One of the TV personalities in Vegas had a Belgian Malinois, and she was a beautiful dog. The personality moved to Reno and got a job with the NV highway patrol as their public information officer. She was, back in her early days, a cheerleader for the Raiders, and I’ve kept in contact with her through our moves. Her dog “Anubis” died in December and Kim is still mourning her.
She was a beautiful dog! Solid black. And though she was old, deaf and arthritic, the last five years of her life were spent in being spoiled.
If I could get a larger dog, it would be the Malinois. Second choice, German shepherd.
The Groenendael variety is long-haired, it has a solid black double coat; the outer coat is straight and particularly long around the shoulders, neck and chest; they have short hair on the face, and well feathered legs and tail.
All four subtypes of the Belgian Shepherd are very smart and high-energy. The Malinois (short-haired, light brown) is least suited to home life and most often found in military or law enforcement occupations.
(I just learned this: I'm writing about them for the Special Animal Friend column.)