Malshi Temperament

Our Malshi has a lovable, family-driven, gentle, playful temperament. We have written a comprehensive list of what we see as our Malshi Dogs temperament. Included are such inbuilt traits as Alertness, Attachment, Attention Seeking, Playfulness, Aggression, Fear, Rivalry, Energy, Excitability, Anxiety, Trainability, and Sensitivity.

 

 

Temperament Facts

Attachment & Attention seeking – Our Malshi loves the family environment, she is the happiest when the family is together as a whole unit. She will even try to bring the family together if one person is out of place, she will run over to them and then slowly lead them to the family. If she isn’t sleepy at the time our Malshi will go seek attention from family members, she often moves on to the next person if she stops receiving the attention she’s asking for.

Alertness – She is rather alert, at home, and while on walks she is normally aware of what is happening. A part of this is due to wanting to protect the family unit and other times she just wants to go play with other dogs she might see.

Playfulness – Our Malshi Dog will always agree to joining in and playing a game. If she thinks family members or other pets are playing some form of a game she will want to get involved. She has a strong chasing instinct, she will run after balls, other dogs that are running, and any wildlife that happens to land on our property.

Dog Aggression – Our Malshi Dog can appear to be aggressive at times, but she is all bark and no bite. With young excitable puppies or aggressive large dogs, our Malshi Dog will growl to warn off the other dog. Our Malshi has never attacked a dog, I don’t believe she ever will and she has never fought back when being attacked.

Dog Fear – As mentioned our Malshi has been attacked a few times by other dogs, this has cemented a fear of larger dogs into her personality. Her temperament before this was not fearful but more submissive. She would commonly introduce herself to other dogs by being submissive and rolling over as they approached. After the initial encounter, she would then be excited to interact with the other dog.

Dog Rivalry – WookiDog is rather competitive, she will want to run faster and outplay other dogs. She will get upset if another dog is receiving attention from us. We have started to train her not to react by rewarding her after such interactions.

Energy – The energy level of our Malshi Dog is very high for her size but it can be short-lived. During playtime she is more than willing to keep pushing, running faster, playing harder, even after it’s obvious that she is totally worn out. She can easily go for a one-hour walk on a cool day and will keep up a good consistent pace.

Excitability – At the start of a walk our Malshi can get over-excited, we actively calm her and lead her away from interacting with other dogs for the first few minutes of a walk. The level of excitement is totally manageable, we just don’t allow it during walks to keep her from developing improper walking behavior. After a bath or during playtime at home she can get hyperactive, we have fun with this and encourage it.

Non-Social Fear – Our Malshi Dog is very adventurous, she has no fear of heights, jumping up and over new surfaces. She enjoys exploring new places, we even take her kayaking which she loves. She does have a significant fear of noises that she doesn’t understand, so maybe a cement mixer in the distance could upset her or the noise of skateboards seem to set her off. She never gets aggressive, her reaction is to protect herself by running away or hiding.

Owner Aggression – As mentioned above, our Malshi lives for the family unit. She has never been aggressive towards us and if she accidentally hurts us during a rough game she will be visibly upset by it.

Separation Problems – The Malshi Dog do form strong bonds with their owners and with that separation problems can form. Our Malshi will wait at the front of the house when we leave, she will stay in a viewing position for hours looking for us and will come to say hello the second we open the front door. She is affected by separation anxiety, if one owner is away for the day and it’s not the normal routine she will whine showing how upset she is. But she always settles down in a position to watch the owner return, she isn’t totally unconsolable or franticly desperate to escape the house. So yes Malshi dogs do get separation anxiety but it’s manageable.

Stranger aggression – We have never witnessed our Malshi Dog displaying any form of aggression towards a stranger when out of the house during a walk. She is defensive of the home and will actively bark, or try to bail up strangers entering the property. She is not aggressive to the point of attacking, she always stays a safe distance away if she thinks the stranger is truly bad, otherwise she’ll stay close and quickly change the barking behavior to a quick sneaky licking of the ankles to say hello.

Stranger Fear – On walks, our Malshi Dog tends to be cautious of strangers at first. Typically with women, she is more likely to want to say hello and ask for pats. With men, she is more likely to stay away and for whatever reason, she will be very fearful of some men at times.

Touch Sensitivity – Our Malshi Dog loves cuddles. She wants to be held, to be patted, and to get scratches. She’s a wonderful lap dog, just the enjoyment from being close to us is evident. She will often lay at your feet or lay down beside us, leaning against us seems to settle her.

Trainability – Training our Malshi to do everyday tasks has been easy, toilet training and behavioral training has always yielded results depending on the level of effort we put in. They can get easily distracted though, are rather stubborn but they do love treats and want to please us so that makes training possible.