BBC Dropping Crufts?; tv documentary tonight - Page 13

 selective trailing programme is a programme that is so hard on the dog, physicaly speaking, that if a dog has a flaw it commes out befor he has reproduced. That's most of the time. Combine this with knowlageble breeders who can backtrace almost any dog to a common "link" . You get a situation where there is still the rule of the fittest survive. In lack of a better word "lesser" dogs aren't used for breeding. If a problem occurs it will be tackled because the dogs won't make it in trail competition. Example in the 80ies there was a problem with HD in the Malinois population. Nowadays it is under control (as said befor this is true for the population i know) and without extencive testing. My dog was only tested to rule out HD for a problem with jumping at 5 his hips were perfect. Dogs with HD don't  make it I know about 200 malinois and of these i know that there are 3 with hip problems. The other are structuraly sound. They have to be in order to compete at the age of 9 or 10

Greetings

Johan

THe BMS for Malinois in the UK is 9, but obviously this is not a true picture as only approximately 136 have been scored.

Everyone has a go at the WG showline, but what about other lines, you cant get a true picture of their health if they dont health test, non of the Police forces in the UK elbow score, they do hip score but will quite happily use dogs/bitchs with high and uneven scores such as 11:11, 7:12, 9:13 etc.

the german sheperd also suffers from spondilosis and cauda equina , i have seen dogs from both lines,  with this problem ,working and show lines .

A.Shepherd reply.

Not always do those who shout the loudest do nothing, already Beepy is asking for suggestions to send to the breed council, perhaps support  would be more appropriate & constructive suggestions ?

suggestion , change the schutzhund program something like the old ddr program , and join the new sv-2000  .  but what about the bulldog french and english btoh are mutants  and other working breeds like the boxer or the labrador ? i dont know ,but beauty is the cancer of all   dog breeds . regards 

Funny whenever the topic of Malinois comes up I hear the same responses... "You just wait and see.  When they get overbred like the GSDs they will fall apart too!"  Fortunately, I cannot envision the Malinois ever getting so popular.  Think about it... who the heck would want a Malinois for a PET?  The GSD makes a nicer pet... calmer, softer, more easily managed by the average family looking for a pretty bed warmer.  And voila... the popularity of the breed in general.  The average pet owner would be completely overwhelmed by the typical Malinois. 

I recall meeting a Malinois breeder who wanted to produce one litter a year, but couldn't because he said he didn't have enough confirmed working homes for the number of puppies that might be produced.  On the other hand, I've heard numerous GSD breeders say, "Well I really would LIKE to see my puppies in working homes, but it's just not possible to find enough of those kind of homes, so the rest will go to 'active companion' homes." 

So, although I agree in principle with the supposition that the Malinois would be ruined if overbred to the mass public, I cannot realistically visualize the breed ever becoming so popular with the masses as to be overbred.  I know many GSD owners who have pets.  I know of no Malinois in homes other than sport/working, with the exception of one lady who has them for show, but she is familiar with the breed and know what she is signing up for.

I'm a GSD enthusiast, and the current dog I train is a GSD, so don't go accusing me of being a closet Malinois owner.  - Yvette

O.K. SchHBabe, have you seen the border/working collie situation in this country?  This has happened because of popularity first & foremost within the "working" fraternity, because less than accomplished "trainers/handlers" buy what they believe to be a "better" dog.  All obedience is now swamped with collies... because they're "easier" to train... but rescue is also swamped because many of these working lines do not make good pets and many of them  have health problems too.

The Malinois may never be as popular (thankfully) but it's working ability and present popularity will cause problems... it always does!

Closet Malinois owner??? Eh??

S