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Did you bring home a Malinois without realizing what you signed up for?

Or are you back in the office full-time now?

Here's a proven routine to calm them before you head to work.

Weekly Bite

With Belgian Malinois, there's no shortcuts. You pay now or pay later.

Here's how to avoid paying interest...

Pre-Work Routine

I don't get to do this every day.

But on the days I know I'll be gone longer than usual, this is the special treatment I give Aki.

1️⃣ Structured Play

Duration: 15 minutes.

Games: Tug, flirt pole, and fetch with obedience.

Benefit: Obedience cues like "place", "touch", then "out" turn play into impulse control that requires mental effort.

🔑 How To Play Tug & Teach The Out

Do you learn better through videos? Check out Ivan Balabanov's free 10-minute demo on teaching the "out". 👇️

Once the cues are solid, use the 85% rule.

Aim for 85% success and 15% failure so that you challenge them enough to keep their mind stimulated.

2️⃣ Off-Leash Walk

Duration: 30 minutes.

Activity: Off-leash freedom to roam and explore on trails and open fields.

Benefit: Sniffing, sprinting, and resetting turn a walk into real exercise that hits the body.

Keep in mind that off-leash freedom needs a recall you can trust at distance, and that's where the e-collar comes in.

If you're new to e-collars, here's the basics:

🔑 How To Use Pressure When Rewards Fail

As a bonus, you can mix in detection games. Hide a ball in the brush, send your dog with a "search," and let their nose do the rest.

I never skip the off-leash walk because it's the easiest one to maintain, whether you're up for serious training or barely awake.

3️⃣ Scatter Feeding

Duration: 10-15 minutes.

Activity: Scatter their breakfast around the house and let them sniff and hunt for every piece.

Benefit: Foraging for every bite turns breakfast into decompression that leaves them ready to crash.

Feed raw? Skip the scatter, hand them their frozen meal outside, and let them chew it down. Same decompression, different mechanic.

Bottom Line: Try folding one or more of these into your morning routine and see what works best for you and your Malinois. There's no one-size-fits-all.

Tail End

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Until next Thursday, ✌️

Sam