My 3 Year Old Spayed Malinois is Fear Reactive

Uploaded on September 17, 2025 • 4 min

In this essential training discussion, we address a common but critical question from a Malinois owner: "Is my training work being undone when my fear-reactive dog practices reactive behaviors in our own backyard?" A 3-year-old spayed Belgian Malinois displays fear-reactive behavior both on walks and at home behind the fence. When dogs or people pass by the yard, the dog reacts, and when these "threats" move away, it reinforces the dog's belief that their reactive behavior "worked" - creating a cycle of self-reinforcement that undermines all training progress.

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Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs

Leash Reactivity with Michael Ellis

Leash Reactivity with Tyler Muto

Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner

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When people have specific training questions we recommend that they go to our website and post those questions in the ASK CINDY on the front page of leerburg.com. Cindy has been training dogs since she was a teenager and has competed in several dog sports at a regional and national level. She was also a vet tech and owned a boarding/training and grooming business for many years as well as breeding working Dobermans and Belgian Malinois under the kennel name Kaiserhaus.

Questions posted to ASK CINDY are answered almost every day. They are also recorded in our systems if a dog owner has additional questions Cindy will review the previous Q&As and this helps her give better feedback and assistance.

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