I was blessed to own two of these wonderful dogs (Belgian Malinois), and, in my humble opinion, they are the best dog ever. I have owned three German Sheps in my younger years, so think I can give an honest comparison between the two.
The Belgian is more “square” in build, the GSD is more rectangular/oblong. The typical Belgian bitch weighs about 45-50 lbs, and the male 50 to 55 lbs at present. The GSDs, at present are often 20 lbs more than the Malinois.
The sloping rear end preferred by the USA AKC club breeders has “beauty” as a goal, but has hampered the working ability of the dog. So far, the Malinois breeders are very choosy about who they sell their pups to, and will not sell a pup that is worthy of breeding to just anyone.
The Malinois has a stronger work drive than the GSD, which might relate (a bit) to your comment that they have fallen out of favor with some police depts, but the Malinois is so loyal to his person, and so easy to train, that I don’t think this criticism of being more aggressive is accurate. It is probably because the police handlers do not understand the differences in temperament between the two breeds.
The Malinois can get very frustrated by the typical training techniques used by trainers who do not understand the different temperaments between the two dogs. A GSD can be trained for long periods of time without getting bored, but a Malinois will “get” the idea in five minutes, or sometimes even just by watching what other dogs and trainers are doing.
Longer training periods bore them silly, and then they start to play around, goof off, etc. But, when actually working, they will work until they drop dead from heat exhaustion, because of the strong desire to please the owner, and the drive to work. A GSD will usually quit when they are overheated or tired. The trainer has to watch the insides of the ears and tongue on a Belgian to see when it is time to rest them, and let them cool down.
Some police think the bigger GSD is better for taking down criminals, runners, etc. But, a small Belgian bitch actually won a big Schutshund (sp?) trial held on Long Island some years back, beating dogs that weighed 30 or more lbs more, by taking down a 300 lb. man.
Her technique was one that the bigger dogs couldn’t handle. She flew through the air, all 4 paws off ground, and double tapped him, until he was down, and then held him.
And, these are wonderful farm and family dogs. They patrol the perimeter of your property, chase off all comers, and will even alert to the sounds and smells of hawks/crows/visiting varmints when inside the house. Varmints include stray or loose dogs, strangers, deer, raccoons, groundhogs, etc. and they typically do a “bark/snap routine in the air on either side of the intruder, but will not bite unless given the command, or if they are attacked.
But, these are not dogs you can leave alone at home all day. They have been bred to work closely with their farmer/farmer’s family in protecting the garden and herding the stock. They are not the kind of dog you can tie up in the yard, and expect to have a mentally healthy family companion.
They definitely need a “job” to do, and they need exercise. This can be just tossing a ball, or wonderful leashed walks. THey love herding, flyable, agility, and other doggie activities.
The only downside I can think of is that once they have bonded to you, you will never be alone again, not even in the bathroom.
The Belgian Mals that our military uses (and perhaps the dogs they’re talking about in the article) are from Belgium. They have a much sharper temperment than the Amercian bred Mals. I’ve been told by a military dog training consultant that the Belgian bred Mals favorite thing to do is bite; that’s what they’re bred for and if they don’t do that they’re basically cut from the military program (probably put down because they don’t have the temperment for “normal” homes, but that’s just my guess) and certainly not included in further breeding. The Belgian bred Mals are NOT family dogs.
How do the Belgian Mals do with rambunctious kids? My GSD’s have always been fantastic with rough and tumble little boys. My own kids, and now my grandkids. I’ve always considered the German Shepherd the perfect family dog. Smart, tolerant of kids but still protective of the family and property.