If you’ve been dreaming about owning a Belgian Malinois of your own, you’re probably wondering just how much it would cost to purchase this powerful working dog.
The answer varies dramatically based on whether you want to purchase a puppy or buy a trained, adult dog.
How much does a Belgian Malinois cost? The cost of a Belgian Malinois varies from about $1,500 on the low end for an AKC registered puppy to as much as $100,000 for an extremely well-trained protection dog. The price depends on the dog’s lineage, conformation to breed standards, age, and training.
Here is everything that you need to know about the cost of purchasing a Belgian Malinois, regardless of whether you are looking for a puppy or a trained dog.
Actual Breeder Prices
Actual breeder prices vary a fair amount depending on an individual puppy’s lineage and the standards of the kennel.
In general, you can expect to pay between $1,300 and $2,500 for an 8-week-old puppy.
Here are some real breeders and the prices they are asking for their puppies.
Breeder |
Location |
Price for puppy |
| OT Vitosha Malinois | Plant City, Florida | $2,500 |
| Wolfs Bane K9 | Rogersville, Tennessee | $2,500 |
| House of K9 | Porter, Oklahoma | $1,500 |
| Cher Car Kennels | St. Johns, Michigan | $1,800 |
| Dantero Malinois | Fallbrook, California | $1,300-$1,800 |
How Much Are Trained Malinois?
Purchasing a Malinois puppy will set you back a couple of thousand dollars, but purchasing a trained protection dog will set you back tens of thousands of dollars.
Exactly how much your dog costs depends on what he’s been trained to do.
Regardless of bloodlines, not every Belgian Malinois is a candidate for personal protection work.
You need a dog who is brave, determined, and has a strong urge to please their handler.
A dog well suited to protection work also needs to have a natural drive to protect and an inherent fearlessness.
A dog who will get along well with your family, including children, but will protect you against an intruder or anyone trying to do you harm, will generally set you back about $20,000.
If you need your dog to travel well on your personal jet or boat, be comfortable with livestock, or have other special requirements, you can expect to pay even more.
Dogs who have been trained for specific police work or cross-trained so that they can both track down a target and attack when ordered will cost much more.
Discounts are often given to police and military, so if you want a dog with police or military training but are a civilian you can expect to pay top dollar.
What Training Should You be Looking for?
Versatility
The best personal protection dogs are trained to handle home invasions, carjackings, and public attacks.
A good personal protection dog should be able to perform in any situation, not just during demonstrations on the field.
Independent Thinking
Your protection dog should not only know how to attack when commanded but should be intelligent enough to determine which situations call for action.
This is especially important if you need your dog to protect someone who can’t order an attack, like a child.
Turn On and Off Easily
These dogs can go from being in attack mode to being calm pets again in the blink of an eye.
Demonstration of calm control like this shows that dogs won’t attack inappropriately when they are worked up.
Willing to Engage
Unlike dogs who have natural protection instincts but no training, dogs who are trained to protect will not back down from a fight.
You may think that a dog will attack in the right situation based on their vicious bark, but in fact, most dogs who bark viciously at intruders will not actually attack if challenged.
Other Factors That Affect Cost
Dogs with European bloodlines, especially dogs from Holland or Belgium, often cost more than dogs with American bloodlines.
The Netherlands, in particular, are well known for being an incredible source for Belgian Malinois and dogs imported from Holland are often quite pricey.
Dogs who have been able to achieve high training while still at a young age will also bring a high price tag.
As a rule, males do not cost more than females, but male dogs are sometimes more desirable because they tend to be bigger.
Believe it or not, a dog with the best bloodlines and highly specialized training may cost as much as $100,000.
How to Choose a Belgian Malinois Puppy
Once you have made the decision that you want to add a Belgian Malinois puppy to your life, you have another important job to do in choosing the perfect puppy for your family.
Here are some things that you can keep in mind to help you find the best possible Belgian Malinois puppy for your needs.
Buy From an AKC Registered Breeder
Puppies who come from dogs registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) will generally cost more than unregistered dogs, but they are well worth the extra cost.
Breeders who register with the AKC are dedicated to maintaining breed standards.
They are much more likely to have performed important health checks not only on your dog’s parents but also on their parents and their parents before them.
Devotion to healthy dogs throughout multiple breeding generations means that your puppy is more likely to be free of any health problems like hip or elbow dysplasia.
Use the AKC Marketplace to help you find an AKC-registered breeder.
Pick a Well-Socialized Puppy
For a breed like the Belgian Malinois, it really does matter that puppies receive socialization and stimulation even before you take them home at 8 or 10 weeks old.
Socialization means meeting people and dogs other than those in their family.
Stimulation means that they have been exposed to various landscapes, textures, and obstacles.
If you have livestock or other pets like cats or small dogs, it is best to choose puppies that have been exposed to these and similar animals.
Our Complete Guide to Socialization further explains the incredible importance of correct socialization, is full of helpful tips, and even provides a checklist to work through.
Puppies should never be separated from their mother until they are at least 8 weeks since they need at least this much time in order to learn social skills from their littermates and mother.
If your breeder prefers to keep puppies even longer, this is a mark of a dedicated breeder.
Pick a Puppy with the Temperament to Suit Your Needs
If you want to train your Malinois puppy to be an accomplished protection dog or have your dog work hard driving livestock, you need a puppy with lots of energy and drive.
If, on the other hand, you just want an energetic family pet with a strong natural protection drive, you should choose a mellow puppy with as little prey drive as possible.
Good breeders should be experienced in choosing the best dogs for a future involving particular jobs or being pets, so they should be able to help you choose the perfect puppy for your needs.
Buy or Adopt?
If you want a Belgian Malinois in your life, you have a choice as to whether you want to buy a puppy or adopt an adult dog.
Belgian Malinois are frequently rehomed because they are so often purchased by people who are not up to maintaining this breed.
This doesn’t mean that there is anything at all wrong with Malinois up for adoption.
Often they have been raised in loving family homes but have simply not been given as much training or exercise as they really need.
Because Malinois are healthy, long-lived dogs, you can adopt an older dog and still have a long and wonderful life with him.
Unless you have a specific job that you want to train a puppy to do, adoption is a wonderful option. Check out all the great dogs available at the American Belgian Malinois Rescue.
Related Question
Why are Belgian Malinois so expensive?
Among purebred dogs, even those that are registered with the AKC, Belgian Malinois tend to be some of the most expensive puppies you can buy.
There are a number of reasons for this.
First of all, because Belgian Malinois require so much training and engagement to remain healthy and happy, keeping and breeding them is a challenging endeavor.
Furthermore, European bloodlines are still the most sought out among Belgian Malinois which means that traveling and shipping dogs are often essential to maintain the best bloodlines and produce the best puppies.
Finally, because so many Belgian Malinois are surrendered, responsible breeders place a high price tag on puppies to eliminate inappropriate buyers.
