Hello everyone... I was going to post this under puppies but decided to post it here instead. As some of you know we have a new addition to the family and she is now 5 months old. She is a cool dog with a big heart and lots of drive. But she is our first Malinois... for years we've had Shepherds and I've always wanted a Malinois.

There are a few little issues(behavioral) with her that I am concerned about and I do not want to be addressing them the wrong way. These issues are also some that I haven't had with our Shepherd or not as bad.

We picked her up when she was 3 months old... I have always picked our puppies up at 7-8weeks old I am thinking this may have something to do with.... since I have no idea what she has been exposed to.

One issue I am having is the crate.... no matter how much food, treats, raw bones I give her in the crate she does not want to go in. And she is smart about it, she'll keep her back leg(s) out. And when I throw the treats in she just looks.... thinking about. When she does go in I "jackpot" her and give lots of praise. But she knows the deal, I even let the Shepherd go in and get the treats if she does not. I would have thought she would have gotten the point now at 5 months. She gets all tense when I am putting her in, but once she is in she'll relax and just sit there... no attempt to bolt. I do not want to be dealing with this when she gets bigger having to force her in... as it is now it is a PITA! Is there any additional information that could be passed along?

Another issue, not coming all the time when being called. Again she thinks about it... I can tell. She even thinks about it when I have a fist full of treats. I change up the recall rewards... treats, praise, and toy. I do not want her to come only when I have food. But seeing her just laying or sitting there looking at me thinking.. "I am not going to listen to you old man!" or "I am not going to, because I don't want to!" is very frustrating and it seems the times she does this the most is when I am pressed for time. So she is probably sensing it.

Lsst issue and one I have never seen which could be related to the crate. She sometimes does not like going through door ways. Example, coming in from the garage to the mud room, or coming into the bathroom with me so I can keep an eye on her. It is a at times a fight, she'll lock her legs and put up a struggle. But again, once she is in... it is like nothing happened.

She is also our first female... could it be a girl thing? Never had these issues in the past and I would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Rick

I'd like to hear how you trained the recall (the most important of the three questions, I think).

Also, how does she know when you do and do not have food?

I trained with the command "here" and running a few steps back... as soon as she would arrive I would reward with "yes" and then food coming from behind my back. She now comes from further distances and even when she is playing with her older brother. Since I do not walk around the house and or yard with food I am sure she can tell when I have it. I usually prepare (cutting them into smaller pieces) the treats prior to working. I have also rewarded her with lots of happy praise and sometimes her favorite toy. I have to say she is very good when I call her. She does awesome at Puppy II school... she gets it. It is just sometimes (not always) she thinks about listening to me and it usually when I have nothing material to present. But when she does finally come I give lots and lots of physical praise.

I guess I am answering my own question... have more treats on my person.

I just want her to have the pop all the time and never really think too much about it if she's not in harms way and just around the house coming in.

Positive reinforcement and marker training is how I have approached this and have not used a pinch collar.

but in regards to food rewards.... she will shut down when I am trying to get her into the crate and even when she is quite in the crate she does not care about food. It means nothing to her at that time.

I hope this clears some of it up.

Rick

"is very frustrating and it seems the times she does this the most is when I am pressed for time. So she is probably sensing it. "
yes she is "sensing" rather it is your energy at the time unfortunatelty real life doesnt always allow us to be the best pack leader because we are rushed at times just remember its not her and take a deep breath dont try so hard be patient and wait.

A leash or long line works best in these situations but its importanat not to "force" her forward she has to do it on her own. You can hold the leash only to stop her from backing up or going away only but dont pull or drag her forward. be patient and give her more time stay quiet and calm and she will come forward. Once you succeed keep doing it over and over again until you have no hesitation at all from her. Repetiton will condition her to repeat in the future everytime. practice makes perfect dont wait until the situation happens in life create it and repeat it until she doesnt hesitate. You can use food to lure her with her nose but dont reward her until she completes it without hesitation.

A larger crate may be helpful so she has to go all the way in to reach her reward in the back. Again patience is the key . I have had to crate train many dogs in my life often older puppies and even adult dogs and they have to enter the crate on thier own. If they are hungry and want the food they will do it. Try to keep quiet use very little commands or nothing at all convey what you want with body language and your energy never excitement

Remember a pack leader is calm and dogs read body language and energy naturally than human language. Having trained a deaf dog to enter a crate do a "down" "sit" "come" "stay" and "no" has been a real challenge and taught me how much dogs dont need to hear and what we say doesnt mean very much to them