I have a 7 month old Belgian Malinois. Why is it that he won't bark at strangers? He only barks at cats.?

Question

He's a K9 dog. At 3 months I get to walk him out and socialize him with other people. I bought this kind of breed to be a watch dog, how come he's not turning into one?

He's a K9 dog. At 3 months I get to walk him out and socialize him with other people. I bought this kind of breed to be a watch dog, how come he's not turning into one?

Answer 1

The Belgian breeds are often silent protectors. At 7 months, not barking at people is a good thing. Excessive barking can get old. When he feels you are threatened, he will bark and protect you. Keep socializing him so that he continues to be a good boy and not bark at all of your friends. It will be ok. Belgians mature slowly, so it will not surprise me if he is 2 before he is fully protective.

Answer 2

Everyoen here has given good answers. But I'd like to add an impoortantr factor here.

There are various levels of breeds and for obvious reasons. You wouldn't expect an English Bulldog to be a champion sheep herder.

The belgian malinois is an EXTREME dog for EXTREME people.

For an average novice to ask a question like " why is my dog not barking at people" tells those of us who DO know canine behavior and have direct experience with working dogs, i.e. malinois, GSDs, etc; can see that you are in above your head. They are NOT couch potatoes, they are not lazy dogs, and they shouldn't be in the hands of a person who does mild activities.

You buy a working dog to WORK it. Not to just own for a "watch dog"..... There are PLENTY of dogs out there that would "bark" at someone for you. I don't think you understand the ability of that dog and your doing more injustice and harm to the dog than you realize.

I would suggest you take the dog back so someone like me :) or many others could get the most out of that dog. ORRR, take yourself and your dogs rear end to a "shutzhund", etc club that deals with intense sporting.

The petsmart trainers, etc are simply incapable.

Then you can actually learn about the breed and more importantly, the dog can actually use what it was bred to do. In the long run, the DOG will be happy. That is whats important.

And yes, ITS A PUPPY. You expect a grown dog reactions, etc out of a puppy?

Yea, go to a trainer that is knowldgeable. Your going to ruin that poor dog.....

If you wanted a barking dog you should have bought a miniture pinscer or something of the like. By 7mo that dog would be barking its head off and seems like this is more your speed. A dog the size and ability of the one you own is capable of killing someone. Your heading for a serious lawsuit soon if you don't get more involved.... You don't even know what you bought.....

People, do your homework before buying a dog.

Thank you and good night...

Answer 3

Way too young, for most dogs anyway. Consider yourself lucky. If he did bark at people aggressively at this age I would be questioning his temperament as all his barking would be coming from defense and all defense is based on fear.
You do not want a dog that is defensive for protection work, trust me on this.
Let him mature and socialize him extensively as malinois tend to get either stupid or sharp/shy without it. When I speak of socialization, I mean that he should be exposed to everyday things he will encounter in life, not just people.
Start doing some OB training and he will eventually mature and show you if he has the right temperament for protection work. Could you post where you got this dog from and what his bloodlines are? I am very curious about all malinois out there as I have been into the breed for almost 30 years. Hope I helped!

Answer 4

You should be happy. He is just a PUPPY. Also mine didn't bark at people even as an adult. Only when it was needed. Even if he heard something at night he wouldn't bark, he'd get up, check it out, "patrol around" and then come back. He reacted when he needed to. Aggressive man, swinging a bat and year. He was like night and day.

If you want an aggressive dog I'd suggest giving him to someone who understands the breed and dogs better. A dog shouldn't be aggressive and people seem to get protective and aggressive confused. A puppy not barking at strangers is pretty normal. If you wanted a dog that would you should have got a sheltie and not a Malinois. Check out Shelties. Most I know will bark, bark, bark at anything including people and whatever else. It can get annoying though.

Answer 5

He is still ong. give a chance to grow up. You propbably saw few ads that said malinois are guard dogs and you automatically assumed that what you bought was one? First of all, guard dogs are trained not born. If you wanted a guard or protection dog, you should have bought a trained one not a puppy. Ridiculous that you would think that just because a dog's breed is frequent;ly used in police and protection work, that it does thos things on pure instinct. And guard dogs are not aggressive animals. In fact, they are very even tempered MATURE dogs. (that's why they are very trainable to begin wth). If a person is non threatening, I seriously doubt that a well trained dog would bark or attack other than on command. (ever wonder why all those "police" dogs in malls seem to do nothing but stare at all thsoe "strangers" walking around instead of barking like mad?) Have you ever even trained the dog? Consider having him professionally trained at this age (even though i thnk it's quite late) on obedience and proper "dog ethics". Have him assessed if he has the proper temperament for protective work. Get him trained ( and you trained with him) in that then maybe he will do what those ads said he would. By the way, a dog will always be protective of its "packs" territory. At this age, he probably thinks it's not yet his "job" to do so. give him time.

Answer 6

There is really no reason to bark, unless something is 'up'. Plus, most puppies aren't protective. When it does 'kick in' it's usually at social maturity...which is around two years of age. Please don't make the common mistake of thinking he's too friendly and keeping him away from others. You don't want him to fear people and you want him to know the difference between normal and abnormal behavior in others.

Edit: I've never had a protective *puppy*, not even our Malinois from ring sport lines (sire & dam included). She was 'a lot' of dog (that's an understatement), but was a fairly typical puppy. Our Catahoula is the most extreme 'one person/family dog' we've had, but he loved everyone (truly everyone) until maturity. He's just a baby, get him out & about and work on obedience...builds confidence and such breeds need a firm/fair hand anyhow.

Answer 7

Not barking at people isn't a bad thing.. The best dogs there are to protect yourself and your house are the ones who don't make themselves feel like a threat to others. If the instance rolls around where he needs to be on guard he more than likely will be reguardless of the fact that he only barks at cats.

Answer 8

He is ONLY SEVEN MONTHS old. Give the dog a chance to grow up. I would imagine Belgian Shepherds mature at approximately the same rate as GSD's so wait till he is at least 14 months old before you start worrying that its not a "watch dog".

Answer 9

I've heard that Belgians are "silent protectors"
just because he doesnt bark at every single person that walks by doesnt mean he is not watching closely and ready to protect if needed. You want him protective, not mean.
Also, he is still kind of young. Give him time.

Answer 10

Hi there,
I do not think that if it is really not in the nature of your dog to be a watchdog, then you can't teach him anymore, atleast not at 7 months. Maybe if he grew up with an other wachtdog then he would see and learn. I hope that can still be done, but if he can't see how it's done, I don't think he will do it by himself.... Goodluck!