Sold a German Shepherd and got a Mal - Page 1

My husband bought me what was advertised on the breeders site and then confirmed when I put the deposit down, to be a AKC registered German Shepherd puppy before he left for Afghanistan. My goal was to train her as a therapy dog. We want to give something back to those brave men and women coming home injured. I contacted a breeder in my state (No, I won't give the name) and put a deposit down on the dog. When I picked up the dog the breeder (an officer of the law) told me that the puppies father was his K-9 service dog and was currently with another handler, so I couldn't see it. He told me all about the dog and what an amazing dog it was.
I waited for almost 4 months for the papers and every time I tried to contact the breeder I was ignored. I finally got mad and sent an angry email and posted on his web site and he responded with some story that he sent the papers in to the AKC but they screwed them up and now they won't help him fix them.
When I took the dog to the vet, he called it a Malinios. I corrected him and told him it was a German Shepherd and he let it go. I started her at obedience classes and my trainer (who breeds German Shepherds) told me she was a Mal. I contacted the breeder and he admitted that his service dog (a Belgium Malinios) got in with his GS. He had DNA testing done on one of the males and found out. However, he knew when he sold me that dog her daddy was his Mal service dog. He basically told me that I had a much superior dog and that was it. He promised to send me info on both her parents and of course, I haven't heard a word.
Now, don't get me wrong, my Shiloh is the love of my life. She is the most beautiful dog I've ever seen and she is extremely smart. My husband, who is very generous says to let it go. I say God gave me the dog I was meant to have, but my trainer and all the GS owners in our class think I should get my money back ($825.00). I wanted a GS to train as a therapy dog and I got a very high drive dog that I'm not sure if she will be capable of therapy work. I'm working with her every day and she's come a long way. She was so scared of everyone and everything and very aggressive towards me the first couple weeks.
What do all of you experienced GS dog owners think?
I would appreciate any advice you could give me.

P.S. I've read some real hateful responses to other posts, so if you want to tell me I'm stupid or this is somehow my fault, please just move along.
 

I won't say any of those hateful things. I am once again amazed by the dishonesty of some dog breeders, is all. 

I do agree in principle that in the least you paid for a purebred dog, and paid the price for a purebred dog, as the seller claims he thought so too, early on. Since the agreement was for a purebred dog, and you do not want to return the dog, a discount should be forthcoming. That would seem fair to me. However, getting a "snake oil salesman" to be fair is always the tricky part and like your generous husband realized, it might just make sense to let it go.

I am sure you will do things differently the next time.

I think the breeder/officer of the law definately took advantage of you. He should be ashamed of himself especially if this was to be used as a therapy dog, obviously to be helping people.
I've met about 6 Mal's used for protection and sport and they have all been high drive working dogs, but definately not suited for therapy working dogs.
Was anything put in writing or as a contract from this breeder?
I would take his butt to court, my husband probably would have said the same thing--- "let it go, we love our dog as a pet she's smart and she's great" but its the pricipal, you were lied to and need to get your money back.., its gonna suck if you have to send the dog back if you've gotten attached to it already.
 

They will never get her back she is my love, but I agree with breetree. If the breeder was honest and wanted to "make it right" he would have offered a partial refund. I considered hiring a lawyer to get a partial refund, but that would cost money as well. I just hope that he feels guilty about the whole mess and that would be enough for me, however I don't think that is the case. Mine was not the only dog in that litter, so I imagine that there are a many people (if they know) a little upset. I considered contacting the AKC, but my breeder said that they won't do anything. It bothered me that he tried to register dogs that he knew were not pure GS line, that is if he was even telling me the truth. I just hope that with persistence and training I can certify her as a therapy dog, but I would never put her or anyone else in danger. She's my baby, therapy dog or not.
Thanks for your responses.

I'm sorry that the guy ripped you off, no doubt that he shouldn't have done it, obviously he has no scruples, is a real jackass.

As far as Malinois and therapy,  please don't write the dog off quite yet!  Just because a breed is typically high drive is no reason to assume they won't make excellent therapy dogs.  Being a therapy dog has a lot to do with good nerve, and stability, not whether or not the dog is high drive.  My experiences are quite different than that of the the above poster,  in fact on the contrary, most of the great sport Malinois I have met are also very social, stable dogs, in that way, no different from great working line GSDs. 

I think it's very important to understand the breed, how to train, exercise and work  it properly, because they do require a real commitment.   My suggestion would be that you get with some people experienced with the breed, who can test the dog for you to determine whether or not this dog will make a good therapy dog, (experienced Malinois handlers/trainers, not TT cert people),  and then help you along  the right path with your particular dog.

One more thing to keep in mind, even if your dog had been a purebred GSD, there are no guarantees when you get a puppy that it will end up being any good for whatever purpose or goals you had in mind when you bought the puppy.  That's why puppies are so inexpensive, they are a crap shoot.  

Same thing happened to me yesterday. I gave the cashier a ten dollar bill for my $6 product. He gave me back $14. I agree that you should get what you paid for, but if you wanted a low drive dog, why even look to a K9 or GSD? I'm sure you didn't post so people like me could point that out, but if it were me, I'd be at his house or department right now, instead of here.

Sold a German Shepherd and got a Mal by sueincc on 24 May 2011 - 16:05

sueincc Posts: 483 Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 07:24 pm

As far as Malinois and therapy,  please don't write the dog off quite yet!  Just because a breed is typically high drive is no reason to assume they won't make excellent therapy dogs.  Being a therapy dog has a lot to do with good nerve, and stability, not whether or not the dog is high drive.  My experiences are quite different than that of the the above poster,  in fact on the contrary, most of the great sport Malinois I have met are also very social, stable dogs, in that way, no different from great working line GSDs.

hey,
dont misunderstand what I said lol
I was only talkin about the Mal's that I came accross, haven't met all of them to write them off as therapy dogs completely.

You got ripped off plain and simple. A  much superior dog ???????? Maybe, not for us to judge because we don't know the dog. This dog could very well be a great dog but.............you still got ripped off. You paid for a pure breed dog and got a cross. Tell the guy you want your money back and he can have his dog back. He won't want it back so he'll offer to give you some of your money back and let you keep your dog. In my opinion this is most likely the best outcome because you don't want to let a dog you are attached to go, and I can understand that.

P.S. We have a  Malinios in our little working dog club and he would make a very good therapy dog.

bottom line is you paid 825 for a mutt, if your keeping her you  should get at least 625 back from the breeder