Question - Page 1

New to this site and have a few questions. I have been looking a Beligian Malinois for 8 months now. I have been to a few kennels in California. No offense to any of the kennels but I didn’t find what I am looking for. I would like the dog to be a female between 6 months to 2 years old. If the dog is trained it would be a plus. I have found that breeders in California only sell puppies. I love puppies but I am looking for a dog to be good for protection. So the dog must have all of the drives. If I get a dog to small then I run a chance that the dog does not have the appropriate drives that I am looking for. The breeders in California that do sell trained working dogs they have a really high price. For example, it could run any where between 15,000 and 35,000. Frankly I am not that rich to pay that. ( I should state that my husband is in the military and the dog would be a working dog ). Now I am looking at importing a dog from over seas. I have found Marsyas Kennel and this kennel has a really good rep on this site. Super excited. I am waiting to hear back . Waiting feels like when I was young and told someone that I liked them then I waited impatiently by the phone to get a response lol. I responded to two of this kennels classified adds. Now it’s the waiting game. I know they must get tons of responses hopefully I will be in line soon. My question is can someone explain the process of importing a dog overseas? What do I need and how much would it cost to import to the United states (LAX). I heard some people say get a broker. What is a dog broker about and is it necessary? Any information would be helpful. Also, any experience on a person using Marsyas would also be much appreciated. I am not sure if she speaks English or not so I am kinda afraid to call. Also, I would love any type of overseas recommendation on good kennels that have good dogs.

" If I get a dog to small then I run a chance that the dog does not have the appropriate drives that I am looking for."

This makes no sense at all and even less sense considering you are looking at mal.

 

What do you mean by hubby in military therefore you need a working dog, most military guys are away for months on end, totally not what a working dog needs, in fact the opposite especially in a mal.

If you never imported a dog I strongly reccomend you pay a good broker to do the paperwork.

She means if she gets a puppy, she won't know what the dog's drives are like until it's older.

Oh OK, thanks for the translation, I went with physical size.

The USA is a huge country if you only looked in California why not expand your search to other states? Before going over seas? Because there are a lot of rip-off artist across the pond and you will have 0 legal ability should the deal go south. If i were looking for such a limited range of options i would try scouring the country here at home first, before throwing your money to the wind.
(And for the record i'n not saying there are only rip off artist over seas and none at home because that not true either. But for a newby at least there are legal options that are more easily accessed.)
Fry

In order to get some help here, it would be helpful if we knew more about your experience with dogs in general, and if you have trained any higher-drive working dogs. Malinois are generally higher-drive, and if you are looking at a working type protective prospect, then most likely it will be drivey. This does not mean a Mal could not make a good match for your needs, but you should be aware of what they are like and what you really need vs want.

I always tell people..."Be Careful What You Wish For"...meaning you might get something that you think you want but can't handle or train...This happens many many times... Please go to some Working Dog Clubs in your area and check the dogs out...Maybe Schutzhund Clubs...

Ivan Balabanov...http://malinois.com/malinois/

http://www.mohawksmalinois.com/

These are two good breeders of Malinois in the U.S.

 

~Bob~

OP, I'll send you a PM.

Many breeders sale mainly pups, since that is what breeders produce. However, some of them will on occasion have an older dog available, for whatever reason. One that was returned, or held back, or ... But unless the breeder is also someone that routinely raises dog for resale, there is usually a reason the dog is for sale. Not necessarily a reason that would be an issue for your needs, but most dogs in the age range you are looking for are going to fall under 1 of those 2 categories.

You mentioned since your husband is in the military, the dog will be a working dog. What does this mean? Is it your hopes that the dog will actually become a MWD? Those are dogs owned by the military and provided to the handlers, not personal dogs the handler provide.

I've never heard of Marsyas Kennel, but I will echo what someone else said. There are lots of breeders and brokers of Malinois in the US. Since you are looking for an older dog, and preferably one with training, I'd be looking more at the brokers than the breeders. Or the sport people who raised the dog up and decided to sell it. If you buy from the US though you have some legal recourse if things "go south". When you buy from overseas you are pretty much stuck with whatever they happen to send you, which might be awesome and might be a total piece of shit. Lots of stories on this forum from people who imported and didn't get even close to what they expected. Considering the cost to ship a dog to the US, I would recommend if you can swing the time factor that you just fly to the kennel you are considering buying from, then see the dog(s) in person and purchase the one you want. The cost to ship an adult dog to the US is pretty close to the cost to fly over, pick it up, and bring it back as baggage.

Looking in both. So far nothing. Almost bought a malinios but seller said they dont believe in vacinating dogs so search continues. I am trying in us but yong non puppies hard to find.