Having watched a brilliant TV programme about the Lackland military dog training kennels, I couldn't help but notice the number one breed (in numbers at any rate) seemed to be the Malinois.
Last night they showed a litter from their own breeding programme (fabulous dogs - so much drive) and my query - to anyone who knows- is whether they only breed the Malinois, and all the GSDs are imports, or whether they do have a GSD breeding programme too. (Only asking as a GSD person feeling that they were seeing the start of Malinois world domination!!!!)

DoD has two breeding programs, one for malinois and the other for Labradors. Both are experimental at this point. Most of the dogs you saw on the program are purchased from brokers.

Purchasing DoD dogs from brokers will continue well into the foreseeable future. While there is a breeding program, it is not producing nearly enough dogs to meet the needs of the military at this time. My dog had his international quarantine screen done by a military vet whose sole job now is traveling with teams to look for and purchase "green" dogs that have suitable temperaments for DoD training. And yes, there will still be lots of GSD's.

Very glad to see the last part of the post! But I still wonder - did they choose to begin breeding the Mals because they felt the breed was better suited for the work? Are the Mals more agile, do they have longer working lives, or are they faster to train because of their high drive? I found it most unusual to see small bitches being worked, and imagine they must be so good their size is irrelevant.
Or was it just that they had better breeding stock available in the Mals? Are they easier to breed consistently because they have a smaller genetic base? (That is a guess - if I am wrong I am sure someone will tell me!)

I'd say they are cheaper than gsd of same quality.
Maybe i am wrong (i'm a gsd fan) but my search (still just informational, i own showline bitch now) for strong dog (with papers, i guess military doesn't care about that) has shown me difference in price for dogs of same quality. Bad times for the breed...Malinois people have to be very carefull or the same thing will happen to them (it already started, dogs being returned cuz they are to hyper lead to watering down the breed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> and i have seen some show belgians <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> defintely not the right stuff). I went off topic here.

And those "small bitches" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> are like bullets, don't see them coming and you just find yourself on the floor.

I'll admit I know nothing of the Malinois breed, although I contemplated getting one at one time. My guess as to why they seem to prefer them over GSDs would be because they have shorter coats for one, and that not only would require less attention, it would help keep the dogs cooler. Just a guess.

I have seen that program too.

Hey, my husband will be going down there for training in the near future; want me to have him ask?? lol

Sabrina,
Here is an article to read, it will give you some insight...

GSD as a PSD by Kevin Shedahl

Some preliminary studies have found a 60% passing rate of Malinois puppies for PSD selection. GSD pups were at 40-45%. Is this absolute data condemning the GSD as a Police Dog? No, but it merits investigation (like the German Police breeding program described in Kevin's article).
To muttle things further, some agencies that had gone to the Mal are now going back to the GSD b/c of bad experiences with 'cheap', lesser quality dogs, hyperactivity, etc...
There was a time when looking for a PSD that, when all else was equal, the Mal was less expensive. Those days are pretty much gone.
Even with unregistered KNPV dogs, the puppies may be less expensive, but a quality green or titled dog will probably cost as much as a equal quality papered Mal or GSD.

A good dog, is a good dog, is a good dog. The holy grail is knowing what job the dog needs to do and how to go about evlauating and testing for that job.

Thank you John, very interesting. These puppy pass rate percentages, would that be on "baby puppy" tests - which I assume "home" bred service dogs go through before they are run on - or after preliminary training?
The Lackland dogs appeared to have had an initial "weeding out" before they came back for training at 9months.
I would love to know if the aspects of character/temperament that failed the pups were similiar for each breed or if each have their own problems - such as the hyperactivity in Mals.
Do Mals have less of a range of temperament - the ones on the programme certainly seem more alike in their reactions?
I only have a few Shepherds - but I always feel as a breed they show a tremendous range of different temperaments - even within a litter.
Is there any comparative research out there on how transmittable (genetically) the qualities looked for in a service, or PSD dog are? Or is this what Lackland and similiar places are now beginnning to do?
Kristen - yes please - seriously - I should love to have some first hand info!! Like why are so many of them docked!!

The last time I was at the DoD dog center was about three years ago but I was told at that time that the DoD program at Lackland AFB needs to send approximately 150 to 200 certified dogs per year out to the field. There is always a waiting list (MILSTRIP) that as far as I know is never empty although I believe they were close to filling all drug/patrol requests last year. In order to come up with 200 trained and certified dogs they're looking at close to 300 dogs taken into consignment. The breed of dog comes down to what's available for the price. The last price I heard was the DoD was paying $4,500 for a candidate dog 18 to 24 months old. If there are more malinois available, due to the rise in popularity, then more malinois will be purchased. For a time, the going rate for malinois was above what the military was willing to pay.

As far as docking tails, a vet will dock it if the dog continuously damages it usually from spinning in the kennel.