Vets stern warning over Spain’s booming dog trend that’s leaving shelters overwhelmed

A breed once reserved for police units and military squad has become one of Spain’s most fashionable pets and experts say the consequences are already piling up in rescue centres across the country.

Viral leaps and stunts

Registrations of Belgian Malinois with Spain’s Real Sociedad Canina de España have jumped 35.2% in just four years, pushing the breed into the country’s top 20 most-registered, ahead of poodles and border collies. South African vet Amir Anwary, known online as Amir the Vet, has warned prospective owners not to be seduced by viral training clips and film cameos: “this isn’t a dog, it’s a machine,” he says, due to the breed’s extreme energy levels and constant need for mental stimulation.

Malinois were bred specifically for stamina, drive and problem-solving, making them exceptional at detection work, search and rescue, and protection duties. Owners without experience, Anwary cautions, often underestimate what daily life with one involves. Without enough exercise and structured training, dogs can turn destructive and dangerous in their behaviour, that stems from unmet needs rather than aggression.

Shelters reporting a sharp rise in surrenders

Rescue centres that are already at high capacity, have seen and increase in Malinois handed in by owners who can’t cope. Nationally, a study by the Affinity Foundation found a 15% increase in abandonment among breeds considered “trendy,” with the Malinois listed among them. Sonia Sanchez, a police officer and drug-detection dog handler, founded SOS Malinois España roughly three years ago specifically to help the rising numbers being given up across Spain. Dogs surrendered there are often wrongly labelled aggressive simply because kennel confinement intensifies frustration they were never bred to tolerate.

In just one case of many, Oroh, now eight years old, has spent four years waiting for a home at a shelter run by Asociacion HADA in Huelva province. Staff there believe buyers are drawn in by police-dog footage and training videos, convinced they’re getting “the perfect dog” without grasping what living with such an intense, intelligent breed actually entails.

Being a responsible owner

Daily walks lasting at least an hour, ideally somewhere dogs can run freely, help meet a Malinois’s physical needs, together with games that build coordination and consistent obedience training. Grooming stays simple thanks to a short coat, though brushing should increase to two or three times weekly during shedding seasons.

Anyone drawn to the breed’s on-screen appeal is urged by welfare groups to speak honestly with rescue charities and professional before committing to the trendy types.