How To Train A Belgian Malinois Puppy Not To Bite

You’ve just welcomed a Belgian Malinois puppy into your home, only to discover they love a good bite. Well, I shouldn’t say good. It isn’t really, is it?! So, how can you stop them biting? How long will it roughly take? What are the best techniques? Well, that is exactly what we will be covering here today.

So, how do you train a Belgian Malinois puppy not to bite? You won’t be able to stop a Belgian Malinois puppy from biting completely, but you can reduce the amount of biting significantly by teaching them to control their impulses. Training certain commands is also effective, as is taking them to puppy classes.

How To Train A Belgian Malinois Puppy Not To Bite

To help your Belgian Malinois puppy bite less, you can try a combination of teaching them to mouth gently and control their impulses. You can also teach your pup replacement behaviors and encourage them to herd objects while playing games. Puppy classes are a good means of exploring these avenues.

Play Gently With Your Puppy

Puppies like Belgian Malinois are likely to bite more when they’re engaged in rough play.

Any puppy can bite when too excited because it becomes more difficult for them to control their natural impulses to bite and nip, and Belgian Malinois can bite more than most.

Make sure you play gently with your puppy when your pup is calm, and if you have young children, show them how to softly stroke your puppy at quiet times.

Suppose your Belgian Malinois is around children who are running and shouting while playing.

In that case, its natural herding instincts are likely to show themselves, resulting in nipping and biting (or worse, biting and holding on firmly!)

Keep your pup indoors when children (and adults) are running around.

Teach Your Puppy How To Control Impulses

For Belgian Malinois puppies, teaching impulse control is crucial. These dogs have a very strong “bite and hold” instinct: after all, these dogs have been bred to herd as well as hunt.

Here’s how you can reinforce calm behaviors in your pup while helping it develop impulse control:

• Help your puppy learn to walk nicely on the leash (puppy classes will include tips for this, see above).
• Establish yourself as the leader in your puppy’s eyes by having your pup sit before you put the leash on, give food or cuddles, before tossing a ball, etc.
• Have your puppy only start eating on your command. To do this, have him sit. Ask him to stay while you put the bowl on the floor. Have him remain in a stay for a beat or two before giving him a command that says he can eat (such as “Go!” or similar).
• Play games that stimulate your Belgian Malinois’ intelligent brain. Include lots of physical activity, as this breed has a lot of energy.

Note: Always remember to take into account your puppy’s age when planning activities. Although Belgian Malinois (and all puppies) have lots of energy, be mindful that younger puppies should not be doing highly strenuous activities (like long runs, repetitive jumping, climbing stairs, hikes, etc.) Once their growth plates have closed, you can then take on some of these high-energy activities. If your puppy does too much exercise too soon, he can develop health problems later in life (like arthritis) because the bones haven’t had time to set.

Be sure your pup gets enough rest, too: even if your puppy wants to keep on playing, he might nip or bite if he gets cranky and tired.

Puppies will play until they literally fall down from exhaustion, so make sure your pup has a place to rest with a safe chew toy.

You can use a puppy crate or put him behind a child gate, perhaps in the same room with you so he doesn’t feel lonely, but all puppies need lots of sleep to grow.

Help Your Belgian Malinois Learn To Mouth Gently

Belgian Malinois aren’t known for having much mouth control, so it’s essential to help your pup learn to mouth gently. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Armed with thick gloves, hold a treat or small piece of kibble between your thumb and middle finger. Allow the edge of the treat to protrude a bit.
2. Gently insert the treat in your puppy’s mouth, but keep holding onto it (make sure the gloves are thick enough!)
3. If your puppy starts to bite roughly, don’t release the treat. Speak to your pup in a calm voice without making any movement. Wait for him to start nibbling softly.
4. Once he is softly mouthing your hand, let go of the treat while praising him.
5. Repeat this exercise several times, using a verbal cue when you put the treat in his mouth, such as “Gentle”.

Note: Always do this exercise when your puppy is calm, preferably after he’s had a good amount of exercise. You don’t want to make any movements while you have the treat in his mouth because movement can spark your pup’s biting impulses.

Use Replacement Behaviors To Teach Your Puppy Alternatives To Biting

You can train your puppy in replacement behavior, which is behavior that is not compatible with biting. Here’s what you can try:

1. Carry a bag of treats with you at all times. If you don’t want your pup eating too many calories or you are concerned about possible digestive upset, carry pieces of kibble instead.
2. Get your pup to target a long stick (or your hands). When your pup complies, toss a piece of kibble across the room for him to chase while you give him praise. You are aiming for your puppy to touch your hands or the stick with his nose without nipping.
3. Reward your puppy in a similar way when he does other things you want, such as sitting on your command, maintaining eye contact with you, etc. The best way to do this is walk away while you toss a piece of kibble in the opposite direction for him to chase.
4. During the learning process, you can further help your puppy with interactive games, such as tug-of-war or using a favorite toy attached to a string. Food dispensing toys are also handy ways to get your pup thinking, particularly if the food dispenser requires your pup to target part of it or perform an action to get the kibble.

Play Games That Encourage Your Pup’s Herding Instinct

Belgian Malinois have been bred to herd and can also make good hunters.

You can play games with your pup that will allow him to make the most of his innate desire to herd and hunt.

Games like Treibball are particularly good, since your pup will get to learn to “herd” large balls into a soccer net. Here’s how to teach your pup to play Treibball:

1. Teach your pup to target your hand (a clicker is highly effective for this).
2. Once your pup knows how to target your hand, put a sticky note on an open door of a cabinet and get him to target that
3. Next, have your pup target the door with enough force so that he can learn to close it.
4. Now put a sticky note on one of the large balls and encourage your pup to push it with his nose. He’ll push the ball a short distance at first, but you can help him work up to pushing it further and further along (you can stand opposite him and get him to push it to you. Belgian Malinois are very smart dogs, so he’ll get the idea fairly quickly!)
5. Remove the sticky note and watch your pup herd the balls into the net. He’ll probably enjoy it even more if you’re standing next to the net to praise him.

Get Your Pup to Puppy Classes

Puppy classes are one of the easiest things to do to help your Belgian Malinois puppy not bite as much.

With this breed, it’s essential to show them who is ‘top dog’, and puppy classes will help you do that while teaching your pup how to behave.

Belgian Malinois puppies, like all puppies, need socialization early on in their lives to learn how to interact with people and other animals. Puppy classes will give your puppy much-needed stimulation and attention from other puppies and people.

In fact, puppies who attend classes are usually more amenable to training.

By bringing your puppy to classes, you are helping your Belgian Malinois get used to people who:

• Have differing amounts of facial hair
• Come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds
• Are of varying heights and ages
• Have more or less mobility (perhaps some use canes, wheelchairs, etc.)
• Carry other things such as glasses, umbrellas, canes, hats, etc.

To choose the best puppy classes for your Belgian Malinois, look for ones that go over other things apart from common commands, such as “sit,” “stay” and “down.”

Make sure the classes you choose are:

• Allowing puppies to interact and play together (with controlled and supervised interaction