Meet Sherlock. He's about 1½ years old and weighs 70 pounds. This guy spent two hours bouncing all over the four-acre dog park, and still wanted to play once we got home.
We get asked all the time what he is. My wife sent off a DNA kit so maybe we'll have an idea in a couple weeks. I'm pretty sure those ears pick up shortwave radio.
We adopted him in August. Here he is the day we took him home.
He's really intelligent. He knows a lot of commands. Most of them he does right away, but he's not always so eager to please. You just have to show him that no matter how stubborn he is, you're even more stubborn. He gets there soon enough.
And they're friggin escape artists. If you thought huskies are good at escaping, you've never met a malinois. On the plus side, they're one of the most loyal dogs you'll ever meet.
Edit. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, malinois just take everything to the extreme. When they get excited, you've never seen a dog more excited. When they get protective, they're the most. And so on.
By that measure, you've never met an Akita.
That's a really good point.