Thai Belgian Shepherd / Malinois & Great Pyrenees Mix Alexandria, VA

This is Thai, a 13 week old Belgian Malinois/Great Pyrenees mix (parents are known) boy who is quite ready to find that permanent landing spot. Thai is incredibly sweet and very, very intelligent. I might go so far as to say scheming. This is not a hyper dog as the Great Pyrenees has mellowed that out, nor is he on vigilant patrol like the Great Pyrenees can be. What he is is incredibly intelligent and he will make a fantastic pet for the right people.

The right people will be someone who is prepared to work with a large dog who will be one step ahead of you. This means taking the puppy to obedience classes and teaching them to be the most excellent dogs they will be. It also means socializing the puppy from day 1 and to provide activity and interesting things to do. A bored Malinois/pyr puppy may pick a job to do that you hadn't considered. He is not an apartment/condo kind of dog and a fenced yard will be a very good idea. Thai is 13 weeks old and will be a large dog as an adult.

If you are interested in adopting this dog, please apply online, at https://bigfluffydogs.com/adopt/adoption-application/ then email kim.tompkins@bigfluffydogs.com. Our main website, www.bigfluffydogs.com has more information about us and the rescue process.

NOTE TO EMAILERS FROM PETFINDER: WE DO NOT RESPOND TO EMAIL INQUIRIES WITHOUT AN APPLICATION. WE REGRET WE CANNOT RESPOND TO EVERY EMAIL, BUT UNLESS YOU FILL OUT AN APPLICATION, WE DO NOT KNOW YOU EXIST.

All known information about an individual dog is provided in its listing. We do our best to provide accurate information, but adopters should understand that each home is different and the dog may behave differently in a new home. Dogs are creatures of their environment and you help make the dog what it will be.

Homes considering adopting a puppy must be prepared for 1.) Flexible schedules for potty training. Puppies can only hold it for one hour per month of age (i.e. a 4-month-old puppy can only go 4 hours without a potty break). 2.) Crate training until the puppy is at least one year old to prevent chewing on inappropriate things when you can't supervise. 3.) Socialization. The more positive and varying experiences as a puppy the better, both in and out of your home. 4.) Puppy behavior and life stages are equivalent to a human toddler. It takes at least a full year to have a calmer, well-adjusted dog. Patience is required and when your dog's behavior is a positive experience for you and those around you, your patience will be rewarded ten-fold, for years to come. Please do not consider adopting a puppy if you have not thoroughly thought through the pros and cons of having one. So many people end up returning them after 3-5 months because they didn't realize the amount of work involved in raising a puppy. Patience, appropriate toys, socialization, and obedience training are all musts. All are time-consuming and can be expensive. All dogs require supervision with children and obedience training. Adopters that want to have good dogs must be prepared to put the time and effort into training a dog. Any dog requires work and effort, but a well trained, well-socialized dog is more than worth the effort to get them there.