Belgian Malinois are intelligent, obedient, and devoted to their owners. They are often used as police dogs, military dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs.

Belgian Malinois puppies are popular among dog lovers and many people enjoy the company of these playful and intelligent animals. They can be trained in obedience, agility, tracking, and herding.

If you’re considering adding a Belgian Malinois puppy to your family, there are a few things you should know about the breed’s trainability before you get one.

How Trainable Are Belgian Malinois Puppies? 

Belgian Malinois puppies are trainable, but not as easy to train as other dogs. As mentioned earlier, these pups are quite intelligent and determined so they will need a lot of patience and time from the owner to train them.

But their smartness comes in handy when you have to teach them new tricks and commands. Belgian Malinois are quick to learn and eager to please their owners who practice positive reinforcements regularly.

How To Train A Belgian Malinois Puppy

Belgian Malinois are not the type of dogs that are going to be happy being in a crate for hours on end. Therefore, before adopting these dogs, potential owners should determine if they have the time, patience, and energy to properly care for the dog during their day-to-day routines.

But if you’re willing to invest some time in your dog, then here are 9 tips on how to train a Belgian Malinois puppy:

1. Start With Foundational Training

This means socializing your puppy from a young age of 8 to 18 weeks, exposing them to new people and public places such as dog parks or market places. It will help your puppy to get used to being around people and feel less threatened.

2. Teach Them Basic Commands First

Once your puppy gets used to their surroundings, you can start teaching them basic commands. One of the most important things to teach a Belgian Malinois puppy is how to sit. This is a very useful command, as it can help you control your dog in many situations.

To teach your Belgian Malinois puppy how to sit, you need to first get their attention. This can be done by clapping your hands, snapping your fingers, or even gently pounding a surface with your hand. You could also use a treat or toy to lure the puppy into the desired position. Once the puppy is in the desired position, use a verbal or physical reward to let them know they are doing well.

And eventually, introduce other commands like teaching your dog to come when called once they have mastered the basic ones.

3. Establish A Routine

When training your Belgian Malinois, it is important to establish yourself as the pack leader. This means you need to establish a routine and be consistent with it. You can start by establishing a feeding schedule for your pup. Feeding them at the same time every day will help them to know what to expect and will help them regulate their bowel movements.

Then, establish a potty routine for your pup. You must take them outside every 4 hours. Establishing a routine will let your dog know what comes next, which reduces the likelihood of them getting anxious or acting out.

4. Use Positive Reinforcements

A common complaint among owners of Belgian Malinois puppies is that their puppies are difficult to train. One way to get around this is to use positive reinforcements when training your Belgian Malinois puppy.

Positive reinforcements can be anything from treats, to toys, to praise. The key is to reward the desired behavior. If you want your pup to perform certain tasks, then you must reward them for doing so. This will help to reinforce the behavior that you are looking for.

5. Change The Duration of Training Sessions

It’s important that you alter the duration of training sessions depending on the age and maturity of your Belgian Malinois. When training your young puppy, sessions should be at most 10 minutes long. As they grow older, you can gradually extend each session to 30 minutes to an hour.

6. Give Them Enough Toys

You also need to introduce your puppy to a wide variety of toys. The best toys for Belgian Malinois puppies are the ones that they can’t tear apart. Giving a wide variety of toys to your puppy will keep them occupied and give them something to do so they don’t chew up your furniture. This is a good way to train them not to chew on things, as well as give them something to do.

Giving your Belgian Malinois puppy enough toys will also help with their mental health because it will stimulate their minds and make them feel like they are being taken care of as well.

7. Consider Crate Training for Bedtime

Crate training is an important part of training your puppy, especially during your puppy’s bedtime or if you plan on leaving them alone for long periods. The crate should be big enough for the puppy to stand, turn around, and lie down in. The crate should also be placed in a location that is frequented by the family, such as the living room or kitchen.

To start crate training, put a few treats in the crate and let the puppy explore the inside. You can also show them that it is a safe place by placing their favorite toy inside and letting them play with it for a bit.

8. Control Their Prey Drive

Belgian Malinois are bred for speed, agility, and endurance to chase and catch prey. This means that these dogs have high prey drive even when they are puppies. If your pup does not have an outlet for their high prey drive energy, they can often turn to hunt small animals.

There are many training tools that can be used to control prey drive depending on the situation, however, the most effective of these are the head collar, long-line, or remote collar.

9. Exercise Them Regularly

Belgian Malinois puppies are energetic and need plenty of exercises to keep them happy and healthy. Exercise will help tire your puppy out and provide mental stimulation. Walks are a great way to exercise your puppy, but you can also play fetch, tug-of-war, or hide-and-seek in the house to give your puppy a mental workout.

You might also be interested in How to Groom a Belgian Malinois?

Conclusion

Belgian Malinois puppies are known for being energetic, strong, and intelligent. These guys need a lot of attention and exercise to keep them in check. Socializing them at a young age, starting with basic commands first, introducing them to a variety of toys, and most importantly, being a firm and consistent trainer are some of the important things to keep in mind when you’re training your Belgian Malinois puppy.

Thank you for reading the article.

Now that you know how you can train a Belgian Malinois puppy, check out other articles related to the breed here.

Do you have a Belgian Malinois puppy? How do you train them? Do they listen to your commands? We would love to hear from you. Please share with our community by leaving a comment below!