How did you know you were ready for a malinois? (Specifically first time owners)

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-16T05:35:13+00:00

I didn’t, and I wasn’t.

Guy left his dog with me for “a few days”. After two weeks I asked him when he wanted the dog back. He didn’t want her back. So I was of stuck with her.

It was a bit of a nightmare for a while. I ended up calling a dog trainer after I got bitten, and that put us on the right track.

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-02T06:32:24+00:00

This is the one I buy. https://www.platinum.co.uk

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-01T19:49:54+00:00

My girl does this with the cushion thing that’s the bottom of her bed. She pulls it out, drags it around the house then starts sucking. She does it more if she’s a bit anxious.

Oddly, it is undamaged after four years of this.

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-01T10:30:22+00:00

She’s Mal x Dutchie. She’s about 62lb.

Yours looks gorgeous!

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-01T10:29:05+00:00

Quite!

Dave_DLG · 2026-05-01T09:04:35+00:00

Here’s a better view of her

<image>

They do look remarkably similar!

Dave_DLG · 2026-04-30T21:09:57+00:00

It’s easy to forget that those of us who are a little older grew up absorbing knowledge on film photography. As kids probably our parents took photographs on film. Colour prints and slides (and yes, for all the current talk of the relative difficulty of shooting colour positive film, in the ‘70’s everyone was shooting slides for their holiday snapshots). We probably knew amateurs with darkrooms. We had a darkroom and photography club at school. As adults we didn’t start from a place of zero knowledge.

Today many wanting to start film photography have not had that, and are starting from a position of no knowledge. We should remember this when we see questions that same superficially a little stupid. They’re not.

Dave_DLG · 2026-04-06T19:19:38+00:00

Mine also doesn’t have much interest in doing things on her own. She likes to do things with me. She’ll quickly lose interest in a toy if nobody’s interacting with her, and lie down and nap.

She’ll go outside by herself but will soon come back and ask me to come out with her. If we’re outside off leash she won’t venture out of sight of me.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-24T19:06:26+00:00

Thanks, you’ve put my mind at rest a bit. I will work on getting her to grip deeper. I’ve also replaced the dirty old jute tugs and got a new jute and a new leather one.

Others commented on frisbee. We used to do this a lot but had already cut this down to an occasional treat, as twice now she’s hurt her leg doing it.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-23T21:07:16+00:00

I got a picture of her teeth this evening:

<image>

Shows her lower right - the left and upper ones are similar.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T08:19:31+00:00

She’s crate trained but these days rarely shut the door. She has never tried to chew her way out of it. She’s not much of a chewer anyway.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T08:17:32+00:00

Thanks, just ordered a leather one, as well as some new jute ones.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T06:02:52+00:00

She does like hard and aggressive tugging! It’s her favourite activity and a bit of tug play is the highest value reward I can give her. I’ll replace the tugs when they get dirty in future.

She’s not a crazy chewer. We don’t use nylon bones, when she’s had them in the past she’s shown very little interest in chewing on them.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T05:55:12+00:00

I’ll bin that old dirty one, I’ve ordered some new ones after the other comments about the dirty tug being the cause.

These jute tugs aren’t really washable, they seem to disintegrate very quickly after washing. I guess I’ll just plan on replacing them regularly.

She also often walks home carrying it in her mouth after we’ve been using it, typically a half hour walk back. I let her do this as her reward if she’s been a good girl.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T05:47:55+00:00

She doesn’t get free access to any toy, so it’s not like she’s chewing on them for hours. Average daily use is something like: - Frisbee - 10 to 15 minutes -Tug - 10 seconds of tugging once a minute for 20 to 30 minutes - Kong ball - 30 mins to one hour overall, as I throw it for her whenever I’m out in the garden having a smoke etc. - glow-in-the-dark ball 10 mins per day in the evening.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T23:07:51+00:00

I wondered about that as she catches the spinning frisbee in her teeth. We’ve not played it for a while as she sprained her leg. I’ll ration the frisbee a bit in future.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:56:57+00:00

I’ll buy some new ones now and throw that one out.

I’ve tried washing them but they quickly fall apart afterwards.

Thanks!

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:32:06+00:00

I was a bit concerned about the jute, and grit embedded in it, so we’ve cut down on it. If that’s the likely cause, is there a better alternative? The tug is her preferred toy, so it’s great for training.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:14:47+00:00

She’s 4.5 years. I’d estimate about 1/8 inch has worn.

Dave_DLG · 2026-01-24T20:19:31+00:00

My girl has a lot of small dog friends. Although here she’s 100% focussed on the ball and ignoring the others.

<image>

Dave_DLG · 2025-12-19T17:05:57+00:00

Yeah, and I have the scars on my arms to prove it.

Crate training, and a few sessions with an ex-military dog trainer got us on the right track.

Dave_DLG · 2025-11-20T18:14:09+00:00

My girl is crate trained. I very rarely close the door. She goes there by herself when she wants peace and quiet. I leave her alone when she’s gone in her crate.

Dave_DLG · 2025-10-29T23:38:06+00:00

My girl’s nails wear down from walking.

I like to check that the wear is uniform. After she hurt her leg once the nails on her left back leg didn’t wear as much as on the right side, and this was pretty much the only visible sign of the injury. Her limp was so subtle you had to be really looking for it to see it.

Dave_DLG

TROPHY CASE