Flirt Pole Training for German Shepherds and Malinois: Build Control While You Burn Drive
German Shepherds and Malinois were bred to work, and a lot of pet homes don’t give them a job, and you can tell. A flirt pole session with some structure gives that drive somewhere to go. You do a long wait before every chase, keep the chases low, let them catch it every few rounds, get a clean “out” when you ask, and then cool down calm. Both breeds are big and grab hard, so I’d use the Rugged XL.
By Christopher Lee Moran, working dog trainer, about 10 years and around 400 client dogs · I bought the flirt poles I could find and handed them out to clients, watched what broke, and then built the Rugged XL. Just so you know, I’m the one selling it.
Why these two breeds need a job
The AKC calls the German Shepherd dogkind’s finest all-purpose worker, and says about the Belgian Malinois that denying one activity and your company deprives it of its very reasons for being. In plain English, both were bred for hard jobs like herding, protection and detection.
The pacing, the mouthing, the chewing, the staring at anything that moves. A lot of times that’s just drive with nowhere to go. I have found that a dog with a satisfied animal instinct is much better behaved. A long walk tires out the legs and that’s about it. A session with some structure gives that drive a job and teaches some control while you’re at it.
The session I run with shepherds and Malinois
- Warm up. Do a couple minutes of easy walking and some simple cues first, cause these dogs go from zero to full speed fast and you don’t want to skip that.
- A real wait. Put the lure still on the ground and ask for a sit or a stand and have your dog hold it. Start with whatever your dog can really do, even if that’s 2 seconds, and build up toward 8 to 10. With these breeds I think this is the most important part of the whole thing.
- Chase low and wide. Run 15 to 30 seconds with the lure on the ground in wide circles, and I’d skip the tight spins cause at this size they’re hard on the joints.
- Let them win often. Every few rounds let your dog catch the lure and hang onto it for a few seconds. A working dog that never gets to win gets frustrated fast, and I don’t blame it.
- A clean “out.” Go still and ask for the out, and trade for a treat if you have to, but whatever you do don’t pull the lure out of their mouth.
- Cool down. Say all-done and put the lure away, then do a few minutes of easy walking or a place cue, and with a Malinois especially I wouldn’t skip it.
Watch a Malinois practice focus with a distraction
The pole for working breeds
Rugged XL Pro Kit
- One-piece reinforced fiberglass pole, about 8 feet of reach for wide arcs
- Dyneema static line rated at 800 lbs, plus a spare line
- 5 lures, because these dogs grip hard · free US shipping
30-day money-back guarantee · usually ships within 2 days
I wouldn’t put a light pole or a bungee line on a big working dog. If you break a pole down into pieces or make it collapse you lose strength, and the joints work loose, and a bungee snaps back at you. Lures wear out too ($12.95 each), and a shepherd or a Malinois that grabs hard is gonna go through them. That’s why I point people to the Pro Kit if they’re doing it every day and the 3-lure kit for a few times a week.
German Shepherd vs Malinois: how often
German Shepherds
A young shepherd on the lure: low to the ground, grabbing the fox lure and working it on the turf.
Impulse control drillsFor most adult shepherds, one 10 to 15 minute session a day is where I’d start. If your dog is still restless at night, a short calm second session a lot of times helps more than more exercise. So does something quiet, like a chew or a sniffing game.
Belgian Malinois
Malinois are a different story. A lot of them do better with two shorter sessions a day, a full one in the morning and a short one at night. Over time, see if your dog settles with less. Every dog is different, so let how your dog acts at home tell you.
I’d use the session to build skills and not just to tire the dog out, cause a super fit Malinois that can’t hold a wait is a lot harder to live with.
Safety with big, hard-gripping dogs
- Teach the “out” before you build speed. If your dog won’t let go when they’re only a little excited, they’re not gonna let go when they’re wound up either.
- Keep kids out of the session. Only adults should be on the pole, and I’d keep kids and other dogs way back.
- Mind the joints. Play on grass instead of concrete and keep the turns wide, and don’t let them jump for a lure up in the air.
- Puppies: nothing before 6 months, and even then just an easy intro. Ask your vet before any full speed work, cause big breeds a lot of times need longer.
- Stop the session if your dog limps, pants a lot harder than normal, or gets too hot. And if they’re getting more frantic instead of more focused, I’d call it right there too.
A flirt pole is not a fix for aggression. If your shepherd or Malinois has bitten, guards stuff, or goes off hard at people or dogs, get a qualified trainer or a vet behaviorist. See reactive dog training.
Quick answers
Are flirt poles good for German Shepherds?
Yeah they are, if you put some structure to it. It gives a shepherd’s working drive a job every day and the waits and the “outs” build control too, and I’d go heavy-duty with something like the Rugged XL.
How much exercise does a Belgian Malinois need?
Honestly more than a walk, and more than just running too. A lot of Malinois do good with a mix of walks and training and structured play, like two short flirt pole sessions a day, and then you watch how your dog acts at home and adjust from there.
What size flirt pole does a German Shepherd or Malinois need?
I’d go with the Rugged XL. Both breeds are usually well over 30 lbs and they grab and shake hard, so you want a one-piece pole and a strong static line. In my own use it holds up to a 120-lb power breed.
My Malinois won’t let go of the lure. What do I do?
Go still and don’t pull, and trade for food or a second lure. Then practice the “out” with a toy when they’re calm until it’s easy, and slowly work it back into the flirt pole sessions.
Can a flirt pole help a reactive shepherd?
As part of a plan it can, cause it gives the drive somewhere to go and lets you practice self-control. But by itself it’s not gonna fix it, reactivity takes distance and careful training and a lot of times professional help.
Give the working dog a job.
Try it for 30 days. If it’s not a fit for your dog, email me for a refund, and you cover return shipping unless the pole failed. I’m a one-man company and I want you happy with it, so I’ll work with you.
Get the Pro Kit, $129.95Just the pole? See the Rugged XL, $74.95
Based on my own experience training dogs. Not veterinary or behavioral medical advice. Exercise disclaimer.
