Weird Puppy Behavior Question - Page 1

I just adopted a male malinois puppy..prob between 10-12 weeks old. He was taken in a seizure and might be from working lines, no other history known.  He is environmentally sound but fearful of people especially men. We have been working on socialization constantly. He has a weird habit of going into attack mode when he hears anything that clacks or clatters.. Flapping magnets on doggy door, rattling noises during a car ride.. buggies pushed across a bumpy parking lot..
he just goes nuts and if he cannot get to the source,,he starts tugging on whatever is nearest to him.   He halfheartedly plays ball and tug but gives it all when hears that certain sound.  I ran into a retired NY K9 officer in Petsmart today and he wondered if perhaps the puppy had been exposed to those bamboo agitation sticks at some point.. Would this cause this behavior?
      Any one have any opinions? I do  not know anything about bitework or Shutzhund ..I train for SAR Cadaver work...I would like to somehow make this behavior work for me in training.   Any advice?

We have this noisemaker thing, to use as a training distraction, it's a tin filled with coins.  Some dogs are scared of loud noises and have to be desensitized, but not my Malinois.  If she hears it, she goes NUTS wants to get to it and bite it.  She has heard the clatter stick since 8 wks old.  It's just the way the noise sounds it is exiting to them, you can shake the stick before bitework begins.  Get the puppy playing tug on scraps of leather or something his teeth won't pierce, so it won't hurt his baby teeth to tug.  There are some good toys on allk-9.com, one puppy toy they make has a bunch of dangling leather straps and sheepskin it's really cool.  My Mali was naturally sharp with people when she was puppy (hackles up, snapping, etc) and I was really worried, but I socialized the heck out of her, now she has gone in the total opposite direction and anyone can pet her, keep socializing and having new people play tug with him and give him treats, I don't believe in 'not letting people pet my puppy' especially Malinois, I want a dog that is safe and not going to snap at someone, I will not accept that.  I say take my dogs leash and walk it around, pet my dog!  I just got a comment from a Dobe breeder the other day, she told me "This is the nicest Malinois I have ever seen."  Not edgy, just well adjusted and friendly.

My male was raised where his training began early, yes he hears the clatter stick he goes in the hyper drive LOL.  He is however one of the most social dogs I have ever owned.  He absolutely loves children and lets them crawl all over him.  When he is working however he is on high.  His training is going beautifully, he is 14 months old now.   I also have a bitch which I imported from Croatia and she is very social but when she hears me get her 'working clothes' out she is ready to go. 

All I can say is socialize socialize socialize!! 

Thanks for the replies so far..I am really glad I found this forum.

Shellybug,

If he is the dog in the picture, he is beautiful.
But look at the size of those ears, 
 I bet he can hear a gnat fart 2 miles away.
Don't be alarmed he will grow into those ears
in 3 or 4 months. He should be full of play drive
and checking out his environment. I don't know
the history of this puppy so it is impossible to say
without seeing him, but you might have a good dog.

Hi again...same puppy new question......2 questions actually....My new Mal puppy's ears were up for a couple of weeks and now they have been down for a week..I heard this is normal during the teething stage...anything to worry about?
Also...his obsession with pulling the flaps off the doggy doors....I can verbally "out" him off of them but when I turn around he runs back over and attempts to rip them from the hinges...He is obsessed with them.
Besides constant observation does anybody have any tried and true tips to make this doggy door flaps less attractive?  I have tried to rub them with stuff that tastes bad to him but to no avail......he does not like the noise they make.
 He is a hardcore determined little fella...  :)