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I've never owned one, but I've been involved in the working dog world / Schutzhund since about '09, so around them quite often.
A Malinois as your first working breed is fucking stupid - no offense.
Our trainer who runs our Schutzhund club is pretty much the guy who certifies the people who certifies all K9 trainers in the US and Canada. A very well bred GSD will be really great at tracking, protection and obedience. What makes them really great is the handler's ability to turn them on and off immediately once well trained. A well bred Mal will be probably ok at tracking, great at protection and YMMV for obedience. There's not much of an on / off switch. This is what he says to experienced owners. People who've got dogs more expensive than your car. He's advised billionaire clients away from them and towards other breeds for exactly what' you're after.
If there's a female in your house, though, and the dog is male, it will never leave her side (almost annoyingly) and nobody will ever fuck with her without the dog having something to say about it. They aren't very great for estate protection, though. Get a Rottweiler, Dobie or GSD for that.
But if you insist on still getting one, you or someone needs to make "working" them their daily thing. They have a ton of energy, so they constantly need to be engaged. They will destroy your shit if you don't. I don't mean playing fetch and working on "sit" for 15 minutes. I mean literally all day, this person is somehow engaging them. Otherwise they'll need to be kenneled, and you can't do estate protection as a dog from your kennel.
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