‘I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I gave up on him knowing how much he adores me.’: A man and his Malinois’ turbulent adoption journey turns incredibly sweet as the puppy turns from a tiny terror into a cuddly cutie after a month of diligent training

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Nov 4, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Adopting a puppy is no easy task. Sure, there are tons of moments of blissful joy and happiness that you might not get from an older doggo. But at the same time, there are just as many puddles of mystery wetness, unwanted 'gifts' planted in your slippers and puppy teeth sized holes that have been gnawed into every piece of furniture and clothing that you own. Because life is a matter of balance, and when you turn up the cute that high, there is inevitably going to be a downside to it. Then you add to that the fact that the puppy in this story turn out to be a Belgian Malinois and you have a whole other kettle of fish on your hands.

For these doggos are known to be the most energetic breed out there. The kind of doggo who could out pace every hooman on a 100-mile ultra marathon with ease and still have energy leftover. But thankfully, through perseverance and a whole lot of love, the hooman who brought this pawdorable pupper into their life managed to make the best of things and with a lot of training and patience, helped his pupper become the best friend he ever had.

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  • 01
    I adopted this puppy a month and a half ago. I didn't know which breed he was (now I know he's a Malinois mix with unknown) because he was extremely malnourished and was very tiny for his age. He has grown
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  • 02
    from 3 kilos to 8 in just one month. He's healthy, strong, beautiful. But he is extremely, and when I say extremely, I mean it, ENERGETIC. I am lucky I live in the mountains so I
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  • 03
    have big fields near home where he can run freely on walks and play with other dogs. But no amount of running exhaust him. He has a lot of toys, but he doesn't want them unless I play with him. So he is
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  • Holy guacamole, this sounds like not only an incredible turn around of events, but also a heck of a lot to handle. Indeed, thank goodness this person lives by widespread fields where this puppy of boundless energy can run free. Goodness knows what it would have been like to cope with such craziness in the city.
     

  • 04
    demanding attention every hour-hour and a half. I am very sleep deprived and I have d. `n for 9 years now, so I know for sure a Malinois was not a good fit to me. But he's deeply
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  • 05
    in love with me, also very, very dependant, to the point that if I close my room's door, he pees and destroys everything, cries, etc... due to separation ar ty. I
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  • 06
    have not left my house one single time this past month and a half, only 2 times for his shots and everyday for walks, but not for me, not even to go to the supermarket 10 mins to get me a snack, anything,
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  • 07
    because I am scared he can injure himself while I am not at home. Also he has a tendency to cry for EVERYTHING. Even for things like playing with another dog and not being able to catch him.
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  • 08
    He whines and whines all the time for everything, to the point it gets under my skin and I get very upset and irritable. I can't have privacy anymore. I can't nap. I can't eat in peace. Always crying.
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  • 09
    I am starting to resent him real bad, I love him and I love how much he loves me, we really bonded, the only thing that keeps me from rehoming is thinking that this poor soul will be
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  • 10
    broken if I abandon him. Also, if I give up, everyone can give up, and the idea of him ending up in a shelter or a bad home, crushes me. But I really, really can't stand his constant biting and
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  • This hooman is truly a saint for putting up with such difficulty. It can be completely breaking to have to push against what feels like a rising tide of terror, even when it is backed by love. But it takes a truly special and resilient person to let love overcome those challenges.

  • 11
    attention seeking, it's very suffocating. I have tried everything. I even got a crate. Nothing works, only giving him the attention he wants and be a total slave. My arms are
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  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10571074304
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  • 13
    very sore, my eyes feel heavy all day due to not sleeping well. I cry a lot. I have tried training him for some basic commands like "sit", "lay down", "paw", "drop", "roll". He's incredibly smart and learnt all of them in
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  • 14
    one or two days. It was much worse when I got him because he was totally wild and no amount of "noes" or screams of pain would stop him from biting. He has more patience now for playing, but also when he doesn't like
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  • 15
    something, like when he gets bored of training, he gets extremely angry and barks, shows teeth and growls while biting. It might not be all the time like at first, but now it is much more painful and scary cause he's
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  • 16
    much bigger, stronger, more energetic and it will only get worse as he grows up. I'm sorry if all of this looks very messy, I am unable to organize my thoughts right now. I only need a little bit
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  • 17
    of hope as this feels more like a punishment than a blessing.
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  • 18
    One month ago | posted here about my severe puppy blues. I was really, really desperate because my dog is a (now 4.5 months old) Malinois, he's the smartest dog I've ever seen but he was a tornado...
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  • 19
    during this past month, something in him changed, like out of the sudden... he no longer bites me (at least no in the face, just licks), doesn't steal my shoes, and lets me sleep which was what was making me
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  • 20
    go insane... the sleep depriving. He has become a very docile dog, he listens (and when he doesn't, it's due to being a little rebel, but not because he doesn't understand), he sleeps peacefully in his open
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  • 21
    cage/bed at night closer to me, I don't even cover it anymore like I used to because I used to cover it at night to block his direct vision to me so he wouldn't go to my bed and wake me up every time I moved.
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  • 22
    He's very sweet, veeeeeery energetic but I started to enjoy him lately. This morning I let him get on my bed with me. First time since we got him, because it was impossible to lay with him because he
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  • 23
    would bite your face like it was a roasted chicken. I hugged him with one arm, he put his head on my armpit/shoulder, and fell asleep. When he noticed I was moving, he just licked my face and went back to sleep.
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  • 24
    This morning I really fell in love with him. All the puppy blues, the exhaustion, the training, the unstoppable biting (my arms were full of blood, injuries, bruises, etc.. for two months), the potty training that failed
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  • 25
    toooo many times, everything, for this moment of peace, sleeping by my side. I had so many moments of giving up, thinking about rehoming him, etc... and I knew I didn't have to give up.
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  • 26
    He still needs to learn a lot of stuff, but now we have... communication. He knows the basic rules, which he didn't back then, he was like a very wild panther. I was so scared he was growing in size and still "a'`~~ling" us
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  • 27
    (not aggresive but playing, but it hurt so much due to his strenght). We are in a much peaceful home now... I wouldn't have forgive myself if I gave up on him knowing how much he adores me. I just felt like updating,
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  • 28
    just for the past me who came here to cry about all of the stress I was going through. I love him with all my soul and I finally saw some light and purpose on all of this.
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cuddly terror myself journey Belgian Malinois puppy tiny forgiveness reddit story sweet training dog story cuties dog adoption
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