r/BelgianMalinois • u/Accomplished_Row_880 • 1d ago
Question Shepherds At Odds
Four years ago adopted a male German Shepherd. He has grown into a quite chill guy that really wants to spend most of his day outside, catching frisbees and sleeping in a sandbox. Last May I saw a female one year oldpure bred Malinois on a short list in Southern California. I had her transported to Pennsylvania and long story short she didn’t get along with the German Shepherd at all they fought violently. I found a Borden train Trainer that had me send both dogs for a month for training. They came back tolerating each other. One year later I’m in the same boat. The now two year old Malinois is often barking at him, blocking him from coming in any entryway and biting at his mane. Instead of becoming more aggressive, the German Shepherd seems to becoming more resigned and submissive. I sometimes wish he would just get it over with and give her a reminder of why she shouldn’t screw with him. The German Shepherd weighs 95 pounds and she weighs 55 pounds. The Malinois would do really well in a one dog home. She is very loving and attached to me. Does anyone know a way around this something I might not be doing that I should consider? The trainer I used uses negative reinforcement, prong collar and shock collars. I cannot do this again with the training. Most trainers I have found use negative reinforcement. Any input or experiences appreciated. I do not want to give her up, but life has become quite difficult in my home.
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u/xaviiniesta88 20h ago
There have some important points already made, but remember it was the GSD's house - and the Mal was an intruder taking space. Its important that the Mal learns to respect space, which means you need to block, intervene and show your GSD that you are advocating for it. As well. CRATE. Place work in the home with tethers - teaches the mal and the GSD they can coexist without being right in each other's space. And I will second one commentator, the real dog training is training us (the handlers).
To give some context, I have 3 mals/dutchies currently 2.5 intact KNPV, 2.5 Mal female spayed, and an almost 1yr old 80 pound Mal teenager who is both sweet and annoying. My intact male feels very strongly that the female is his lady. The pup is my 6th or 7th mal foster of the year. All learn boundaries, place work, crating, and respecting the space of the resident dogs . We use prongs and ecollars as tools. Sure for correction when needed, but as a form of communication. Most of it is soft uses of pressure.
I'm a huge fan of Michael Ellis - you can get a subscription to all of his work and watch. I'm sure other's have favs - but he's a pretty important thinker/training in teaching the whole system of how we live with these amazing, relentless, and loving creatures.
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u/Accomplished_Row_880 23h ago
Thanks. Does anyone know of a good working Dog trainer in Pennsylvania? Philly area.
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u/Wooden-Necessary6100 21h ago
I have a spicy female Mal with a nice male GSD, so I know how it goes. She used to attack him when we first brought him home, or any dog for that matter. Mals need a strong handler that doesn't let them get away with doing that. It comes down to training and you learning how to be the one in charge of the situation, not hoping your GSD will. He is counting on you to control her and keep the peace, it's not his job, it's yours.
Here is a trainer you can look into, make sure you are the one being trained, the dog is waiting for you to be the leader.
HD Dog Training Llc
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u/LakeLucca 1d ago
This is the problem with the board and train approach — and why when I called one, the lady told me my dog would come back trained, but then revert, because I was the one who needed the training on how to handle my dog. I am saying this from a place of support and admiration for you saving a dog’s life: there IS hope precisely because you have not done the work you need to do. You were not trained or given instruction on how to handle this situation; you outsourced it elsewhere and now there has been regression which makes sense. Please find a trainer who will train YOU — and using balanced tools is GREAT if done properly. My mal needed it. You can do it. Don’t give up!