Get to know through our article the Basic Training of the Belgian Shepherd Malinois, so you can learn how to give this breed of dog a good education, since you do not have to be an expert trainer, these dogs, belonging to this breed, have a great intelligence and basic instincts for any trick you want to teach him.
Basic Training of the Belgian Shepherd Malinois
If you have a Belgian Shepherd Malinois puppy, you should start thinking about how to train it, so that it develops the intelligence and abilities that it has innately, as it grows you will be surprised how easy it is to handle and control it.
This is one of the most sought-after dogs to be included in police forces, rescue brigades and fire departments around the world, but do you know why? Because they are very intelligent and learn, they are also very sociable dogs with humans and like to be in activities with them.
In their training they should receive some reward since they love to receive something when you send them to look for something or chase something, this is within their instincts and if you train properly, you will have a search dog.
Among the physical activities that they like are those that are done outdoors, running, walking, looking for a ball, and their training is based on physical exercises and that they are in constant movement. So if you are not one of the people who likes to exercise or you do not have time to do it outdoors, then you should choose to look for another breed of dog, since these can have behavioral changes when they are inactive.
As they have high potential and intelligence, the way you train them, this will be the relationship that he will have with you, a relationship for life. They are always attentive to your orders, to the intonation when they speak to them, the gestures they make and the expression with the body, that is why they must give it an affectionate touch so that respect and affection can be generated between the two.
things you can learn
Training begins when they arrive at your house and they are puppies, since it is the way they obey you, with the appropriate and well-taught orders they learn to sit, lie down, get to where you are when you call them and stay calm while you are busy. These are the basic orders that they must learn from a young age and that they know your voice of command so that they learn to listen to you. Other orders or routines that you must teach them and that the whole family must follow are:
- Teach him what his space to sleep
- Make a schedule of your meals, breaks, times to play and walk.
- Set up a place for him to eat.
- Tell him which is the place where he should relieve himself.
Basics for training
First of all you should know that when they are puppies you should treat them with love so that they do not feel pressure when you are going to give them orders and thus a better way of learning is established, and above all of socialization from a very young age.
1. Not all sights are threats : You must teach your puppy that unfamiliar people are part of family life and that it should act naturally around them. Therefore, between 4 and 18 weeks of age, puppies should be taken to different places and exposed to different people so they become accustomed to the unfamiliar. When you have visitors at home, let your puppy see them so they don't perceive them as a threat, as all dogs are territorial.
2. Take your Belgian Malinois for walks : these dogs are very grateful and need affection and to be with a family. Take him for a 30-minute walk every day, and as he grows, gradually increase this time until it reaches an hour or an hour and a half. This time spent with him makes your relationship rewarding, and don't forget to include a game during the walk, such as throwing a rubber ball and having him fetch it.
3. Show Affection : If you give aggressive commands to the dog, it will feel distrustful and become aggressive if treated violently. In contrast, with an affectionate tone, it will follow your commands. Don't try to make it obey through fear, and if it does something inappropriate, teach and correct it without resorting to violence. Dogs can understand a command quickly, especially if you reward it when it does something right, creating a positive and consistent behavior.
4. Good Behavior : The way to teach them good behavior is to first show them what they should do, and you, as their owner, must demonstrate it. If this is done within the first eight weeks, their behavior will be shaped, preventing them from developing bad habits. This must be done with patience. You should teach them a specific time to relieve themselves and try to have them do it in the same place every day.
If this training is done from puppyhood, success in it will be very effective and easy for everyone. When they are 8 weeks old, the ideal is to start training them to sit, bend over, come to where you are when asked and stay still, these are the main and safe commands.
From 9 weeks you can take him to a special space to play and exercise and if you can take him to a place where there are other dogs of his age, better because that way he will have socialization with other animals.
When they do not have socialization with other animals, the Belgian Malinois can become shy, or reactive, which would be a difficult behavior problem to treat. At 9 weeks you should give him 15 minutes of play time in the morning and another 15 minutes in the afternoon.
Already at 6 months, walking time should be half an hour a day in the mornings and afternoons, and continue with play activities, but involving agility and mental ability, such as searching for and collecting an object or toy, such as a ball or a frisby, this can be done until he is one year old, and then take a walk to relax after exercise.
After he is a year old, if you are an active person and you run, take him with you to run, but he must know that every kilometer must stop for him to rest, little by little his resistance will improve and the time will come when he will do long runs at his own pace. side, but do not press it. Agility is a highly recommended exercise for Belgian Malinois as they learn to follow orders and do long-lasting physical exercise.
Be careful to take him to the vet from time to time, for his vaccinations and deworming and talk to him about the activities he is doing with his dog, so that over time these are not detrimental to his health due to his age.
How to reinforce training
The behavior is reinforced in a positive way, do not impose hits, shouts or punishments when he does something inappropriate, show him by taking him to the place where he should be and give him a reinforcement with a cookie, every time he does a task or obeys your order give him your reinforcement , give him a caress, talk sweetly to him and you can even give him a piece of candy.
These positive reinforcements allow your training to proceed more effectively and as your pet grows it will try to work hard for its treat and establish a better relationship with its owner.
Clicker Workouts
A clicker is a sound device that is used in dog training, it is made to sound when the dog finishes doing an activity or obeys a command that you have given. Its purpose is that there is no confusion between the pet and the owner, but it must be sounded at the right time. This type of training is also based on positive reinforcement, since the animal must understand that when the clicker sounds it is because it has done its job well.
How long is a training session?
These dogs are always active regardless of their age, they are constantly learning and can be on the go all day, as long as they are with their owners by their side. So the training sessions can be done several times in one day.
Now, if you have a Malinois puppy, the duration of the sessions should be 10 minutes, and when it grows, it should be increased to half an hour and so progressively until it reaches training time, the more time that passes, the better the perfection in the training.
How is he taught to sit and give other commands?
This order is obeyed depending on the time of the animal, when this puppy will sit when he wants, but the ideal is to start saying "sit", and gently press his hip to lower it, he will begin to associate the word with the act of sitting down, when he does it, just pet him and tell him he did well and you can even give him a cookie to do it, and thus he will do the positive reinforcement of his action, the more you repeat this the faster he will assimilate it.
This same action can be done when you take him for a walk, since this is the main command that they must understand, the following ones will be easier to teach, such as staying still or lying down. With a good attitude to teach, he will follow the orders in a good way and always do his reinforcement so that they are recorded in his memory.
They must remember that dogs have basic instincts like hunting, for example, and all behaviors must be controlled, so you must learn how to discourage your dog from misbehavior. When they see small animals, their basic instinct is to go after them, so when they take them for a walk they should hold them firmly so that they walk by your side, they should never go in front or behind you.
When you see another animal, tell it to be still, as they are dogs that were destined for grazing, they may want to go out and chase their duels, people and other animals, which can cause discomfort to people or an accident.
You must not accept that the dog runs to where you are to ask for food, since this action looks very bad to other people, that is why you must give him the food at the determined time and that it does not coincide with that of the family, when you are eating you must teach him that he must lie down for the duration of the meal.
Your pet must know that you are the leader, and this must be taught through play, where you keep everything in control, and in the same way it is with meal times, rest times and walks. Take into account that even if you go to the street with him or you are watching television, when you speak to him, he will be attentive to his tone of voice, and as his body expression is even, the Malinois will be aware of the expression of Your face.
That is why you must be firm and correct in the orders you give them, reinforce them constantly without the need to apply punishments, which only cause the dog stress and discomfort, and in the same way that you treat him, all the members should do it. of the family.
professional training
When we talk about professional training we are talking about an expert who is looking to turn the Belgian Malinois into a super dog or K9, which is how police dogs are known. It seeks that the dog manages to learn many of the police tasks, among which are defense and personal protection, search for fire residues, drugs and rescue people.
But a K9 dog with good training only manages to learn two of these tasks in a perfect way, its name comes from the union of the letter K and the number 9 in English «nine», which is read as «kanine» or Canine.
For this to happen, the dog must be taken to a specialized training center where it must be attended by certified professionals, who are aware of the value that these dogs possess, know their behavior, their intelligence and, above all, their temperament. To start it the dog must be between 12 and 16 weeks of age.
This training seeks that the dog manages to learn to ignore everything that is around him and have a greater concentration in the tasks that he is taught, to have respect for other animals and people, and to obey the voice of his owner all the time. time, that is why he must be taught to have self-control to control impulses, strength and basic instincts, so that he remains balanced in his functions.
The verbal orders given to them must be obeyed with obedience, so the owner's voice must be firm and high-pitched. As they must learn to search for drugs, explosives and defend themselves from attackers, their training as a K9 is very strong, but professionals always use positive reinforcement, in addition to other techniques so that the animal understands who is the person in charge and what it must comply with. faithfully the tasks that they are being taught and asked for.
This training does not use brute force or violence with the animals, no harm is done to them, since it is only intended that they learn to have respect for the leader and that they fulfill a specific objective, but always with firmness.
Now if you want to have a dog of this type, with that training, you should know that after spending 8 years working in these tasks, they are benefited with their retirement and sometimes if a policeman does not take them to take them home, they find themselves in trouble. adoption.
This does not mean that the dog is no longer good for anything, but rather that it is already at an age where its body is aging and its physical abilities begin to decrease, and what is sought is that they achieve a little peace of mind and a happy life. without having a hard routine in the police in the years that lie ahead.
That is why there are programs where you can get a dog already trained to adopt it, so you would be helping the security forces, since not all police officers can keep them since they do not have time to dedicate or take care of them and you could acquire a already trained animal that can defend you at any time.
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