Rehoming guide
How to rehome your Belgian Malinois
Checked 27 October 2026
The short answer
If your Belgian Malinois isn't the right fit for your life, finding them a home that suits them can be the kindest choice. The Royal Kennel Club describes a working dog with "an appetite for work" that needs more than two hours of exercise a day, so the right adopter is someone ready for that, and your listing should say plainly how much your dog needs to do each day.
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Why Belgian Malinois end up needing a new home
We haven't found a UK source that sets out why Malinois are given up, so here is what the breed asks of a home. The rescue page of the Belgian Shepherd Dog Association of Great Britain (BSDA) calls the Belgian Shepherd "an active, demanding breed" that needs knowledgeable homes.
The Royal Kennel Club says the Malinois is widely used by the police and armed forces, needs more than two hours of exercise a day, and has "an appetite for work, being watchful, wary and highly intelligent". Dogs Trust calls it "a typically high-energy dog who needs lots of exercise to keep them physically and mentally healthy", with training and daily enrichment on top. A pet home that didn't expect that level of need can find it hard to keep up.
None of this makes your dog a problem, or you a bad owner. It usually means the match didn’t fit, and a careful rehoming fixes exactly that.
What to tell adopters about your Belgian Malinois
Exercise and work. Say how much exercise, training and mental work your Malinois gets each day, and what happens when they don't get it. The Royal Kennel Club lists more than two hours a day and a large house with a large garden.
New people and visitors. The breed standard says a Malinois "may show some initial reserve", and Dogs Trust says some dogs like meeting new people and dogs and some need to go slowly. Tell adopters how your dog reacts to visitors, children and other dogs, and how long they take to settle.
Training history. If your dog has done any working, protection or sport training, say so, along with what they know and how they respond to it. The BSDA's rescue page says new owners must be "prepared to give their new dog time to adjust".
Papers and health. Say whether your dog is pedigree and registered, as the breed club rescue "can only help with pedigree dogs". The Royal Kennel Club asks breeders to score hips and elbows and to test eyes, so pass on any results and your dog's vet records.
Belgian Malinois rescues that take owners’ dogs
Space is tight. GSRE says it can't take more dogs at present "unless there are exceptional circumstances", and the breed club rescue can only help with pedigree dogs, so contact the national charities on this page as well and ask whether your dog can stay with you meanwhile.
Belgian Shepherd Rescue (Belgian Shepherd Dog Association of Great Britain)dogs · UK breed club; pedigree dogs only
Contact its Rescue Co-ordinator (details on the page). An experienced Belgian Shepherd owner visits to assess your dog, and it prefers to "leave the dog in its home until a new owner has been found". It says "we can only help with pedigree dogs".
German Shepherd Rescue Elite (GSRE)dogs · National; registered office in Cornwall
A German Shepherd rescue that says it has "also been helping the Belgian Shepherd Malinois". It assesses dogs and advertises them on its website, but says it "cannot take any more dogs into our care at present unless there are exceptional circumstances".
National charities that take any breed
Dogs Trustdogs
Two routes: Homestay, where your dog stays with you while Dogs Trust finds a new home (it says Homestay dogs "generally find a new home within two weeks"), or a kennel or foster place, which "could take a few weeks". Giving up a dog to Dogs Trust is free, and it aims to reply within 72 hours. Start with a call on 0300 303 2188 or its online form.
Blue Crossdogs, cats, rabbits
Home Direct keeps your pet with you while Blue Cross finds a new owner. That is "the quickest way", it says, because space in its own kennels, cattery and small pet units "is very limited". It takes dogs, cats, rabbits and small pets. Call pet admissions on 0300 777 1960 or use its online form.
Should you charge a rehoming fee?
You can ask for a rehoming fee, paid at the handover after the adopter has met your pet, and never as a deposit beforehand. PAAG's worry with "free to good home" adverts is that people may take an animal on impulse and that a free advert "may devalue an animal" (PAAG). A fee does make the handover a sale, though, so animals can't go to anyone under 16 and you should be honest about your pet's health.
How listing your Belgian Malinois on LocalPetFinder works
- Fill in the free listing form. Photos, age, health, how your dog is with children and other animals, and an honest description. It takes about ten minutes, and your dog stays at home with you.
- A person checks it, usually within a day, before it goes live.
- Your Belgian Malinois appears next to rescue dogs on the Belgian Malinois pages for your city (Ashford, Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Bath and North East Somerset, Belfast, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bradford, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chester, Chesterfield, Chippenham, Colchester, Coventry, Crawley, Darlington, Derby, Doncaster, Dover, Dumfries and Galloway, Durham, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Exeter, Falmouth, Folkestone, Glasgow, Gloucester, Grantham, Great Yarmouth, Guildford, Hartlepool, Hayle, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Kendal, Kidderminster, Kingston upon Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Llanelli, London, Lowestoft, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester, Mansfield, Margate, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newport, Newquay, North East Lincolnshire, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Penrith, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Sleaford, Solihull, Southampton, Southport, Spalding, St. Helens, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Torbay, Truro, Wakefield, Walsall, Warrington, Watford, Wellingborough, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Worthing, Wrexham, York), marked as listed by the owner.
- You choose. Adopters message you through LocalPetFinder, so your email and phone number stay private. You decide who to meet and who takes your dog, and you hand over in person.
We take listings from owners anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland the new owner needs a dog licence before they take a dog, so ask to see it before the handover.
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Start your free listing →Before the handover: the must-dos
The microchip has to be transferred
In England, Scotland and Wales a dog can't be passed to a new keeper until it's microchipped, and the new keeper must update the database (England, Scotland, Wales); in Scotland the keeper's own details must also be correct before the handover. In England the same applies to cats, while in Scotland and Wales chipping a cat is optional. Check the chip is on a government-approved database and do the transfer at the handover.
No deposits, no couriers
Never ask for, or accept, money before an adopter has met your pet in person, and hand over face to face. A request for a deposit is the classic sign of a pet scam, and on LocalPetFinder it gets a listing taken down.
Banned dog types can’t be rehomed at all
It's against the law in England, Scotland and Wales to give away a banned dog. In England and Wales it's illegal to "rehome, sell, buy, or transfer ownership of an XL Bully" (gov.uk: England and Wales). In Scotland, since 23 February 2024 it has been illegal to sell, advertise, gift or exchange an XL Bully, Scottish guidance says it is unlawful to "sell, give away or rehome an XL Bully" (gov.scot), and since 1 August 2024 it has been an offence to own one without an exemption certificate. If you think your dog could be an XL Bully, don't list it.
Adopters must be adults, and you must be honest
Adopters must be 18 or over, and the listing must be accurate about health, behaviour, and whether your pet is good with children, dogs and cats. A good match is the one that lasts.
Rehoming your Belgian Malinois: your questions
Tap a question to expand
Will a Malinois rescue take my dog?
Maybe, but places are scarce. GSRE is only taking dogs in exceptional circumstances, and the Belgian Shepherd Dog Association's rescue can only help with pedigree dogs. Contact the national charities on this page as well, and describe your dog honestly so each one can judge whether it can help.
My Malinois isn't a pedigree. Can a breed rescue still help?
The Belgian Shepherd Dog Association's rescue says it can only help with pedigree dogs. GSRE doesn't mention that rule on the page we read, so ask it directly, and say whether your dog is a cross. The national charities on this page take every breed, pedigree or not.
What kind of home suits a Malinois?
An experienced, active one. The Royal Kennel Club suggests more than two hours of exercise a day and a large house with a large garden, and the BSDA's rescue page says these dogs "will need knowledgeable homes". Look for adopters who have lived with a working breed before.
Related guides
Rehoming where you live
Rehoming guides for other dog breeds
Sources: The Royal Kennel Club: Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois) · The Royal Kennel Club: Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois) breed standard · Dogs Trust: Belgian Malinois · BSDA of GB: Belgian Shepherd Rescue · German Shepherd Rescue Elite