Malinois X GSD - Page 2

Hi there . . . just had another couple thoughts . . .

1)  Look for another forum that is dedicated to Mal's only.  There might be others out there with crosses that are having (or have had) similar issues/questions/concerns/etc.

2)  Police k9 units are now breeding A LOT of GSD/Mal crosses for use in the field.  Maybe contact one of their trainers and discuss the differences he/she sees in working with them.

Sounds like you really have a nice handle on your dogs and are very in tune with them overall.  Don't get discouraged (doesn't sound like you would)

they will try to jump at the answer - in other words they try to "do".(Koots)

 

This sums it up beautifully.   Someone else also used this phrase to me: they're "Do-ers" not "Thinkers", which covers everything I was trying (and maybe failing) to express in my original post.

 

 the Mals tend to try to "guess" what you want and will try all their tricks to see if that's what you are asking, rather than "thinking" about the command (Koots)

 

This "throw everything against the wall and hope something sticks" approach is what I'm trying to eliminate.  To me if a behaviour isn't under complete stimulus control then it's not really learned.  The dog shouldn't be guessing, they should understand what's being asked, or we haven't done enough work. The issue is that the little guy won't meet me half way and slow down and listen to what I'm asking for!

 

It's hard to find the balance between getting the dog motivated to perform the task but not too motivated with dogs like yours. (Koots)

 

Exactly!  He goes over the top so quicky that it's virtually impossible to interrupt, and "middle ground" doesn't exist for him... yet.  I'm going to have to see what we can build together.

 

... I still miss him.(Koots)

 

I'm sorry that you didn't manage to title him, but it sounds like you had a very special life together, which is the really important bit in my eyes. :)

 

I saw one of this cross on my friends police force was one hell of a scary dog lol (OpticNerve)

 

The only time my Mal is scary is if you've accidentally worn the light gloves to do ball work or if you're not quick enough to recoil on the return.  He's shanked me harder and headbutted me more than all three of my other dogs combined!  It's not like he's being a pushy, aggressive jerk about it, either, he just has trouble with precision and/or stopping in time. It's ironic because his original owner was apparently very worried about finding someone who would be able to handle him, and here I am complaining that he's too soft and too much of a goofball.  I think my definition of a "hard" dog differs a bit from that of the Mal's previous owner. :D 

 

Thanks also for the excellent suggestions K9gsdlvr. I'll have to see what I can dig up.  It's unfortunate that the Malinois forum here seems to be dead except for sales ads.  My local K9 services all use pure GSDs too, so I'll have to look further afield.