Belgian Malinois mix? Questions

Hi, I’m new here. We are fostering a puppy from the humane society and we think he may be a Belgian Malinois mix. Are there any tell tale signs for me to look for to see if he really is. Here is a picture. He’s only about 2 months old and weighs 11 or so pounds.

Another picture

Could well be, but it can only be a guess. You could have a DNA test. The major laboratories results are much more reliable than they used to be. He is a sweet puppy, whatever his breed, - will you fail as a foster parent and keep him?

Yes, I think you could definitely say this is a foster fail lol. We really love him. So sweet a pretty laid back. I’ll probably eat those words haha

Hello Heather - welcome to Breedia from Tikva and from me

Your lovely foster is very sweet and whatever breed mix he is, looking at that last picture I reckon he will be a foster fail!

Laid back are not the first words that spring to mind when talking of Malinois. The exception that proves the rule?

He is young so that could change but also he is definitely mixed. He tried to jump from the bed to a high dresser the other night so the laid back thing might be changing LOL.

I hope he did not hurt himself - but I am sort of laughing as my little booga somehow managed to jump up and end up in the sink this morning...

I think I should qualify my above comment about Tikki getting in the sink. She did indeed end up in the sink but I was knelt down at the time and she used my back as a springboard!

I would say it is possible that it is part malinois. Has a lot of the same markings as mine. If so make sure you do your research.

Hello Anthony - your Mal is very handsome. May I ask if that is an e-collar he is wearing, and if so why?

Yes. Maci always has an e-collar on. It is used as a training tool. It causes them to regain focus on you instead of something else. It has worked wonders on both of my dogs. After about a couple of months working with it a simple beep will have them refocused and ready to train.

I'm not a fan of E-Collars and have never found the need to use one
I am curious as to why one would use them for everyday training, when you can get the same behaviors without the use of them.

if I was training a lab to be a household dog I would not have an E collar on. Training a working Malinoison and off leash, or in public I will definitely use one. A mala wall’s attention span is not always the best as a puppy. If we are working off leash and she notices a squirrel and bolts I’m not Catching her. Just because you’re using an E collar does not mean that you are always shocking the dog. My E collar has vibrate, beep, shock, and an LED light for night time training or walking. If you look at a lot of military and police dogs they use the collars for the same thing. For instance if I’m in Petsmart and a six-year-old wants the pet Maci. If I notice Maci is about to jump up I will vibrate the collar. She readjusts he focus and doesn’t jump. It is simply a training aid.

I take it that you are not in the UK. These collars have been banned in Wales - I think the first conviction for their use was in 2011. Last year Scotland was on the verge of passing a total ban, but may now debate their use by qualified trainers for remedial livestock issues. As usual, Westminster is taking its time coming to a decision, despite a well supported campaign for a total ban on their sale and use. (I suppose they do have other preoccupations at present). Positive training has, generally speaking, replaced more forceful methods, and is used for British Police and Army dogs as well as in most local obedience and trials clubs.

Assuming Petsmart is a store that permits dogs inside, why would anyone take a dog there that is known to jump up on small children who wants to pet it? Is your dog not on a lead where you [should] have control on it without having to shock it?

Maybe where you live they do, but AFAIK they are never used here. There is a police dog handler/trainer living round the corner from me and I frequently see him training youngish [I am not good on ages and know nothing about large dogs] GSDs around, always on a leash but never wearing a shock collar, often followed by two or three trained GSD police GSDs who are unleashed.

None of them were ever trained using a shock collar, a prong collar, or any other type of painful training - just positive reinforcement.

He does not even carry any treats with him - just his "good boy" is enough for them.

First off my dog is a working dog. She is not taking in public as a household pets. You have to socialize a dog otherwise a dog can be aggressive towards people it does not know. So yes my dog is in public a lot. She wears a collar 8E collar and a leash. You guys associate an E collar with only shocking. It does a lot more than just shock. I have personally shocked myself several times with the collar. It is not the kind of shock you think it is . I can hide on the other side of my 60 acre field and press the beep button and my dog will come find me from my house. Like I said it is a training it is not meant for discipline or to discourage the dog from doing any particular act. I wholeheartedly believe in positive Reinforcement but there are times when you just need to get the dogs attention and back on focus without shocking them.There are some really good articles on why and how to properly use E collars online. There are some really good applications for E collars when you have a trained protection dog like mine is being trained for. It gives you the most control over the dog in the times that it is being trained for.

I think we will disagree with different aspects of one another’s training methods but for me an e-collar doesn't make someone a good trainer just like it doesn't make a dog a 'good dog'.
Not everyone training dogs in sports / police work / bitework etc: feels a need to use e-collars.
To me the main reasons the fans of electric stimulation like it, is the time factor involved, it is a quick route to a result. On balance then, not for me, even if I can recognise that it does not ‘have’ to be cruel, or cruelly used, and can give fast and consistent results.

Since 1997 the UK the Kennel Club has not allowed electric shock collars to be sold at Kennel Club licensed events.
Police dogs, armed forces dogs and assistance dogs may also not be trained using electric shock training devices. Similarly the two largest German Shepherd Dog clubs in the country (the British Association for German Shepherd Dogs and the German Shepherd Dog League of Great Britain) have banned the use of electric shock collars from their training grounds.

So it is possible to train strong police/sport dogs from ‘high drive’ lines using a method which positively rewards the desired behaviors and does not rely on E- Collars to cap unwanted behaviour, it may make it easier, but not necessary.

Can a dog lover read [and watch] this...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-live-Morning-toying-electric-dog-collar.html

...and then tell me e-collars are not cruel and do not hurt the dog.

Ok so maybe some of the differences are coming from be being in the us. Here they are more widely used in training and police work. I know the collar that I personally use dosent harm the dog unless your personally trying to. The settings on mine don’t have that much power to them. Now I am sure that there are lots of people out there who miss use the collar. Like some people believe in rubbing there dogs nose in pee if they peed in the house. I personally believe that causes more harm then anything but each is to their own.