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Malinois Belgian Shepherd Dog With Two Noses, Glasgow, Scotland
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Working dog
In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia, the Malinois is bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work (Belgian Ring, Schutzhund, French Ring, Mondio Ring). The United States Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force use the breed along with other working lines such as Dutch Shepherd, and also GSD. In the United States Armed Forces, Malinois (along with German Shepherds) are preferred breeds for use as working dogs.
The dog is also used extensively by Unit Oketz of the Israel Defense Forces. Oketz favors the slighter build of the Malinois over that of the German Shepherd and Rottweiler which were employed formerly. Malinois are the perfect size to be picked up by their handlers, while still being able to attack their enemies, and their shorter coats and fair and neutral colors make them less prone to heatstroke. A Malinois named Posy is the only canine in the Israel Defense Forces ever to receive the Medal of Distinguished Service. According to a member of the Unit Oketz Posy left her handler and burrowed beneath a collapsed six story building and located two Mossad agents that had been trapped beneath the rubble for several days. Though she suffered a badly broken front leg while searching for the bodies Posy remained with the two agents for over twelve hours while earth moving machines cleared the debris.
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