Malinois Mix Puppy Questions

Hi everyone. I purchased a pup this past February, met owner offsite due to Covid, didn’t see parents. I was told she was a Boxador (mom full boxer, dad full yellow lab). Xena, my Warrior Princess, was spitting image of a baby boxer. My brother had boxers for years, loved them, friend had yellow lab, I felt the combo with personality would be perfect for me, single, and small grandkids when they visit. I want security but lovable pup. I had an Embark DNA with full medical analysis ran.. results in.. she is 50% Malinois daddy, his ancestry is 100% Malinois as far as they could research, mom is 24% boxer, 21% American Pit bull, 5% American Staffordshire Terrier (grandparents one boxer, one pit mix, great grandparents on down all boxer.)

She is the most cuddly baby, thinks she’s a lapdog, sleeps snuggling by me, super sharp, loves the kids . But if not enough exercise she bites bad. I have her in training, a little fearful now that I know her breeds. She’s 4 1/2 months old now, strong as a bull. She is 90% lovable and 10% Godzilla. Bonded to me, stats by me all day while I work, crazy zoomies at night before bed.

I had a long talk with the family, everyone sees the good in her, how good she plays with the kids and other dogs when we visit, but we’ve also seen her temperament. We think giving her more exercise, keeping her in behavior training and socializing she’ll be a good dog. I just worry about the grandkids.

Does anyone else have a mix like this, any recommendations on activities and handling a Malinois mix like this? She loves giving hugs, kisses, snuggles, a big baby lapdog, just controlling her craziness when tired is definitely a challenge. Thanks.

She's a cutie for sure!

First, no dog regardless of breed should ever be left alone with small kids. I know that seems strong, but small kids don't know their own strength and don't necessarily understand "action equares to pain" so they are likely to pull on a dog's ears, tail, etc. Or grab too hard. Or squeeze instead of hugging.

OK, got that out of the way.

Your puppy is likely to be a bit headstrong and stubborn. But is also smart and people oriented. So a lot of what you are doing is right on target.

At 4-1/2 months, she is learning what is acceptable. Be consistent. Have a supply of chews on hand. They are great for redirecting biting behavior. If the puppy bites your hand, say "ow" in a high pitched cry and move your hand away. Keep the hand in view of puppy but just move it out of immediate reach. If puppy tries to go for your hand, say "no" firmly. If she stops, praise her and give her a chew. If she doesn't stop, repeat as appropriate.

The idea is to reward her for not biting on your hand while giving her something appropriate to chew.

If you know she'll be hyper after being outside, prevent bad behavior by giving her a chew when she first comes in. That stops her from biting on you before she thinks of it. My Tornado-dog (almost 5 months) is currently busy with his chew while I relax a bit.

Don't allow her to jump on anyone. One of my favorite "rules" for dogs is "let me see it". No matter what the dog has, if I state "let me see it", they have to let go. At first she won't want to give it up, just hold on to it without pulling, etc. At some point, she will loosen her grip and you can take it. Praise her for it, then make a production of looking at the toy. Turn it around, make comments about how pretty it is, etc.

The second half of this is that as long as they jump, grab, etc., they cannot have the toy (or whatever) back. If they sit, you say " good girl" and give them back the object. Occasionally, rather than give the object back, say "no more" and put it away. This lets them know that they don't always get it back.

Try this standing up. As long as she jumps at you to get the object, don't let her have it. When she sits, give it back.

When the grandkids come over, have them practice these things with the puppy. This will teach her that they are part of the family and are to be obeyed. If the kids are a bit older (9 and up), let them do basic obedience skills with her. That will help cement the bond between them and will show the kids how to properly handle her.

As for the "craziness", sometimes you have to let them get it out of their systems. My puppy will sometimes find a toy (or other object) and tear through the house with it for 10-15 minutes. If I am unable to take him outside to play, and as long as the object is safe, I let him go for it. He's just burning off excess energy.

All puppies bite, the goal is not so much to stop them from biting, but to teach them bite inhibition/ bite control, no one method will work for all and there are numerous ways to teach them to understand what's acceptable, main point is teaching the pup what is allowable/acceptable.
Whatever method you choose, the more consistent you are the faster they will learn.
http://www.crickethollowfarm.com/biteinhib.htm

As for exercise there are lots of things one can do other than just walking.
Mental as well as physical, Indoor/outdoor short training sessions, make it fun.
Food Puzzle toys, Tug of war game, cup game,ect:
Outside I hide ball/toy in long grass and tell them to find it.
Hide and seek.
Tracking
Flirt pole ect: