Ares | Belgian Malinois | Simi Valley, CA | In-Training
- Scott Hansen
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
Meet Ares! Ares is an eighteen-month-old Belgian Malinois here for our Old School Three-Week Board and Train Program. Ares is a recently adopted typical Belgian Malinois. He is a loving young pup that has a few unwanted behaviors. Although Ares doesn’t pull too hard on the leash, he does wander off to do his own thing. His obedience is unreliable. Ares will jump on furniture and on people at times. Ares can perform a command or two with proper motivation; however, he lacks structure and performs tasks inconsistently. Over the next twenty-one days, Ares is going to learn to be an obedient pup through consistent, clear communication and balanced training at home and by discovering new people and places. Ares will learn to perform all these things on and off leash through a positive and balanced training environment. Through structure and consistency, Ares will demonstrate how great a pup he can be! Stay tuned for Ares’s three-week transformation!
Ares | Belgian Malinois | Pupdate 08/08/26
Today, Mr. Ares joined me for his Old-School-Three-Week Board and Train Program. On the way home, we stopped at a local park to see what commands Mr. Ares could perform. He performed a sit. That was it. He kept trying to sniff the ground and was interested in the people at the park. He was hyper aware of all the activity going on at the park. I think you know all that, and that's why he's here. After I tested his skills, we had a mini photoshoot for his profile picture for his blog. I don't know if you know this, but as soon as dogs see a phone or camera in front of their face, you are now invisible to them, and they must ignore you at all costs. Once we got what we needed, we loaded up and headed to Mr. Ares's temporary residence for the next two weeks. Mr. Ares had no issues with the car ride.
Once we got home, I let Mr. Ares smell Ms. Toji and Mr. Moose through the front gate. All the pups were excited to meet Mr. Ares. Mr. Ares sniffed them through the fence. I observed no reactivity in this initial meeting. Mr. Ares had no problems getting into the house. I let him explore each room and meet everyone. Throughout the introductions, Mr. Ares showed a happy interest in everything in the new environment. He was excited to meet everyone. I let Mr. Ares smell the pups through my screen door to the dog run area. Once again, I did not observe any adversity. I took Mr. Ares outside to meet Ms. Toji and Mr. Moose. This meeting went well. Mr. Ares was standoffish with the other two pups but didn’t show any signs of discomfort.
We then went on a long walk around the block so that he could get used to the sights, sounds, and scents of his temporary new neighborhood. He didn’t pull too hard or lag. He mostly walked in front of me. He did mark a few trees, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. He ignored all the other dogs in the houses that barked at us as we went around.
I put him into his assigned crate for his stay with me. He needed a little motivation. Once we have him introduced to the e-collar, we will use that to motivate him to enter the crate. When he was next to Mr. Moose, he started to growl at him, so I don’t think they are going to hang out together very much. I let them out to hang out in the office, and they didn’t get along. Mr. Moose is a young pup, possibly going through puberty, but he is the sweetest guy. He was licking Mr. Ares’ face, and Mr. Ares did not like that for some reason.
I expect to see him work well with the structure and positive reinforcement. I expect him to respond well to treats if he isn’t overwhelmed by the structure and e-collar. With clear, persistent communication and expectations, he will learn to be a well-mannered pup!
I gave him dinner and observed how much he ate. I keep track of his weight and will ensure that he maintains his weight while he is with me.
I've attached the e-collar familiarization video. Please review the video a few times before Mr. Ares's turnover. We'll practice together to make sure you are comfortable with the system before using it with Mr. Ares. I will introduce the e-collar for tomorrow’s training. I will see how he reacts to training with the e-collar and pinch collar.
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