Equipment
A collar and a leash will help you to control and limit motions of
the pet. Remember, that not to choke the dog with the collar, two
fingers should easily slip between dog’s neck and the collar. Use at
least two leashes - one long and one short. Each of them is meant for
different tasks.
Watch over time
Use an alarm or stop watch to make sure, that training time isn’t
too short or too long.
Reward
If your Malinois works better, when he see the visual reward, use
toys to stimulate him. You may use treats as well. For example, dog
food in small doses. There are many ways to get treats. But, it’s
recommended to test dog’s taste with certain treat before training
session starts.
Communication
Yes!
Introduce the word “Yes!” before training sessions start. You need
to do a simple recognition activity, that will take several minutes.
Sit down and say “Yes!”. Then give a treat or a toy to the dog. Let
him eat or play for a moment and repeat the exercise. Don’t move
around the dog. Let him focus on this word.
NO!
This word should be associated only with negative activities. This
word may be introduced with inappropriate behaviour around food or
children. For example, if your Malinois likes to eat from your kid’s
hands or right off the table. You may put your dog on leash and when
he goes to do what he is used to, pull back gently and say “No!”.
When he pays attention to you, give a positive command, for example
“Sit”. Then say “Yes!” and don’t forget to reward. The word “No!”
may be also used, when correcting constant barking or other bad
dog’s habits. When your Malinois barks, say “No!”. If it doesn’t
work, repeat with the leash.
Starting trick
The easiest command to learn is “Sit”. You may use already trained
command “Yes!”, followed by a treat or toy. But, if the puppy moves
out of his right position, say “No!” and move him back to normal
position. Ask him again to “Sit”. If he follows the command say
“Yes!” and immediately give the reward, if he doesn’t follow you
command, start over.
You may teach your Malinois to follow any other command using word
“Yes!”. For example, it’s easy to teach him to do “Down” command,
after he started performing “Sit”. Once he follows this command, say
“Yes!” and reward the dog with treat or toy. Make sure you do it
each time your dog follows the command. It’s very important to
consolidate the achievements.
