it is possible for a Malinois to carry the gene for long-coatedness. If the other parent also carries this gene, it is possible for long-coated puppies to crop up in the litter. I have found a site where this is discussed, I hope it helps. www.dantero.com/the-long-haired-malinois/
Correct. In some regions, they are still considered one breed different varieties and can be registered and shown under the variety that matches their description. In the US, the AKC considers them separate breeds and a long haired malinois would be disqualified from the conformation ring. Because of this, in the US, most breeders only breed from dogs of US lines because they are less likely to contain the genes producing the other variants. Outside of the US, it is much more common to see the different variations within a litter. The four breeds/varieties in question are: Belgian malinois Belgian groenendael (aka Belgian sheepdog - long coat black variation) Belgian lakenois (rough coat) Belgian tervuren (long coat)
It makes sense now, the breeder mentioned that, although the parents are short haired, he had one puppy before with the same characteristics. So it makes sense being a recessive gene. Thank you very much for the responses!