12/03/2023
K9 Kenny kind of has a split personality. At home and at play he’s a silly, fun-loving kind of boy but at work you do not want to be on his bad side.
I work on keeping Lucy’s on switch perpetually in the off position and it says that way with other dogs and most people she’s off. But she divides people into two groups, good and evil.
She’s always good with other dogs and I’ve never let he get into a situation where she could be bullied by another. She is sweet to small dogs particularly one small, white one behind a fence on walks who’s afraid of his own shadow who she likes and who adores her.
She like to play chase, alternating between being chaser and chasee but I only let her do that with a very few predictable dogs she knows well. I’m ever so careful with her that way because fear in dogs is like a ratchet, once it goes up it tends not to go back down . Bad incidents leave a mark. She’s had it ingrained in her that she doesn’t need to play with every dog she meets unlike the two happy-go-lucky, fun-loving Labs, Scout and Ellie I had before her.
People out on the street while she’s inside the gate and at home and those when we walk on the periphery are evildoers, to use Dubya’s phrase. She’s gotten a lot better about people approaching at night because she trusts me and knows I have her back. She’s ever attentive and perpetually scans the periphery for “threats”. That’s by nature not by nurture. The exact same person who might be considered threat on the periphery instantly falls into the good category once he or she is up close and she perceives no hostility. And her recall is excellent. I give a loud, commanding “Lucy, COME” and she drops whatever she’s doing or has distracted her and is instantly by my side. Anything less is not acceptable. But that’s by nature too because she’s a Velcro dog who sticks to me very closely. At home I leave the room and she’s with me like my shadow.
When a non-threatening person is close she wants their attention. If not on lease she wants their face to sniff and to lick which is not acceptable because some people are afraid of dogs. My male Lab Scout used to do that too and he was the kindest-hearted creature one could ever meet. I do a managed introduction by stepping firmly on the leash to avoid what I call the “pogo stick maneuver” (jumping up over and over against so her head is at the height of persons head to get a sniff) and am always prepared to do that. She’s learning that it’s not acceptable and is 90% on that. The other 10% of the time when someone talks to her in the ookey-bukey voice reserved for babies and puppies I’d better have my foot on the leash. In any case, it’s excitement not aggression. The breed is most definitely excitable. But she remains a pup at one year and is still learning.
I’m starting to see some signs of protectiveness which I do not encourage. For example, in a small room where we are alone together where she might possibly feel cornered when another person suddenly walks in the door she perceives threat. That’s hard to de-program so I avoid that trigger religiously and try to avoid such situations. I experienced that the first time at the vets last week and it’s protective nature. Once muzzled and taken to another exam room without me she was fine.
I didn’t get her for protection but it comes with the dog. I got her because of their boundless energy, light-boned structure, general good health, longevity up to 16 years, and always wanting to be on the go. She’s going to keep me alive.
Malinois need a lot of your time. Even more than I expected. But I was prepared. It would be a disaster-in-the-making to not have one’s expectations set accurately, find out the hard way then delusionally expect the dog to conform to mistaken expectations as if to attempt forcing a square peg into a round hole. That misunderstanding could end badly in many ways, including the dog turning on you or acting out aggressively in way that landed it in a shelter.
Ironically, the breed is very sensitive. It is a very bad idea to tease one. It can be done gently in play but they’d better understand that you’re not serious and you’re just being silly and don’t mean it. You can’t betray their trust and absolutely have to be straight up with them.
Also, like my Labs, if not exercised they can be bad, digging, chewing and shredding things, and becoming restless and going on what I call search &destroy missions. You can see it in the making — pacing, looking into areas which gad never been of interest before. I have a recurring nightmare in which I leave my Martin D-42,the crown jewel of my 3 guitars out on the couch out of the case, I get up to go to the bathroom and when I return she’s shredded the way she does a piece of driftwood at the beach.
She needs a
