Your actual day.
Tell me what your days look like, not the version that sounds best on an application. Who lives with you? What other animals are there? What time can you realistically give to the dog?
Michael Spayde · Leslie, Michigan
I like doing the work.
Training. Competing. Raising puppies. Paying attention to the dog in front of me.
The person behind the kennel
I’m Michael.
I’m Michael Spayde, a retired United States Navy veteran with more than 21 years of service. The Malinois Mafia is my Belgian Malinois kennel in Leslie, Michigan. These dogs are part of my daily life—not just a breeding program on a website.
My dog experience includes Belgian Malinois breeding and training, law-enforcement prospects and dog sports. I like doing the work. I also believe in being clear about what that work can—and cannot—promise.
There is a difference between a pedigree, an accomplishment and the dog living in your home. All three deserve attention. None of them replaces the daily care, training and handling that come next.
Our approach
Get the fit right first.
Malinois need someone prepared for the dog they are bringing home. Getting that part right matters more than making a sale.
The individual dog.
A whole litter is not one personality. A title is not a complete temperament assessment. I want the conversation to be about the individual dog, your goals and the work you plan to do together.
Questions welcome.
Ask about the parents, individual health results, pedigree and written terms. Bring the difficult questions. If you are new to Malinois, say so. That is where a useful conversation starts.
The next people in the story
Give the work its credit.
My history includes donating Malinois puppies to the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and Michigan-based veteran service dog organizations. I have also donated trained shelter pit bulls as green-dog candidates to veteran service programs. A candidate is a starting point—not a claim of completed service-dog training.
Breeding and raising a puppy is one part of the story. The handlers, trainers and organizations that take the next steps deserve their credit too. The working-dog profiles preserve those connections without turning kennel history into a live deployment roster.
Read the working-dog storiesThe right dog starts with a conversation
Talk with Michael Bring me your actual situation.
Tell me what you need from a dog—and what your day actually looks like.