very aggresive malinios - Page 5

Why would anyone get a Malinois for quiet walks in the park?!?!?!

Malinois are working dogs.  They need to work.  Even if they are just pets, they need to work.

Dear Dobermann, 

The manner by which you write your comments leaves me no doubt how learned and passionate you are about the topic.  Word of advice though, knowledge does not buy you the right to be arrogant.

I actually joined this site yesterday after chancing upon it googling a related topic.  Anyway, I will not pretend to know more than anyone, you most especially. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I thought this could be a healthy forum where members can freely exchange ideas, as well as experiences. 

What I said about the incident at the local mondio ring club was sadly true. If you don't mind, let me talk about it a little more- I have had 3 dogs in the past, but am by far not a professional trainer. I  just started joining a local mondio ring recently in the hope of training my dogs and bonding with them some more, especially during weekends. I brought my bigger female dog there for the first time and one of the "friendly-nice" guys there who is also a member, volunteered to show my son how to firmly tell the dog the command NO, while holding the leash. As it turned out, my dog hated the idea and may have felt threatened. Then came the lightning quick bite, and we (decoys included) were all helpless since he had the leash in his hand.

I personally love going to the Mondio Ring club sessions. I am always in awe at how disciplined, obedient and polite the dogs there are, no doubt it will be good for my dogs. I placed the 1.5 y.o. female dog under the care of a professional trainer, because in mind, it will be in my and her best interest. I actually blame myself not being able to socialize her properly when she was a puppy. I did not plan on it, but I had to travel abroad a lot during those critical times. 

In your post, I had a feeling you are insinuating that me and the OP are the same person, well sorry but no. I suppose you can somehow tell by the manner of writing. You may also want to look at the dogs in my profile.  The bigger one is the female I was talking about.  The younger 7 month old black sable is male and is actually doing quite well in MR training. 

~G~

P.S. 

I did say I would like to take my dog on quite walks around the park. Clearly no disagreements there that BMs are working dogs- but bonding time + exercise, please tell me what dog and owner would not want that? 

Hi Jeffs, 

I did say I would like to take my dog on quite walks around the park. Clearly no disagreements there that BMs are working dogs- but bonding time + exercise, please tell me what dog and owner would not want that? 

Btw, funny that you called them pets. I never really thought of my BMs as pets out of respect for the breed. My mini-dachschund before, well maybe a little, he was a lapdog after all. To me they are family, and I never forget to thank them once in a while for protecting my house and my family. 

Cheers! 

~G~

I think the point I was trying to make was that a Malinois isn't the best breed for a family pet.  There are better breeds more suited for such a lifestyle.  I suspect you know that.  Mals aren't a breed to mess around with.  They need to be carefully chosen to meet the needs and life style of the owner.  This is true of any dog, but more so of a dog that can easily clear an 8 foot fence.

A mal was part of the Seal Team that took out Bin Laden.  I wouldn't expect a member of a Seal team to make a good member of an honor guard and I wouldn't expect a mal to make a good house dog.  Can some mals make good house dogs?  Of course, but i wouldn't leave it in the hands of a novice to select the potential house dog from a litter of Mals.

Mals are serious working dogs.  Can they be taken for nice quiet walks in the park?  Not all of them.  And most need a lot of training. 

And I agree, a Mal is not a pet.  They can be great, great dogs.  But only if the owner is willing to put the time in. 

Hi jeffs, 

Just to give context on why a chose BMs.  On our side of the world, house burglary is a major concern. It came even to a point that the house in-front and back of mine were victimized.

At that time, getting a dog that can intimidate would be robbers was top of my list.  My criteria were- big, don't shed too much, easily trainable, alert, and very protective.  I considered labs & golden retrievers but I thought they were too friendly.  A dobie and a roth to me were a bit unpredictable even with proper training. A german sheperd may not adapt well with the weather, plus more difficult to train. No offense to owners of those breeds but those were my personal assessment, which may or may not be accurate.  After much research and consultation with breeders, we welcomed a 4 month old BM to our home. 

I agree with you, a BM would do best doing police and rescue work, but if we would be that simplistic, BM population may simply dwindle down.  I have seen BMs in the care of "hobbyist" if that is the right term, and by that am referring to Mondio Ring members. 

~G~

Yo G,

I'm glad your dog is getting training and I hope it gets to continue it's work.  I can understand why you would get a Mal, but your original post it made it sound like the dog's primary function was to go on jogs with you around the park.  No offense.

I hope the training takes.  From what I've seen the Mals can be a wonderful companion. 

A trainer that I knew recently got a Mal.  The Mal was given to him by another dog trainer because it kept biting her assistants.  You would have never thought the dog had aggression issues by seeing it with my friend.  It was extremely attentive and extremely obedient.  My friend, who has been training police dogs for along time, said that he has never had a bond with a dog like he has with the mal.

My friend said that a good Mal will be the best dog you will ever have.  But a bad mal?  Not much can be done with them.  I was also told that Mals are extremely difficult to rehabilitate.  So when I hear of people with Mals that aren't getting the work they need, I tend to over react.

By the way, I would rather have a good mal for protection than a gun.  Mals can see in the dark and they can be called off once they've been fired - something a gun can't do.

Cheers

Hi Jeffs, 

None taken. In my original response I was trying to relate to the OP and offering a viable solution. I can imagine her troubles having take on a BM.  Like me, she may have missed out in socializing her dog early on as a puppy. I can tell she, aggressive dog or not, had fallen in love with her dog. Ultimately regardless of breed, she probably dreams of having quiet walks with a well behaved dog- one who doesn't pull, and polite as opposed to barking at strangers and other dogs. 

The hard and most honest answer is probably to say that she may have to give up her dog. Judging from her profile- her last hope at least in my opinion, is to have her dog professionally trained in the hopes of having her BM rehabilitated. The next step for her obviously is to join an enthusiast group like MR.  You are right, (I hope she gets to read the succeeding post) that keeping and treating the dog as "pet" is hopeless. 

Anyway, great conversing with you. 

~G~

AnnaMarie,

I have been working/training BM's since 1987. I will be in Houston often over the next 3-4 weeks and would love to have a look at your dog's might like to get on a buy list.

Best Wishes