Quote: Connie Sutherland

Ah.

Like my granddogs (Border Terriers), who feel soft when their wiry coats grow out a bit. Like feathers.

Connie, your grandog goes back to the same dogs that produced the Bedlington and the Dandie Dinmont terriers. Just goes to show you how far the show folks can take a "breed". The Border is still the most natural of all of them.

The Lakenois is actually in the AKC FSS now, and can compete in performance events. They might have even been moved into full registration status, I'd have to double check that.

So where do you get an AKC male mal pup??? Kelly, I have tried over 20 kennels that will not ever return my emails. So far if your not into protection sports or police work then your out to destroy the breed.

on some forums saying AKC will get you kicked off.

What does "AKC Mal" mean?

a Mal that can be registered with the AKC

 Quote: Gerald Dunn

So where do you get an AKC male mal pup??? Kelly, I have tried over 20 kennels that will not ever return my emails. So far if your not into protection sports or police work then your out to destroy the breed.

on some forums saying AKC will get you kicked off.

Well, I hope it's okay to say AKC on this forum. If not, I'm getting myself into a heap of trouble here. But, Gerald, if I wanted an AKC registered Malinois or Belgian Sheepdog and did not want to do protection sports or police work, I guess I would start with the AKC's website and go from there. You can get a link to the AKC-sanctioned national breed club, and there you will find lists of breeders.

That said, I would still do extensive homework and research on any particular breeder I would contact, making sure they care not only about the conformation ring but also temperament and performance ability (and can prove it by the performance titles on their dogs!)

I think you have just been contacting the wrong breeders for the type of dog you want. It's understandable that people who breed dogs with protection sports in mind want to place their pups with homes that will fulfill that potential.

I made it well known that my pup (when I was looking) must be registered AKC since I would be competing in AKC sports like Rally, Obedience, and Agility. Radar's breeder registers his FCI dogs with the AKC, and I talked to two other breeders who also registered AKC and none of them insisted I do bite sports when I made it clear I wasn't interested in it. All three said they may have a pup in a future litter that would meet my needs, and I found him.

 Quote: Gerald Dunn

So where do you get an AKC male mal pup??? Kelly, I have tried over 20 kennels that will not ever return my emails. So far if your not into protection sports or police work then your out to destroy the breed.

on some forums saying AKC will get you kicked off.

Toni and Cat are both from Kaiserhaus, but Cindy is no longer breeding.

Gerald, what are you looking to do with your Mal when you get him? A lot of Mal breeders want to place pups - especially male pups- into working homes so they earn titles. If you are telling them that you just want a pet that you plan to breed later on, they might be thinking that you are not the kind of customer that they cater to.

I just Googled "AKC Registered Malinois" and there was 5 breeders that register with AKC on the first page. I am not saying that they are the breeders you want to go to, but they are out there. Even Loups du Soleil has AKC registered Mals - Feist is registered with the AKC (I just peeked at their site quick).

The problem that many have with the AKC has to to with what happened to the GSD. People see a good working dog and want that dog - then the standards start to slide to include those dogs that produce better "pets" than they do working dogs. The Malinois is a working dog through and through - they do not do well as house pets. In order to produce Mals that ARE house pets, breeders breed less drivey dogs. Before you know it, the breed is no more a working dog than a Peke. Those of us who LOVE the working Malinois don't want to see that happen.

If you want an AKC Malinois, go to an AKC sponsored event - agility would be a good one that you will find lots of Mals at - then talk to the owners. Find out about their dogs. You should get a lot of good leads on breeders that way.

Can I ask WHY you are hung up on AKC? There are LOTS and LOTS of wonderful Mals in rescue right now that are great dogs - most have plenty of drive to earn some titles in events like agility or flyball.

 Quote: Kelly

Can I ask WHY you are hung up on AKC? There are LOTS and LOTS of wonderful Mals in rescue right now that are great dogs - most have plenty of drive to earn some titles in events like agility or flyball.

And don't forget that if you get a Malinois from rescue, you can get it registered with the AKC under what they call the PAL (Purebred Alternative Listing), which enables you to compete in AKC performance events like obedience, agility, rally, tracking, herding, etc., and you can earn the same titles any other AKC-registered dog does. I think about the only thing you can't compete in is conformation events. There is also a spay/neuter requirement.

I doubt you are having problems finding a breeder because you are looking for AKC registration. Almost every breeder I can think of in the US who breeds for protection sports has AKC registered dogs. The conformation and performanc breeders do also. There are a few people breeding non-AKC dogs, most of these are KNPV type "Malinois" (ie mix breeds).

I suspect the issue is more about who you are contacting, and how you are contacting them. IE contacting someone and saying you want to buy a pup in the next month or two, and they don't have a breeding planned for 8-10 months. Or telling them you don't intend to compete with the dog, but want the pick pup from a litter. Or contacting a working breeder for a show dog, or a show dog breeder asking for a top level working dog.

It would still be nice if the breeder would take the time to fire back an email saying "sorry, but I don't have ..." but when you get inquiries every single day, sometimes there just isn't enough time to reply to everyone.