Just got my first Mal - Page 1

Hey everyone, this is my first dog ever.  I know a BM is not recoommed for that but I have been reaseachign this for a little over a year and finally decdied I want a dog.  My quick back story is that I am a US Navy Vet and during a tour in Iraq in 2008 I got to see some of them.  They seemed like a great and unqiue dog. I always liked the GS but I thought this was even "cooler" if that makes sense.  Anyways, now I live in a house with a fenced in yard and am using the GI Bill to go to school.  I have a decent amount of free time and I want a buddy to help me stay really active.  I wanted a dog to run with and bike, hike and things like that.  I got mine from Steve Tigges at Oak Tree Kennels.  He seemed legit and so I went for it.  The Vet checked out the puppy and said he was in super great health.  He is 8 weeks old and already weighs 16lbs.  I feed him Orijen Large Breed Puppy.  He is already learning Sit.  The potty part is hard, haha...I just crate train him.  He is super quiet too.  Rarely makes a sound unless I get him going.  I got the alpha male of the liter and he is very brave alread.  Runs up to big dogs and nips at them, already learned the stairs the first day.  He loves to bite, my hands know that!!  The only bad thing about this breed!?!?  Other people, they keeping thinking he is some GS mix, then I have to tell them the name, then they ask me to repeat the Malinois part...I love him..I'll post pics soon.  His name is Geno

Conrats on getting a mali. My 1st dog was a mali. I still have him and love him. I have 2 more now for a total of 3. Remember, a bored malinois is a DESTRUCTIVE MALINOIS! You might want to consider getting involved in a local club that will exercise your dog such as agility, frisbee, or what I do, which is a dog sport called "schutzhund". I love it and more importantly, all my dogs love it. Any how, enjoy your mali and welcome to the "MALINOIS NATION"!

REED

That's great that you got your first dog, and it's nice that it's a BM.  Now get ready for the ride of your life, cause it's gonna be fast and non stop fun but that ALL depends on you.  My wife and I got our first purebred Mal 6 months ago.

You will have no problems getting this boy to run with you, bike with you, etc.  Mal's are well known for being non stop active.  Don't push the dog too hard for the first while though, as he's still a baby and needs his bones, etc. to develop.

The potty training will come in time.  Believe me.  Every now and again he'll have an accident.  Our boy still excitement pees sometimes when I come home from work.

The alpha part.  You are going to need to keep this under your control at all times.  This coincides with the bitey part.  The dog needs to respect and trust you and your family at all times.  Puppies biting happens, it's just life.  At some point though, he's got to understand that his teeth should never ever touch your skin.  At 3 months old our Vet told us that we had to get that under control ASAP as he was still biting at my wife when I wasn't there.  Now at 6 months old this is still happening sometimes and he's a much larger dog.  He never tries to pull this with me, but regards my wife as a playmate and shows her no respect.

Anyhoo, welcome to the forum.  Lots of good advice and reading available here.  You're about to go through some very rewarding experiences.  Some very frustrating ones as well.  Take it all in stride.

Fantastic! I've had dogs of all kinds over the years, and resuced a Mal a year ago- didn't even know what they were 'till my vet identified her. My observation is this: intelligence and energy of a border collie, social drive of a shih tzu. It doesn't take any special technique just be invovled with your dog, include him as family rather than as livestock, and it'll be great. Mine has turned out, without any herculean effort, to be among my absolute best dogs.

I just adopted a very pretty and very active 3 yr old Mal named Mia a couple of months ago. I had been wanting another dog to be a companion for my GSD, and I am definitely in love with the Belgian Malinois breed. Good to hear you're happy with your new buddy!

Congrats on the new puppy. I have had Malinois for 12 years and they can be the best or worse dog you have ever had - your choice.  They need training and lots of exercise and they need to understand that they are not in charge.  Please stop the hand biting asap.  It may be cute and fun now, but not so much fun when he weighs 65 lbs.  I work in rescue for the breed and believe me the biting will be a big problem if you don't stop it now.  Enjoy your puppy and get ready for a fun ride.

It is great that you got a BM. My first choice was actually a Golden Retriever, great with kids. I think I did make the right choice though- great house protection and a joy to train. 

The only downside is that I sometimes get too busy or even lazy.  BMs is "the real working dog", and can be a bit stubborn. I had mine trained by a professional after I spoilt her in a way failing with her home training. After she bit someone who made the mistake of taking the leash from me, she was just protecting me but I realized she needs some proper training- know when to bite.  

Anyway,  hope this helps. Congratulations on your first Mal. 

G