Hi all! Long time lurker and reader of Ed's training articles. Thought I'd finally post. I'm finishing up my graduate degree in biology at the University of Missouri soon and am going to be starting vet school in 2007. I find canine behavior fascinating and I do some behavioral consulting on the side. I've got three dogs as well as 2 rabbits, 3 rats, 1 ferret, and a jungle carpet python. Zoso (photo below of when he was about 10 months old, is nearly 15 months now) is a Belgian Malinois/maybe some GSD as a grandparent or something (I've been toying with the idea of trying to ILP him so we can do competitive obedience), Strider is an Aussie/husky mix, and Buck is a husky/Rottweiler mix. All are shelter dogs and I donate a lot of my free to the local shelter doing obedience training, fostering, dog walking, behavioral evals, etc.

Zoso:

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/5769/zoso104ao.jpg

Sorry, shameless bump...anyone want to weigh in if Zoso is close enough to a purebred Mal to ILP? I'm considering doing competitive obedience with him. Here's a video (him at 10 months wrestling with my Aussie/husky mix) and links to a photo or two of him:

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=93113&cdate=20060327
http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/553/zoso136ne.jpg
http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/8557/zoso119gb.jpg

He sure acts like a Mal...I cannot exercise him enough. I bought a $200 scooter (a big one, not those little Razor scooters) and did 2 miles on that today with him today. He had an hour and a half of play time in a big fenced in area yesterday with Buck my husky/Rott mix and another dog and we did about an hour and a half on an off leash hiking trail the day before that and it's like no big thing. Like, thank you, ma'am, may I have another? I'll have to write about my crating issues on another thread...

Maren, I've seen a few "What the he(( is that" dogs with ILP registrations. I see no reason your dog couldn't be registered as a mal.
I was just in Columbia a few weeks ago for a dog show. Next Sunday, April 2, there will be a Schutzhund trial across the highway (63) from the Boone County Fair Grounds.

Thanks Bob, I'm definitely considering ILPing him. When I first got him in May of last year at four months old at the local shelter I volunteer for, they had him as a GSD mix but I thought I might know better. Well, turns out he has the body of a Mal and a bit more of the head of a GSD, but he's real lean at 55 lbs and very square. I've had people ask if he's half GSD half greyhound. Anyways, a certain other popular dog forum where a ton of Belgian shepherd folks congregate (which shall not be named) pretty much all insisted I was vain and silly for insisting I potentially had a not super common purebred dog out of a local shelter. Very annoying and cliqueish. But he looks much more working lines Mal than the show dogs that they typically had. He's a bit of an ugly duckling in terms of his big ears and doesn't have much black overlay. He is certainly not going to win at Westminster, Crufts, or the AKC Nationals, but eh...

I was at that dog show actually and was talking to the Belgian shepherd folks for a while. Wish I could have brought him in to get their opinion. What time is the Schutzhund trial this Sunday? I will have to check it out (especially if spectator dogs are allowed). With the year off I'm taking after I get done with my masters and before vet school, maybe I'll have time to start Schutzhund with him.

Not sure about the time, but no spectator dogs are allowed at a Schutzhund trial. In fact, NO dogs, other then competitors are allowed in the field area. You could bring your dog IF he could safely be left in your car though. Afterwards, you could inquire about someone looking at your dog.
You were talking to the show people. I and two other members of our schutzhund club were in the front rings where the obedience was taking place. Where the real dogs were! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Hope you and your car missed the hail storm on Sat.

I can leave Zoso in the car for a little while or run home and pick him up afterwards as I live 5 minutes from the fair grounds. I did watch about 30 minutes of the obedience that day, though I didn't stay much past about 2 PM as I was heading to the shelter for my weekly volunteering. But yeah, the estimate for my car for the hail was $3500! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> My insurance is not thrilled with Missouri right now!

Nice looking dog and welcome here. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Welcome. A good working dog is a good dog no matter what the lineage. Good luck

new here , not sure how this works......help!

Me and my fiance just had our engagement photos taken so to be all legal so you can see me and the rest our dogs. Strider is the brown merle Aussie/husky mix, Buck is the black, tan, and white husky/Rott mix, and Zoso is the Belgian Malinois. I have the yellow fur and my fiance Sam has the dark brown fur. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/3418/marensamdogs1im.jpg