Can anyone tell me how Dutch Shepherds compare to Working Line GSD's and Belgian Malinois? I love the look of Brindle Dutch Shepherds, and being dutch myself has a certain novelty to owning such a dog, I'm just curious as to their temprements, nerves, working ability, likelihood of finding a GOOD dutch shepherd in the US (specifically the south-eastern region) or if I need to go to holland or elsewhere in the country to find a nice one. I'd like my next dog to be an awesome protection dog with excellent nerves and high drive that would also make an awesome family companion and has a stable temprement that is suitable for being around young children. The dogs I'd consider are GSD's, Mal's, Dobie's, or maybe a Dutch Shepherd... Dobie's being on the bottom of the list for "likelihood of finding one with excellent nerves and working ability"... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'm not looking for a dog right now, it'll be years before I get a 2nd dog, but as with everything I do, I like knowing my options... I've been looking at new cars for a year even though it'll be early 2007 before I'm due to trade in <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I also thought it was kinda interesting that AKC doesn't seem to recognize the breed.

That's funny. I don't find anything about the AKC interesting.

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That's funny. I don't find anything about the AKC interesting.

Perhaps "amusing" would be a better word... to me there's a certain novelty of owning a purebred dog that they dont recognize to be a purebred dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> My GSD's AKC registration papers have been sitting in my filing cabinet for over a year, haven't bothered registering him yet.

Thanks for answering my question Scott! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Okay. To answer your question, working Dutchies compare very closely with other working breeds in terms of nerves, temperament, drives and working ability. Probably closest to a Mal, though.

As with any other working breed, finding a good dog is the key. Can you find a good Dutchie in the US? Probably. If not, I'm sure there are working Dutchie folk here that would be happy to import the right dog for you.

Is that better? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

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Is that better? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Thankyou! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I was originally looking for a Mal but decided to go with the GSD. I asked a lot of people on this forum about Mal vs GSD and Dutch Shep. What I was told is that the Dutchie is basically a brindle Mal, not alot of difference. With the working lines, (in Europe?) a Mal and a Dutchie could be litter mates; the only difference being color. This is probably not true of registerd dogs, but it applys to the dogs that you'd want to work....or so I've been told. Its a little confusing. In case its not obvious, I dont know alot about this; talk to Tim Martens, he helped me out.

Scroll down on the main index to the breed section. Lots of info on the dutchie. From what I've read, a working dutchie IS a malinois. Sounds like you want a GSD <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi Mike

I was in the same spot a few months ago. I live in Germany right on the border with the Netherlands and Belgium so all three dogs are readily available for me to pick from. I chose to go with GSD because I have a young daughter and the GSD I currently have is great with her. After talking with several breeders and from what I've seen, the GSD is a calmer dog and fits my needs just fine (Sch).

The Mals and Dutchies are very similar in temperment, drive, and working ability. It is sometimes difficult to find pure dutch shepherds even here because a lot are bred for KNPV and they don't really care if a dog is pure bred or not. They are commonly associated with Mals but they are two different breeds. Since you have so much time before you get a dog, you'll have plenty of time to do your research and pick the right dog for you but hopefully some of this helps.

Thanks Tim, and everyone else <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> My uncle lives in Eindhoven in Holland where my mom grew up, and I have family from my dads side in Maastricht in Holland and in Brussels Belgium who I can stay with so I can go kennel browsing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. I knew my parents spoke dutch to me all my life for a reason, nothing will get lost in translation hehe. I think my GSD's calm temprement is what keeps me sane sometimes, but I love watching them crazy Malinois work. I'd like to move into a house with a big fenced in property before getting a 2nd dog so I can just let them go crazy in the back yard together instead of having to walk 10 miles a day to wear em out!