Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

In detection work, there are ALOT!! of mixed breed dogs in the US. Lots of detection dogs come from rescues too....

Absolutely true here!

 Quote: cameron feathers

I can't wait until this area "wakes up" a bit! So much prejudice on what kind of dog can work and what can't...

19 of the 35 drug dogs I have working are from rescues, shelters or dog pounds. I've gotten 6 dogs from an organization called Gifted Animal Placement. A group of former law enforcement officers that scour shelters, dog pounds etc for dogs that will be suitable for detection, SAR etc. A great organization. You can visit that website at; http://www.gapdogs.org/ Click on the link GAP Dogs at work, and you can see several of mine.

DFrost

 Quote: cameron feathers

I can't wait until this area "wakes up" a bit! So much prejudice on what kind of dog can work and what can't...

What particular kind of police work are you talking about and what breed would you like to see doing it?

German Shepherds have dominated the scene for decades as far as a K9 that will protect its handler on the street, not only as police dogs, but as border dogs and military war dogs. Only recently has the Malinois been on the scene.

There's no other breed that can/will do what the GSD and Mals can and will do on the street. When lives are on the line, they're the breeds that are trusted with the job.

I think to say there are "no other breeds" is overstating it a bit. Certainly they are the most used. There are still a few Rotties and Dobies around. I personally don't care for either breed, but none-the-less, they are out there. The Dutchie is also very heavily used, although one could argue it's nothing more than a molted color Mal.ha ha. there are also some mix GSD/Mals that are starting to show up. I'm talking about Patrol or dual purpose, patrol/detector.

DFrost

You're right to call me on the "no other breed" statement. That's a bit overextended. I do know that Dobes aren't used much anymore and don't think they were ever used in the great numbers that GSDs were, and I was never sure about the Rott being used extensively at any time for police work (like you, I'm talking about patrol or dual purpose).

It always seemed to me that Rotts and Dobes had (and may still have) more of a territorial type aggression/assertiveness, your typical "guard dog" breeds. I was always unsure of their effectiveness on patrol. Except in Germany in the early days when Dobes were used during WWI and WWII, although still not in the great numbers that GSDs were used. (I don't know the history of the Rott, so can't comment.) I would guess the Dobe breed has suffered due to breeding, as many breeds have and may be the reason GSDs and Mals are preferred overall for patrol work.

I wasn't aware that Dutchies were coming into use until you said it. But that's another breed that I can see doing the job.

As far as bomb/drug, etc detection work, I can see pretty much any breed or mixed breed doing that, depending on the dog of course.

I agree GSD's and Mals will most likely remain the most popular for Patrol work . I'm glad to be seeing Dutchies more.They are my favorite.But there are others breeds out there in small numbers that I've seen work.

We've trained 3 Beaucerons for patrol(1 eventually was washed , 1 OK but not impressive and the other was a tough little guy). We've trained 1 Rott while I've been in and it was a very good patrol dog. He had great courage and it was more agile then most GSD's around at the time. We called him the Flying Pig.

I've seen 1 Gaint Schnauzer(?) might have been a Russian(forgot the name) years ago. I only saw it doing bitework but it looked impressive.

I've worked 2 GSD's a love them but I'm pulling for the Dutchies. The toughest patrol candidate I ever saw was a Dutchie. At the time we only had new handlers with no experiance. Tried him with one of them and it lasted about 5 seconds. Many of us experianced handlers wish we could have had that dog but the timing wasn't right. I always wonder where he went to.

Teaching those who work with dogs how to identify dogs for special services, that is efficient, great cause!

Thx for all the very interesting comments, ladies and gents.

And Sandy, your comments about GSD's make me feel like a proud GSD owner, even as a trainer with little experience. I have read about the extensive and versatile use of the GSD (as a service dog, police dog) countless times.

This does not mean that I do not admire other breeds as service dogs, be it mixed or not. And the trainers as well ..... as so much time, energy, and skill is put in the training. I suspect the training never stops.
I will do my best to meet the trainer and our 1rst detection dog.