all about Lewis
We got Lewis as an 8 week old puppy in May 2020, he’s a Belgian Shepherd Malinois.
Lewis is a dog of contrasts. He can be both needy and independent. He’s friendly but can be aloof. He loves a bit of fuss but is equally happy lying down by himself. He’s non stop or is ridiculously lazy. He can be the smartest dog around or absolutely stupid.
Malinois are known for being all action, a bit of a handful but really rewarding. He ticks all these boxes and more.
Lewis goes through stages of what he does and doesn’t like – keeping up with these can sometimes be a challenge! When he was a puppy one of the first things that spooked him was a bus. This meant he had to attempt to chase every bus he saw when out walking until we trained it out of him. Push bikes were an issue for a while and he still has very mixed views of electric scooters (the high pitched electrical whine from them must be even more noticeable for him!).
He’s generally good with dogs and has a healthy respect for geese and swans but can still get a little excited about a duck on the canal. The main thing he can’t contain himself around are furry animals – particularly squirrels, cats and foxes. Malinois are one of the fastest dogs on the planet with a top speed of around 50km/h. It feels that he hits this speed running to the back of the garden to ‘protect us’ from a cat on the back fence.
His natural instincts kick in around sheep so we have to keep a careful eye on him while on walks. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to train this out of him!
Because of the type of dog Lewis is he does stay on his lead most of the time unless we are 100% sure that he won’t find anything to chase. He still gets to explore but this ensures that he and the people/animals/birds around him are safe! Lewis is a really friendly dog but the last thing we want is for his inquisitive nature to cause issues so we make sure we don’t put him in that situation.
Water is something else that shows Lewis as full of contrasts. From a young age he’s loved being in and around water. He really enjoys splashing in every puddle he sees, digging holes in riverbeds, rolling in muddy puddles and even snapping at (and trying to drink) the waves while on the beach, however – when you turn the hose on at home to fill up his water bowl he runs a mile. His dislike of water even extends to rain. He’ll pretty much anchor himself inside to avoid going out for a walk when it’s raining!
Lewis is a great companion – not many things beat seeing his excitement when he sees you after a while apart…whether this is him bouncing like a (massive) puppy when picking him up from the kennels or sprinting around the house when we’ve returned from the shops. His enthusiasm for being with us is the best!