Belgian Malinois Training
Belgian Malinois is a medium-sized herding dog of Belgium. It is one of the four Belgian herdings dogs with loving, watchful, protective, and energetic temperament. It is a strong dog with a lean and muscular body that serves both as a herding dog and a guarding dog.
Belgian Malinois is a very active dog breed that needs vigorous exercise for their physical exercise as well as mental stimulation. Here, in this article, you will learn about the training methods and strategies for Belgian Malinois.
Where to Start Training Belgian Malinois?
Belgian Malinois is a lively dog and since it is a herding dog, it needs a good amount of physical exercise regularly. When they are a puppy which is housetraining, do not take them far from the house. Train them in the house and the yard where they are comfortable. You can obedience train them in the house or in an open space where there is less crowded.
As they grow and when it is time for socialization, slowly take them out on a leash and teach them to walk on the leash. Expose them to people and introduce them. After they are comfortable around other peoples and also master the basics, take them to park for agility.
Image Source: Greenfieldskennels.com
When to Start Training Belgian Malinois?
Belgian Malinois is a very smart and intelligent dog breed. They are very quick at catching new commands and instructions even at a very early age. So, it is no harm to start giving them some minor housetraining from 6-8 weeks of their birth. Continue housetraining and obedience training them for 3 to 4 months and move to pre-agility. Involve them in small physical exercise like fetching, running, and bringing stuff.
Advance training and agility should be started when they are 6 months old. They are enthusiastic and mischevious at this age, so obedience training should be continued, so they obey and respect you.
How to Define Task for Belgian Malinois?
Defining task for your Belgian Malinois can be done in various ways. Use vocal commands as well as hand gestures and body language to instruct them, what to do. For instance, if you want them to stop, use your hand along with the word ‘stop’. Likewise, you can invent other hand gestures to command them.
Do not confuse your dog with many words for one task. Use a single word for certain tasks in the beginning and they will learn quickly in this way.
Image Source: Animals.NET
Training Process
If you are a novice dog owner, Belgian Malinois is not recommended as they need an experienced dog owner who knows their temperament.
Leadership: Establishing leadership is very important from the very beginning. Be patient, consistent and firm with them, so they see you as their leader and respects you. If you fail to establish leadership on Belgian Malinois, they will become your leader.
Socialization: Belgian Malinois should be socialized with a variety of people at a very young age so they grow up to be a friendly dog. Carefully introduce them with different people and canines by taking them to the park.
Positive Reinforcement: Belgian Malinois should be trained only by using positive reinforcement. They tend to respond very well to treats and praises. So, as they complete a task, reward them with delicious treats and lots of vocal praise.
Agility: Agility is very important for Belgian Malinois as they are a very active dog breed that requires regular physical exercise. As they master basic training enroll them in advance for their physical exercise and mental stimulation.
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