Woman Told to Pet Malinois Puppy to ‘Calm Him Down’ – Doesn’t Go to Plan

In a viral Tiktok video, a dog trainer from Nashville, Tennessee, followed users’ advice to pet her Belgian malinois puppy to calm him down, but it didn’t exactly go as they had suggested it would.

In the post, shared in February under the username @maligatormom, Kay Overlund, a professional dog trainer and owner of four Belgian malinois who compete in professional K9 bite sports, can be seen trying to pet the sassy puppy, who instead of calming down only gets more triggered and starts biting her.

“Them: just pet him to calm him down,” reads layover text in the clip. And a caption says: “Petting the Malinois puppy did in fact NOT calm him down.”

As an experienced trainer, Overlund knew that petting the puppy wasn’t going to work. She told Newsweek: The video was a satirical response to people who don’t have experience with this breed after suggesting to me that petting him will calm him down. This is a Belgian malinois and is not a breed well suited for your average pet dog owner. They require a handler who is committed to understanding the characteristics of the Belgian malinois and providing consistent training.”

Belgian malinois are known for being among the most intelligent dog breeds in the world. They have strong problem-solving abilities, observational skills and are very versatile. They are also very quick learners, hard-working and eager to please.

However, they are not a suitable pet for everyone. Georgia-based veterinarian Jess Kirk writes in a Vet Explains Pets article that due to their high intelligence and energy these pups need a lot of mental and physical stimulation to thrive.

Before getting a malinois, she suggests the owner must be ready to provide daily walks, runs and playtime, as well as engage their pups in activities that challenge their minds. A lack of stimulation can cause destructive behaviors of all sorts.

Their problem-solving abilities and easy trainability make them great candidates for police and military work; search and rescue operations; sports and competitions; and detection tasks, identifying explosives, drugs and even cancer.

Belgian malinois can also make great family pets as long as you are committed to providing them with consistent training and positive reinforcement.

The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 1.5 million views and 44,100 likes on the platform.

One user, Ellbee731, commented: “Belgian malinois are the closest thing to having a velociraptor as a pet.”

Lori said: “They’re a cross between a wild hyena and a Tasmanian devil lol. But sooooo cute.”

MightyAres added: “If you pet him, you encourage and train him to do this. Unwanted behavior should be ignored or corrected with positive reinforcement.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.