Belgian Malinois lines that excel in detection work - Page 1

what are some of the lines seen most often with detection work or are known for having exceptional hunt drive and environmental stability? Im familiar with some breeders who are only involved in sport but want to expand my knowledge of breeders who focus more on working dogs who have a job working off of the field. 

good luck with that one

Find the kennels that cater to LE and look at the lines they have in their breeding programs.

Every single one of my Malinois has been stellar at detection and I have now trained 21 of them. If you can't train a mal for this work hang your head in shame.

Personally I avoid LE lines though.

by jillmissal on 29 August 2022 - 13:08

Every single one of my Malinois has been stellar at detection and I have now trained 21 of them. If you can't train a mal for this work hang your head in shame.

Personally I avoid LE lines though.

Any particular reason you avoid LE lines?

 

welp, I ain't even going to comment.

and that's very unusual for me. but I'm very happy to see someone is producing perfect Mals, cause in 40 years, I've only seen one that I thought was perfect.

the rest were nuts. but very good for stopping bad guys.

I,m in a pretty small pond though.

Rik

ETA: dang, I guess I did comment.

Did I ask a bad question? If I offended, I didn't mean to. I try very hard not to come off as sarcastic or argumentative when I ask a question.

I know so little, have so much to learn, and there is so much good knowledge available here.

My experience is primarily LE/military K9 and, to a lesser extent, working/racing Sibes, so when someone avoids or doesn't like/prefer them, I try to take the time to learn something I may not know. Could be something really important and useful that I missed because lacking differential/comparative experience or exposure.

Again, sorry if I aggravated or offended.

To answer your question, people breeding for LE/military tend to disregard things that I consider very important in breeding lines. Malinois is a high drive breed and I've yet to encounter one that didn't take to detection with gusto, unless poorly trained (which is indeed a big problem out there).

That said pretty much any Malinois breeder can get a dog into LE/military work by donating a dog. It's just not something that I do nor do I typically sell to agencies because the contractual requirements are not favorable.

There are indeed a lot of people out there who can't handle Malinois' intelligence, drive, and sensitivity. Personally that's exactly what I look for in a dog. I consistently produce dogs that work with intensity, sensitivity, and outstanding duration in detection work. I find a lot of other breeds just dreary to work with in comparison.

Nothing you said was offensive, OP.

by jillmissal on 12 September 2022 - 14:09

To answer your question, people breeding for LE/military tend to disregard things that I consider very important in breeding lines. Malinois is a high drive breed and I've yet to encounter one that didn't take to detection with gusto, unless poorly trained (which is indeed a big problem out there).

That said pretty much any Malinois breeder can get a dog into LE/military work by donating a dog. It's just not something that I do nor do I typically sell to agencies because the contractual requirements are not favorable.

There are indeed a lot of people out there who can't handle Malinois' intelligence, drive, and sensitivity. Personally that's exactly what I look for in a dog. I consistently produce dogs that work with intensity, sensitivity, and outstanding duration in detection work. I find a lot of other breeds just dreary to work with in comparison.

Nothing you said was offensive, OP.

Are you referring to all LE dog breeders, or just Malinois LE breeders?  What kinds of things are being disregarded?

The breeders that breed GSD for LE I'm familiar with produce some very nice puppies/dogs and I never heard a complaint about any of them.  In fairness, my  knowledge is very limited to only a few breeders, so very possible stuff is going on that I have no clue.

 

You might like working with Siberian Huskies.  Never a dull moment, either.  I had a Sibe that was an absolute natural in scent work.  She'd work "forever," until I was tired LOL (and she was just pet quality/show-type without the giant coat or over-the-top racing/working line drive).

 

If you are open to a rescue, check out rescues2therescue for more conservation detection dog oriented canines. They are assessed objectively and rated as far as prospective working ability by one of the conservation detection dog industry leader's non profit.

Otherwise, you are going to get the most bang for your buck contacting a malinois rescue and finding a dog with good environmentals, sociability (depending on the job) and drive for the work. It can be very easy and inexpensive to find a dog that was simply way too much dog for the average person but would therefore make an excellent detection candidate, and you don't have to deal with the crapshoot that puppies can be, even in lines known for something specific.

Anecdotally, I see a lot of dual purpose malinois that are either very good at detection work, very good at patrol work, but rarely both. It seems malinois are bred more for the ringsports focusing on the sexy bitework stuff, and not so much focus on the detection side unfortunately. One thing worth considering if you haven't already is that the type of detection dog you need should have a big influence over the breed you end up choosing. For example, I often do long searches in the heat of the day and have to travel long distances alone as a small woman, but I need a dog that is also moderately sociable and environmentally stable, therefore a GSD was the way to go. Breed is going to influence search style often as much as training. We are often searching over long distances with very straightforward scent cones or plumes. We might come across coyotes, cats, rabbits, etc. A malinois would be more likely to be less willing to continue searching in the presence of prey, or not sociable enough to work as a bomb/firearm dog for something like a concert venue with lots of people or an airport, which is why labradors are more common for those specific jobs. If I needed a dog to perform a more detailed search with less gusto/liability of damaging the target and more of a steady detailed drive, such as for endangered species work, I would probably go with a springer x cocker spaniel or something that is willing to do that monotonous, detailed type of search. I wish I could be more help as far as actual malinois lines, but I hope this was good food for thought at least. If someone knows the answer to this I'd love to hear it because I know a few folks looking for a dog right now.