Joe Rogan has a knack for finding interesting new topics to discuss with his guests. As such, in a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan invited Cliff Gray, a renowned hunter, guide, and wilderness explorer. Notably, a lot of their discussions centered around wolves.
Speaking on episode #1955 of the podcast, the pair discussed the reintroduction of wolves into the state of Colorado. Marked as non-game species, the wolves will be transplanted into two different areas of Colorado. Although the idea is to try and replenish the ecosystem and return it to its original state, the initiative could do more harm than good. According to Cliff Gray, wolves would pose a threat to guides, outfitters, loggers, and cattle ranch owners trying to make a living in Colorado.
Eventually, the topic shifted to how smart wolves are, and how similar they are to dogs. Here, Rogan brings up the topic of Belgian Malinois, also known as Belgian Shepherds. “Dude it’s wild,” says Rogan about the Belgian Malinois and how they operate. “They can do shit where they leap through the air like you can’t f*cking believe”. Further, he adds, “They run, jump off a guy’s back and then leap through the air, like climb over walls that are like 10 feet tall just by running up the wall.”
As such, Rogan brings up clips of the dog breed, performing some amazing stunts and law enforcement procedures. For the most part, Belgian Malinois make for good guard and police dogs, owing to their intelligence, agility, and tracking abilities. Thus, this breed and breeds similar to this one are seen as descendants of wolves, and specifically bred for war.
Joe Rogan believes that a Belgian Malinois cannot be kept at home
With this particular dog breed, Rogan finds them to be much different than regular dog breeds. Whilst Joe’s dog can understand simple things and respond to them, the Malinois possesses much higher awareness and intelligence. Thus, Joe believes that his dog is a really tame and docile version of a wolf. However, the Belgian Malinois and the qualities that it exhibits are more likened to that of a wolf.
“Those are the dogs they use in war, and as police dogs and they are f*cking scary little meat missiles”. According to Joe Rogan, it is near impossible to keep a Malinois at home. “You can’t keep just keep one of those motherf*****s in your yard, they’re too smart. They’re working dogs”. However, despite Joe’s sentiments, the Belgian Malinois is very much a family dog and has a sense of obedience, and is protective of its owners. Although they are family-friendly, the dogs will require a much larger living space and cannot live in kennels.
Recently, the breed’s popularity rose even further with the release of John Wick: Chapter 4. In the movie, the Belgian Malinois plays a prominent character, delivering comic relief and action in some of the scenes. Notably, the dog is a faithful accomplice to Tracker, played by Canadian actor Shamier Anderson. The dog is tasked with tracking down and hunting John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves throughout the series.
Interestingly, the UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is also the proud owner of a Belgian Malinois by the name of Dutch. Seeing that the athlete leads a very active life in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it makes sense for Jones to own a dog of that particular breed. What did you make of the Belgian Malinois? Would you like to own one? Is the breed ideal for you and your family? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.