[Cmanchesterr]

I have a 7 month old female Belgian Malinois named Amelia. She is a super smart puppy and can be very sweet...if she is getting what she wants. I am new to this breed (I thought I was getting a GSD) and I welcome any advice. Amelia has recently become a bully. She barks, nips, and paws at you when you aren't playing with her or if you tell her no. Walking away does not work, ignoring her does not work. She is very persistent and will only stop if you play with her. She mostly does it with me. She rarely does it with my fiance and never does it to guests. I do not want her to get any pushier and need to stop this ASAP! We just finished obedience classes and will be going to the next group as soon as it starts. She does doggie day care 2x a week. Sorry for the long lost...I figure more info is good! Thanks in advance!

 

[revolutionrocknroll]

I have a 7 month old female Belgian Malinois named Amelia. She is a super smart puppy and can be very sweet...if she is getting what she wants. I am new to this breed (I thought I was getting a GSD) and I welcome any advice. Amelia has recently become a bully. She barks, nips, and paws at you when you aren't playing with her or if you tell her no. Walking away does not work, ignoring her does not work. She is very persistent and will only stop if you play with her. She mostly does it with me. She rarely does it with my fiance and never does it to guests. I do not want her to get any pushier and need to stop this ASAP! We just finished obedience classes and will be going to the next group as soon as it starts. She does doggie day care 2x a week. Sorry for the long lost...I figure more info is good! Thanks in advance!

Ignoring her doesn't work because she knows you'll eventually give in and play with her. If you ignore her until she stops and only play with her when she's behaving, she will most likely stop engaging in this behavior.

 

[sassafras]

Unfortunately she's probably learned that you will give in eventually just to get her to stop (your fiancé probably never did this which is why she doesn't do it much with him). And now she'll never give up and never forget, because... malinois.

Teach her an alternative - "get a toy" will be a lifesaver for you. It's a lot easier to handle a dog bringing you a toy for a quick tug than one who is being physical with you. Engage her in short training sessions throughout the day - her mind needs to be worked. It doesn't even matter what you teach - tricks, obedience skills, whatever. She just really needs to think.

 

[KayWilson]

Totally second @sassafras suggestion. Teaching "go get (insert toy name here)" saved me from my puppy; she's 2 almost 3 now and has aussie and border collie in her. She's a very demanding, attention needing dog and would bite and pull at my arms to take me to where she wanted me to go.

I tried the ignoring and that just made her angry. They I tried physically putting her in time outs, but yet again just made her angry. Teaching her to figure out what toy I wanted her to get and then playing with her with it for even a little while really made the difference.

 

[Maiabean]

I think I need to do that with mine! I can be sitting on a bar stool and she will put her paws on my back and scratch down and mouth me to get my attention. She will escalate until I can't ignore (think painful paws scraping down your back). Timeouts sort of work.

I guess we need to work on "go get __ "...except she isn't very toy oriented. Any good videos for teaching that command? (I learn by best watching first)

 

[sassafras]

I dig it completely, my malinois just turned a year old recently. They are... physical creatures lol.

It will take time but you'll get there.