In earlier blogposts we've already introduced Darka and Aatu. Now it's time to introduce Gator, our 1 year old Malinois.
For a long time I already wanted a Malinois. At the same time I knew it wasn't realistic for that time of my life. Not enough space and not enough time to train and give them the stimulation they need. When I moved over to Louisiana, I finally had that time. We started looking at breeders and lines and found Gator in Mississippi. Before we knew it, it was time to pick him up.
From the moment we brought Gator home, we knew he was a smart dog. His potty training went fast (read: no waking up during the first night, maybe 5 times in the house in his whole puppy stage), he knew most basic commands in a few training sessions and he had a good focus on me. We know we were lucky, since the puppy stage is way harder for others and comes with the obvious struggles. But it gave us a lot of opportunities to focus on our goals with him: having him advanced obedience trained and doing explosives detection. Since I was working at a board&train facility I could bring him with me and spend every minute possible training him. He improved within no time.
Gator is a dog that can be really calm in the house and outside. He loves his nap times, but can also run for hours. Especially when there's a ball involved. His ball drive wasn't there the first few months. He'd rather do his commands and detection for cookies than for his ball. When he was around 6 months old, he started to show interest in balls and tugs. And now? Now he'd rather have those than his cookies! As long as I bring the ball, he's happy.
Like every 'teenage dog', Gator has his ups and downs when it comes to training and behavior. Since he's only 1 year old, he's still trying to figure out who he is. One day he's amazing at his commands and in public, other days he doesn't want to do anything or he acts up. It happens to the best of us! He also got distracted a lot during detection. Because of this, he's not certified yet. Even though it's frustrated to experience, it's something we have to go through as owners and handlers. In the end it's all about building that bond and doing what you love. This will show in the end results.
Some things Gator loves:
His ball
Playing with Darka and Aatu
His new sister, Raven
Sleeping on the bed
Cuddles
He has a way longer list of things he loves, but there's also things he don't like. With males he can be selective. Especially if they run up to him too fast, he can get defensive. It's really because he's insecure and wants to protect me. But at the same time he loves Aatu and our foster (which is also a male). So it really depends on the day and with a good introduction there's nothing going on. Females are not a problem at all. He welcomes them in the pack like they've always been there.
Our main goal for the coming months is to get him certified for explosive detection and involve in his obedience even more!
