Hi everyone. I like Dutch Shepherd Dogs. Does anyone see an increase in demand for them in police service work in the U.S.? Most departments where I live (San Francisco Bay Area) have GSD. I have seen a few Mals but no DS. My department, the Alameda County Sheriff Office has 2 bomb dogs - labs. Right now there is a plan to start a patrol k-9 unit from the ground up next year. I have heard they want GSD only. I hope administration will be more "open" to selecting the best dog available whether it be a Mal, DS or GSD.

Will makes a good point. While there certainly are officer that participate in canine sports, when it comes to thier working dog the only thing that matters is: will the dog do the job. There are literally hundreds of canine handlers out there that know relatively little about schutzhund, or other dog sports and could even care less. Titles, registrations, championships do not translate into street survival in the canine world. I certainly would agree that breeding can be a predictor, it certainly is not a guarentee. Mr. Van Camp also made a good point relative the cost. Departments are on a budget and the less we spend on a dog allows other purchases. Even with that though the price, even of imports have risen drastically in the past 3 years.

DFrost

Actually Will, when I mentioned trophies and competitions, I was refering to the standards from the USPCA, although I didn't want to come out and be that specific. I was not refering to sporting events. I'm not bashing the USPCA, but most depts train to this standard. I don't seem to recall tracking as a huge component for their standard, which should be a big component in training a police service dog. Although from Canada, our trainers travel south usually twice a year to give seminars and lectures on tracking. I just sold my Mal to a dept in the states because he could not pass our Level III tracking validation, but far surpassed the dept's that purchased him.

Rob - Ahhh, got it! I think the USPCA has it's place, but you're 100% right about the lack of emphasis on tracking.
However, across the boards standards *would* be helpful in some ways. I've seen a few small, rural departments using virtual pet-grade dogs for their Police dogs. I would have been embarrassed to be on the end of the leash of several of those animals. :rolleyes:


Jeff - you have the wrong German Sheperds then. There are plenty of GSD's with every bit the drive and desire to work as a good Mal. I own and handle both breeds, and at the upper end of the scale, there's not much difference. I do however think it's currently easier for vendors to get an extreme working Mal then an extreme working GSD. But they both exist, you just need to know where to look, and how to train them.

I've seen a few small, rural departments using virtual pet-grade dogs for their Police dogs.

alot of the small rural departments are finally adding dogs into their police force..My county is a small rural one and retired their yellow lab (maggie) last week.

the first thing they are looking at is the cost for a new dog..but as we already know the money/budget doesnt go far..also in alot of these small, rural towns they aren't looking for a attack dog(that is their words not mine)they just want a drug and tracking dog...they said that they couldnt afford a lawsuit if the dog attacked someone...and since alot of these department are new to these types of dog... cost, training dog/officer, time, all starts to add up...they spend most of their time serving papers and disputes, maybe a couple of lost children and a couple of drug bust a year but that is just our county and beleive me we are small..only 4000 in this county

When we went looking for a replacement dog for our program we knew walking into it what we wanted…. We wanted a great police dog!! We looked at dog after dog after dog. We didn’t care weather it was a GSD or a Mal…. Didn’t care if it was imported or not…. Didn’t care what it’s lineage looked like….Didn’t care what the dog looked like. We wouldn’t have known what language the various score sheets were in let alone what they told us of the dog’s true PSD potential.

It came down to two finalists…. A really nice German Import GSD who was a tracking fiend but who was dog aggressive and showed a little environmental instability, And an American bred Mal of Belgian and French lines who climbed on top of an 8 foot file cabinet during a drug search and had a will to work that blew your mind.

I’d hope we are looking for the best working candidates…… I can’t trust my life or my shift mates to an inferior dog….. if the dog team fails someone can get hurt or worse…..there is no room for mediocrity.

wow, great reading!!

I do agree the GS has a more fearfull/respect demanding look over the malinois..

Whenever you think of police K9, I picuture a GSD..nothing else..thats just me though..

Is it true the Malinois are more sensitive, and unstable?

Tim,
There is room for both GSD's and BM's. I think the GSD has been around as a PSD and military dog for so many more years, when people mention a police dog - the first thing you think of - is a GSD.

My 1st PSD was a GSD - was a very good dog. I am currently training my 2nd - another GSD and he is just as different as night and day from the first. This guy is wired - my other was laid back, until needed.

I am also training a 14 month old female BM. Yes, much quicker - more agile - hits hard for a 47# lb dog - somewhat calmer than my GSD. People are more afraid of my GSD and he is very friendly - as is the BM.

The past posts are correct about the dog's titles. My present GSD has a fine working line - however I don't care - don't want the papers -- same as my BM. Don't care what they look like - but will they work.

I've seen some ugly PSD's - that I prefer not to take bites from anymore.

I believe we are fortunate enough to have another breed to draw from since the quality of one is dwindling - someday the breeding the of BM will do the same. People are in the for the money - not the working dog.

My female BM is more hardheaded and by that - I mean if I yell at her - she resists that much more - if talk to her in a normal voice, will do anything. My GSD is just the opposite -