Whippet Belgian Malinois Mix: Full Guide

The Whippet Belgian Malinois mix is among the most exciting and rarer whippet mixes today.

Since it’s bred from a hunting and herding parent, this crossbreed canine is highly athletic and energetic, hence suitable for active owners and families.

However, while both the Whippet and Belgian Malinois are friendly dogs, they have somewhat varying personalities.

Therefore, if you’re planning to add this unique canine to your family, it’s wise to know its needs and temperaments to coexist with it easily and fully enjoy its company.

So, if you’re looking for the complete guide about the Whippet Belgian Malinois mix, or you’re just curious about the appearance and traits of the cross between the famous speedy whippet and robust law enforcement Belgian Malinois, you’re just at the correct place.

This post comprehensively outlines anything and everything there’s to know about this rare crossbreed, including its origin, appearance, health, size, needs, and life expectancy.

Kindly read through to the end to see if this whippet mix is the right choice for you.

Table of Contents

What Is A Belgian Malinois Mix?

The Whippet Belgian Malinois is produced by interbreeding a purebred whippet and a Belgian Malinois. It’s an excellent option for individuals looking for a large, slim, and limber canine buddy with a highly athletic nature and sturdier build.

This dog is gorgeous, intelligent, loyal, loving, and playful, just like its parents. It requires sufficient daily exercise, company, and mental stimulation to burn off extra energy and stay happy.

Like the Malinois, your Whippet Belgian Malinois mix will be protective and a good watchdog. However, it may be overly protective, jealous, and territorial if not appropriately trained.

With proper training, care, and maintenance, the Whippet Belgian Malinois mix is generally affectionate, friendly, caring, agile, sturdy, intelligent, alert, and protective dogs.

The Whippet Belgian Malinois Mix History

Generally, most mixed dogs have a shallow history, and getting a good read on them is usually tricky.

However, it’s easy to know what to expect in mixed dogs with their parents’ rich and fascinating accounts.

The Whippets History

The whippet is also commonly known as a nap dog’ or the poor man’s racehorse.’ It originated from England during the late 1800s, where it was primarily created to hunt.

Bred from terriers and greyhounds, the whippet strongly resembles a miniature greyhound.

It has deer-like limbs, a narrow face, an arching back, swan-shaped neck, large round eyes, small rose-like ears, broad chest, and dark eyes, muzzle, and rim. It’s intelligent, small-sized, easy to groom, and highly affectionate.

As hunting dogs, whippets are highly predacious and love chasing small animals. Although whippets are agile and jumpy, they are very friendly, charming, and gentle canines.

Today, many people keep whippets as couch potatoes and snuggly buddies. A whippet will accompany you in all your outdoor errands and enjoy relaxing or cuddling with you in the evening.

They are also very energetic and need enough exercise to stay healthy, happy, and fit.

The Belgian Malinois History

The Malinois Dog is among the four Belgian Sheepdogs varieties developed in Belgium during the late 1800s. It has a smoother coat than its cousin Laekenois but is similarly energetic, powerful, and speedy.

It was named after a Belgium city called Malines, where it hails. The Malinois will enjoy being indulged in various challenging tasks instead of lazing around or cuddling.

They excel in all types of assignments, including herding, tracking, rescue, obedience training, therapy, and police work.

This dog strongly resembles the German shepherd, but it’s leggier and leaner with a differently shaped head and ears.

Unlike the whippet’s S-shaped body, tucked in waist and broad chest, the Malinois has a muscular body with large paws and a more robust build while also highly athletic and agile.

Generally, the Malinois dogs are brilliant, hardworking, protective, alert, speedy, loyal, and resilient dogs. Their high intelligence and willingness to please made a perfect choice for police work and companions for active owners.

The Whippet Belgian Malinois Appearance

Whippets are usually medium-sized dogs, while the Malinois dogs are big-sized. Both these two dog breeds come in varying colours and patterns.

Whippets can have either white, black, fawn, blue, tan, red, cream, and brindle coats, while Malinois coats colours can be fawn, black, cream, and brindle.

Therefore, your whippet Belgian Malinois mix will be somewhat smaller than the Malinois dog and more prominent than the whippet with one or mixed coat colour (s) depending on its parent’s skin appearance.

This dog will weigh around 30-80 lbs standing at the height of about 24-30 inches.

Just like its parents, your Whippet Malinois mix will have a short, smooth coat that’s easy to groom and maintain. It may also assume the Malinois double-coated skin or the whippet’s thin, elegant coat that’s intolerant to harsh weather.

The Whippet Belgian Malinois Temperament

The primary purpose of producing whippets was to hunt, while Malinois were bred to be herding dogs. Therefore, these two dogs are highly predacious, a trait their mixes tend to inherit too.

As an agile and predacious dog, the Whippet Belgian Malinois mix will chase after almost any prey-like animal or food whenever it gets the chance. However, this trait is easy to manage and control through proper training or the use of a leash.

This dog will have a mixture of other traits from its whippet and Malinois parents. It’ll be gentle, cuddly, and tranquil like the whippet and fiercely loyal and protective like the Malinois.

Combining a whippet and Malinois produces a highly energetic and athletic dog that’s incredibly spirited and laid back at the same time.

Unlike the Belgian Malinois, the Whippet Belgian Malinois mix is an excellent family dog and tends to behave more like the whippet parent.

It’s also sensitive, and it may not appreciate staying alone for long hours. This dog needs plenty of daily exercises to burn off excess energy and stay stimulated.

It tends to develop separation anxiety or become destructive when left alone for long periods.

The Whippet Belgian Malinois Health

Usually, whippets and Malinois dogs are healthy breeds, but they tend to be vulnerable to various health issues that their mixes can inherit.

The common health problems in whippets are arthritis, deafness, kidney issues, Addison’s disease, vaccination/drug sensitivity, hypothyroidism, heart murmurs, and von Willebrand’s disease.

On the other hand, Malinois dogs are vulnerable to epilepsy, eye problems, elbow and hip dysplasia, anesthesia sensitivity, and Progressive Retinal Atrophy.

Your Whippet Belgian Malinois mix can be exposed to these issues, primarily if it was bred from unhealthy and poorly selected parents.

For this reason, it’s advisable to buy your pup from a reputable breeder to avoid purchasing a substandard or sick dog.

Timely health care and vaccinations are also critical in ensuring your pup’s health. With proper care and maintenance, this crossbreed dog can live for about 12-15 years.

Caring For A Whippet Belgian Malinois Mix

Like all other dogs, your Whippet Belgian Malinois mix will need proper grooming, feeding, training, socialisation, and sufficient exercise to live happily and stay healthy. Luckily, caring for this dog is relatively easy as it doesn’t have a lot of needs.

Its skin is easy to groom and maintain since it’s short and rarely shed. Weekly brushing and a few baths a month will its skin detangled and glowing.

It requires enough daily exercise of about 60-90 minutes to lower its energy level and be mentally stimulated.

Training this dog can be somewhat challenging due to its high intelligence. But its loyalty, activeness, and willingness to please will make the training more manageable and exciting.

With consistency, proper approach, and use of reinforcements, you’ll eventually train your Whippet Belgian Malinois to be obedient and submissive.

Your dog also needs a proper diet and the right food amount to stay full and satisfied. It would be best if you did not overfeed or underfeed it.

If you don’t know the right food type or food amount for your furry friend, it’s best to ask your vet for advice.

Pros And Cons Of The Whippet Belgian Malinois Mix

Owning a Whippet Belgian Malinois mix comes with its merits and demerits.

Pros

It’s a good watchdog.
It’s brilliant and excels in most tasks.
They’re highly trainable and understand new commands faster.
It’s relatively small, faster, and lean than the purebred Malinois.
Its athletic nature promotes an active lifestyle.
It’s calmer and laid back than the Malinois.
It has a sleek, elegant short coat that’s easy to maintain and groom

Cons

It may not be a good choice for first-time dog owners.
It needs a lot of daily exercise.
It can be aloof or suspicious around strangers or new environments.
It needs a firm, decisive leader who will show it they’re in control, or it’ll become unruly.
It’s prone to many health issues common in large dog breeds.
It can be overly protective and dangerous if not appropriately trained.
It’s hard to train this dog due to its high intelligence and independent nature.

Final Thoughts

The Whippet Belgian Malinois mix is an affectionate, loyal, friendly, muscular, and dynamic dog that can thrive well with active owners/families.

It makes an excellent choice for individuals looking for running, hiking, or walking furry buddies.

However, it needs proper training, early socialisation, and proper care to live happily, longer, and healthy.

This canine may not be the ideal option for tight-scheduled individuals who can’t provide the exercise, company, and stimulation it requires.