What’s ringsport got to do with it?
It has acted as a selection test for breeding stock for the last 50+ generations.
Since the early 1980’s the Malinois has come to dominate ringsport. One rarely sees other breeds competing (let alone winning!). The working Malinois has been shaped by the requirements of ringsport. They have what is demanded of the best dogs to reach the top of the competition…………
A) Steady nerves- No two ringsport competitions are the same. (Though they have the same general program). This means that the trainers can not train for an exact situation because the ringsport organizers will do their best to arrange a situation that the dogs and handlers have never seen before. Only the best dogs with the best training will still function 100% in a unfamiliar situation. This is the normal situation that a police patrol dog and its handler will face on arrival at a crime scene. The situation can be chaotic, noisy, dangerous and confusing. And always different! The dog should obey its handler in spite of this.
In Belgian ringsport any dog that bites anyone, except the decoy it is ordered to bite, is disqualified from ringsport for life!
B) Stringent tests of physical ability- a 4.5m long jump.
-a 1.2m hurdle jump.
-a 2.4m vertical scale (up, over and down a vertical “wall”). These are very effective tests of the dogs joints and skeleton.
C) Some of the tests are done out of sight of the handler. (Down + food refusal, and guarding an object.)
D) Stamina- ringsport finals are held in the hottest time of the year in Europe. The dogs work non stop for 20 to 30 minutes with one chance to drink. A good Malinois is not easily stopped by heat. This heat tollerance (+ speed and agility) are partly due to the relatively small size of the Malinois (About 30 Kg)
E) Bonding to humans- a good Malinois will prefere the company of its owner/handler to that of other dogs. Particularly for games.

Not only has the Malinois been shaped by ringsport, but the ringsport competitions of France, Holland and Belgium are slightly different and this has produced slightly different Malinois. The French dogs are slightly smaller and more agile. The Dutch dogs are harder. A good Malinois has high drive (like a Collie) and lacks fear (unlike a Collie).

The Malinois has been stringently bred, especially in earlier times. They were bred on farms and ruthlessly culled. Inherited problems are not common. They are generally healthy dogs.

The dog breeders of Holland, France and especially Belgium, deserve credit for breeding for the same ideals for a century. And producing such a good working dog up to the present day.
Many other working dogs have been ruined by becoming popular as show dogs, and not having a stringent test like ringsport, to test the work of the breeders and trainers.
There are “show Malinois” – These are not working dogs. Do not expect good work from them just because they are called “Malinois”.

I would be wary of buying dogs for breeding, from a country that does not have ringsport, as the work of the breeders is not open to public display and evaluation.

If you are buying a working dog- I suggest you ask the breeder “How do you select your breeding stock?” And listen to the answer which should come straight back without any concideration.
I will give you my answer to that question-
When I use the “quality” I mean the following
A) high scores in a ringsport trials (or a very similar set of tests.)
B) a long working life with no serious health problems.

1) What is the quality of the dog’s offspring. (This is very useful information- but only available for older dogs- its even useful if the dog has died, if you have access to its frozen gametes). I look for good performance in the individual. (If the dog has been badly injured in the past I will excuse low athletic performance).

2) What is the average quality of its littermates? (This should be high- I would not want a dog for breeding that is a good dog, but the only one in its litter that is).

3) What is the average quality of its ancestors and their extended families? (I am looking for general high quality. Not a few excellent individuals.)

4) I also look for good quality ancestors or their close relatives that are in ancestry of both the parents. I think “in-breeding” of good dogs is good for fixing their qualities in their offspring. I am sure this can be over done. A good breeder should look hard at the results to see if they have produced the type of dogs that they intended to. This means following up on the progress of sold dogs. And learning from the results!

If you are a dog breeder you will know this information about your own dogs.
It is not so easy to get this information when using other peoples breeding animals (especially stud dogs).
Dog breeders would all produce better dogs if they co-operated and shared information. But they generally tend to compete and withhold information from their “Rivals”. They and the quality of the dogs suffer in the long run!