List Only

Why is it that everytime?

Ok, recently, I noticed that people are putting Belgian Malinois in the classifieds ads for a cheap price. I thought this breed was going to be one of the breeds that could still be used for the K9-Unit and have that working drive and not be ruined like the majority GSD's of today with no drive and a show dog. But the problem is, it seems like everytime there is a perfectly stable dog, people have to ruin it. In the ad, they claimed the dogs were "family pets with no hardworking drive", as I thought to my self, I thought, why would anyone want to breed the working drive and working abilities out of a Belgian Malinois ?(sorry if I didn't spell it right). It's like breeding Labs that can't swim and APBT's that are bow-legged with no game or drive. What's the point of that ? I really don't understand, what is the point of having alot of breeds, if all people are going to do is either breed them down to genetic mutated freaks or turn them into completely something that is highly againist all standards of the breed ? Someone a couple of years ago told me that Presa's could be family pets. But I argued that most aren't suitable as family pets, but rather hardworkers with a kick ass drive,atleast the original Presa(not American bred) but yet, people are breeding them for a less hardcore temperment and less of a working drive.

Public Comments

1. It's really ashamed that people are breeding the work ethic out of these dogs. A lot of AKC breeders are breeding the work ethic out of the Border Collie as well. I will not support AKC in any way. I will only buy BC's that are registered with the American Border Collie Association, people who are interested in keeping the working BorderCollie lines going.
2. The curse of popularity causes every greedy idiot & her uncle to crank out as much of the current "fad-for-fools" as possible,regardless of the lack of quality....not that they'd recognize that lack if it bit em on the nose.
3. welcome to american breeding ethics! if you want any dog with a working drive these days you have to either get an import or buy from working line breeders (there are still a few around) many people in US want a tough looking dog but don't want to deal with what a a tough dog actually means... (extra energy level, etc) so people produce couch potato working dog.. sad really... dobies, rotties, GSDs etc are becoming sad examples of what the original dog was about bring on the thumbs down! i feel its like a badge of honor! added: why american? because in europe to get breeding rights on a working dog you have to actually prove its working ability. dobies have to get a working title before they are bred and puppies can be registered. this is why european imports are much better than local lines.. has nothing to do with race edit: if you want to get technical, calling out americans as a single group is not racism.. this encomposes all races that occupy America.. its a stereotype about the whole nation which is not racism also if we follow your logic, american akita, isn't your name racist as well? statistically speaking, if you compare american vs european bred dogs, my statement will hold true. a lot more american lines lack working drive than european. but please report
4. That's silly Lindsay, AKC has nothing to do with that. The breeders are doing that all by themselves. This is why you always want to look to see what else people do with their dogs besides breeding them. If a Belgian Malinois breeder isn't involved with herding or K9 activities with their dogs they probably are a poor choice if you are looking for a working dog.
5. Did you expect to find any kind of *quality* dog in the newspaper? It's 99.9% BYB's there. This was a recent debate that we had here about "ruining the breed". I consider breeding down drive (not out) in certain lines is the same as breeding out the animal aggression that AmStaff's are prone to. But, perhaps you are right, too. If they don't have the lifestyle for a Malinois, they should look for a different type of dog. Which leaves very few people who can own one.
6. I thnk it's because less people are getting dogs for jobs to be done. They want pets. So there's less demand for a working dog and more for a pet. those show GSDs are a disgrace though. Yse, pretty to look at but they don't seem to have good temperments. We got lucky and adopt a GSD that's obviously from a working line. Very smart dog. Does jobs we never taught her and does them well. SHe doesn't have that frog leg thing ging on those show GSDs have either. http://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/49/805349/805349_1219734910.jpg She's the one on the right, named her Karma. Boo is the BC mix on the left. She's trouble lol
7. As a Malinois owner and trainer for 30 years I can tell you that nothing pisses me off more then a Malinois that cannot work, that does not have the drives and the intensity that make the Malinois THE premier working dog in the world today! Having said that, there are some people in the USA that do breed disgusting, poor quality Malinois that could not work if their lives depended on it. Thankfully there are not that many of them as the breed is not that popular outside of work dog circles! No, Malinois do not make good "pets", as least the ones I deal with do not, they can drive a person insane with the amount of energy they have and their high drives. Where did you see this add at, I am curious to see who is selling them. Hope I helped!
8. Unfortunately I think the Mals reputation as a stellar boarder patrol and K9 unit dog are going to be its down fall. More and more people want 'guard dogs' not understanding what exactly that means and how much training it takes to have a properly trained protection dog. Enter BYBs who take advantage of the situation and sell 'family friendly guard dogs' to idiots who believe it. I have noticed a lot more mals poping up for sale around here lately, I suspect they are all from the same 'breeder' though/ I saw some for sale in an ad last week that where disgusting looking, over sized with a longer GSD like face. Its really disheartening that there are people who are trying to breed out the traits that make this breed so wonderful. The breed all ready has several health issues so I shudder to think what will happen if this trend continues. I don't see the point to breeding drive out of a breed. If you don't want prey drive, don't get a husky, if you don't want herding instinct, don't get a border collie. It really is that simple. The issue is that people often like the looks, the coat, the size etc.. of the breed but not the drive and there are always poor breeders and mills who are all too willing to accomodate that for money.
9. It is unfortunate. I think the major problem is that many people want to choose a dog based on looks, size, shedding, etc. So if they see a good-looking dog (like a Malinois), they want it, without first considering how much energy they have and how much work they will have to put into owning this dog. So, as the demand goes up, so does the supply because back yard breeders and puppy mills obviously realize that it's a way to make money.