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How To Train A Belgian Malinois – 10 Expert Tips

Nicole Cosgrove Profile Picture

By Nicole Cosgrove

belgian malinois in training

Belgian Malinois are a formidable breed, both physically and mentally. The Belgian Shepherd dogs have a notable intelligence and might that was honed over generations of careful breeding, making them a fixture in areas as diverse as farmwork and herding to police duty and military action.

For all their versatility, the same traits make them challenging to integrate as family pets. Belgian Malinois are confident and well aware of their intelligence. They need firm, consistent guidance from their owners and will get testy or wreak havoc without enough stimulation.

A trained Malinois takes work, but an experienced owner with patience and poise can use their dog’s brilliance to guide them toward becoming an exceptionally well-behaved pet. Here are 10 expert tips for training your Belgian Malinois.

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The 10 Tips to Train a Belgian Malinois

1. Start Training Immediately

With any breed, it’s best to start training as soon as you get them. Even if they are too young to understand tricks or commands, a Malinois can begin learning associations behind its behavior. Whether your dog is 8 weeks or 8 years old, setting rules and expectations when they enter your home will make training easier now and later.

Consider how you’re reinforcing the good behaviors and punishing the bad while keeping the relationship positive and fair. Malinois are eager to please and forge strong bonds with their owners. Give them confidence and motivation to follow you. Stay predictable and help them understand the difference between good and bad behavior.

Puppy Belgian Malinois on dog training
Image Credit: Melounix, Shutterstock

2. Socialize Early

At 8 weeks, the keen and active Belgian Malinois is old enough for you to introduce commands and start socializing. Introduce your puppy to friends and family, offering new experiences to help them learn adaptability. As they grow older, lengthen your walks. Make a goal of frequently introducing them to new routes, sights, sounds, and people.

At around 6 months, you can socialize at the dog park, which is crucial due to the Malinois’s potential intensity around other dogs. Obedience class is another excellent socialization opportunity that satisfies your dog’s natural desire to work.

Malinois are often aloof with strangers and sometimes overzealous while playing with other dogs. Building manners and attentiveness to your commands will keep them in line. Before that, your Malinois must overcome any inherent fear and aggressiveness toward uncertain stimuli, and that will only happen with diverse experiences in those crucial early months.


3. Motivate with Food

Dogs can have several unique motivators. One of the best is their favorite food. A tasty treat will keep your Belgian Malinois puppy focused on you. The Malinois’s energy and distractibility create an uphill battle, as they do with many puppies, and you’ll need help being more interesting than anything else in their environment.

Once they know you have what they want, your Malinois will be more attentive and willing to listen. Using food will then help you teach the basic commands, like heeling, “sit,” “down,” “leave it,” and staying. Don’t rely on treats but on your dog’s preferred, high-quality kibble. You’ll go through several treats during a short training session, and you should factor them into your dog’s daily diet considerations.


4. Get Focus and Engagement

Food is the foundation of maintaining your Belgian Malinois’s focus. Keeping eyes on you and waiting for your instruction is a critical training aspect as essential as any command.

The Malinois’s prey drive will cause them to track your hand. You can lead them around and start to incorporate commands and behaviors, such as walking alongside you.

In the early stages, you don’t need to use commands but rather get your dog used to paying attention to you, engage them with food and motion, and become comfortable with different actions. Training is a crucial bonding moment with your Malinois puppy. Building trust in these early stages with straightforward, undemanding interactions will keep them receptive and trainable.

Belgian Malinois in the forest
Image Credit: BIGANDT.COM, Shutterstock

5. Gradually Introduce Distractions

Eventually, you can incorporate distractions into focus training. You can do this at home while having your Malinois perform a sit or down command and bringing another person or object into the mix to distract them.

While walking in public, use treats to maintain attention amid distractions. You’ll develop a positive association with the behavior and help them overcome their impulsivity.


6. Stay Positive with Your Malinois

Reward-based training is always more meaningful to your dog and more satisfying for you than taking a punishment mindset. Use treats to reward your dog during training and socializing, connecting all good behaviors to positive outcomes.

Negative behaviors require a consistent gentle but firm “No” and a correction, while positive behaviors earn another marker word, “Yes” or “Nice,” alongside a treat.


7. Keep Up with Exercise Needs

High energy and a clever mind are a poor mix in a dog that doesn’t get adequate engagement. Anyone with a high-strung herding dog knows they’ll find unique ways to entertain themselves when their owner falls short. And that generally equates to rampant household destruction.

Your Malinois will need at least 60–90 minutes of exercise daily to prevent unwanted behavior. A few walks and active playtime will socialize your dog, establish a healthy bond, and direct their energy toward more positive outlets. In the home, keep plenty of toys and puzzle games to keep them mentally stimulated.

Belgian Malinois shepherd dog in training
Image Credit: Tanee, Shutterstock

8. Use Tools as Needed

Belgian Malinois are exceptional communicators, giving you flexibility in using tools to make training sessions even more productive. Clicker training, for example, can facilitate puppy training sessions and ease teaching more complex commands. With a clicker, you make the “click” sound and offer a reward when your dog does something desirable. Eventually, they build the association and work to make you happy.

An e-collar is an effective device for a Malinois. With an electronic pulse to the collar, you can use negative reinforcement to discourage improper behavior. If your Malinois is straying while walking next to you or barking excessively, the e-collar can deliver the stimuli and remove it when the dog corrects the action. Use it during training sessions, and Malinois will often get excited when they see you bring it out.


9. Apply Negative Reinforcement to Affirm Behaviors

There are no vacation days with a Malinois. They require consistent training and leadership to fine-tune their obedience.

While positive reinforcement will help you train commands and build understanding from a young age, you must continue cementing those behaviors, which often entails using negative reinforcement to fix unwanted behaviors. Light pressure on a leash while walking and thoughtful use of an e-collar are a few examples of how you can remind your dog of proper behaviors after establishing the initial understanding.


10. Sign Your Dog Up for Classes

Letting someone else do the teaching may seem like a cop-out, but Malinois benefit more than most dogs from advanced obedience classes and agility training. Classes are excellent socializing opportunities to reduce anxiety or aggressiveness, and working with a professional will make you a better trainer at home.

You must show confidence, discipline, and consistency to establish the positive, respectful relationship that makes for successful Malinois ownership. Organized activity sessions will help you better establish that dynamic. At the same time, your Malinois’s desire to please their leader and excel at these activities will make them a natural fit and more receptive to teaching.

sable with black mask working belgian malinois dog doing agility
Image Credit: Lisjatina, Shutterstock

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Conclusion

A Belgian Malinois’s intelligence and intensity can make them the best-trained dog or the most frustrating pet you can imagine. They are bold, impulsive, energetic, and often independent. You must match that confidence and give them consistent attention every day to build a bond and the understanding that you are their leader.

Respect and consistent expectations will make teaching an obedient dog much simpler. Belgian Malinois are near-perfect in trainability and fastidious in their actions when they know how to please you. Start early, stay active, and use positivity to train, and you’ll ensure a happy, well-mannered pup full of confidence and heart.


Featured Image Credit: pohjakroon, Pixabay

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