Belgian Mal - Page 1

I am the owner of a 10 month old Belgian Malinois and he has recently become very aggressive towards all people other than myself. He was recently stolen and my partner and i believe he may have been abused by the man we found had stolen him as he is especially man-aggressive. It is difficult as my partner and I both exercised him and now only I am able to because he attacks every man he sees. Also, when I am inside his enclosure he jumps up on me and scratches me. I lift my knee up however he has realised how to avoid the "nudge". He has also become very nervous about me leaving his enclosure and will try to push me further in with his body, blocking the exit. He is a very very intelligent dog and was friendly towards people who he had met before. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can help him calm down at least towards my partner so he isnt so aggressive and we can maintain his exercise routine twice a day, please let me know. He has not been formally trained but knows the basic commands and was very good at listening but now I cant stop him from attacking. He is my first malinois and I am at a loss in regards to dealing with his aggression and anxiety.

Train with people who are familar with the breed, like sport training.  Some of theos dogs will not calm down others deen an outlet more like focused training as opposed to pure exercise.  You will also have a stronger bond. 

Sounds like you have a Malinois on your hands. 

He is maturing, and from the sounds of it, you've done nothing to channel his energy/drive/aggression into anything productive and he is acting out as undisciplined animals do. Get help with someone who knows Mals. May I ask why you got a Malinois if you don't have any experience with them or similar dogs (assuming from your post, correct me if I misunderstood).

He most likely was not abused..this is just how mali's are he's starting to mature he's growing out of puppy hood..if you dont train him properly, socialize him and teach him who to be aggressive toward and who to trust then he's not going to trust anybody but the socializing is prob too late he should of been extensively socialized before 7 months..you should of got some insight before you got a mali..their naturally human aggressive..my 6 year old female I never socialized her because I wanted her to be like this to watch my yard and I know no one is getting in..my male I socialized him so I could take him with me to go places..where are you located?

Les Gueules du Rhone
Belgian Malinois

How long was he with the person that stole him?

He could have been abused, or he could just be going through a teenage stage and "coming into his own".  Hard to say without seeing the dog whether this is a fear based aggression from abuse, or a confidence based "I'm a 'man' now and going to act like a little jerk".  Even his behavior change towards your partner could be explained by either of those situations.

Regardless though of what the cause of the behavior is, you need to get together with someone who will know how to help you deal with it.  More training and socializing are in order, if you have a dog who is trying to attack people, you MUST have total control on that dog through obedience.

Where are you located?  Hopefully someone on the forum can give you some trainer recommendations for an evaluation and then training.

I'm very concerned that he has "attacked" every male he has come in contact with. I would get an attorney on retainer, if true. I believe this is another case of exaggeration.