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Posts Tagged ‘Belgian Malinois’
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
 Today, one of the most dangerous health problems facing dogs is obesity. It is your job as a responsible protection dog owner to do something about it. Dogs that are overweight are known to live unhealthy and shorter lives. Extra weight creates a unneeded stress on bones and joints, which could lead to arthritis problems. Dogs that are overweight usually are less able to exercise and do daily activities comfortably, because it becomes much harder for them to breathe. They are less able to resist infections, and they may be at a larger risk for problems during surgery, compared to healthy guard dogs.
There are many health problems that may develop due to obesity. One is Joint or Locomotion difficulties, this is when extra pounds and stress causes the the joints, bones, ligaments and muscles to become aggravated. This could in time lead to larger problems such as arthritis, hip dysplasia, and spinal disc disease. Heart and Respiratory disease is another health problem triggered by obesity. It is when excess fat tissue in the chest cavity and around the heart muscles. This causes the heart and lungs to work harder to simply provide the correct amount oxygen and circulation. Overweight personal protection dogs are also more prone to diabetes, pancreas inflammation, and liver disease. Heat Intolerance is when excess fat makes it more difficult for the dog to tolerate heat, causing them to feel uncomfortable quite often. Also skin problems can occur when rolls of skin build of fat deposits, they can often hold dirt and bacteria.
Your protection dog will most likely become overweight when they are not exercised well enough, and from eating more food than is required. Overeating can cause your dog to become greedy, bored, and overfeed often. If you feed your dog leftovers or give them treats a lot, cut back significantly because this behavior leads to obesity in dogs. You can tell if your guard dog is overweight by a simple procedure. Place a flat palm of your hand and feel their ribs, if you have a difficulty feeling the ribs, then they are most likely overweight.
If you discover that your dog is overweight, start by taking them to the vet to have them set a goal for your dog and recommend how much food he should eat each day. The food that you choose for your dog should satisfy their appetite but also contain the vitamins and minerals they need. Keep in mind that a gradual transition from their old diet to the new one may be needed. Do this by feeding them a mixture of the two and increasing amounts of the new diet, while slowly decreasing. Regular exercise is needed to increase the amount of calories they burn, do this by taking them for a daily walk or run. If your dog is old or in poor health, check with your vet first to make sure increased exercise is safe. Your protection dog may not lose the weight as quickly as you might think, so just be patient and keep sticking with the new routine. Eventually your German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, or Dutch Shepherd will be happier and healthier, and you will have helped them increase their quality of life.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Canine Health, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, Personal Protection Dogs, Protection Dogs
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Monday, January 10th, 2011
 One of the factors that is so important when deciding to train a protection dog is the type of breed. The Chow Chow is a breed that was originated in Mongolia around 4,000 years ago. A guard dog needs to be somewhat large and well built, these characteristics help for the dog to be strong and powerful when needed. The Chow Chow does not exactly possess these traits, they are a medium sized breed that is not very strong. The males have a weight that is usually between 50 and 70 pounds. Chow Chows can become extremely lazy if they are not exercised regularly, so it is very important that they are taken for daily walks. This breed would thrive best if they had a lot of land to run on, it would give them their needed enrichment.
Another important factor when considering a breed for the possibility of becoming a personal protection dog, is their health. Unfortunately, Chow Chows are prone to having many different health problems. These problems include things like hip dysplasia, hot spots, stomach cancer and ear infections. All of these will be enhanced if the dog comes from a backyard breeder or untrustworthy pet store. That is why when buying a Chow Chow you should ask for the health history of both parents. Although it is impossible to predict the lifespan of a dog, this breed usually lives from 10 to 15 years old.
Lastly, another important factor is the dogs temperament and nerve strength. Chow Chows are typically well mannered and are a great family dog. They need to be socialized and trained starting from when they are puppies. It is important for the dog owner to start a set of strict rules for this breed starting from the very beginning. Chow Chows are usually a dominant breed and it is crucial for you a owner to stay in the alpha position and not let your dog dominate you. But this breed in no way possesses the overall nerve strength needed to become a good guard dog. In today’s world the the only dogs that have strong enough nerves to do functional protection work is the German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, Belgian Malinois.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, Dog Breeds, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, Guard Dog, Guard Dogs, Personal Protection Dog, Personal Protection Dogs, Protection Dog, Protection Dogs
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Monday, January 3rd, 2011
 The practice of mating selected specimens of guard dogs with the intent to maintain or produce specific qualities and characteristics is known as dog breeding. The person who intentionally mates a dam & a sire to produce puppies is known as the breeder. A good breeder has to have good knowledge when breeding for top level guard dogs. One of the key factors is to make sure that both the dam & sire are proven, and that they have done the work, the work meaning both dogs have been trained in true protection work, and not for sport. One of the other important things to take into consideration is that both parents come from parents that have worked as true protection dogs.
It is very important to make sure that both dam & sire are in good health, and that they have clean x-rays. Another important thing to verify when breeding good protection dogs is that both parents have good bone density, a good head, and good pigmentation. In the case of breeding a good guard dog one has to take into consideration size, when it comes to guard animals, size does matter. A good guard dog has to not only be good at protecting but also look the part. The real key ingredients to producing a great protection dog all leads back to whether or not the dog has strong nerves.
So please remember, before you consider breeding your German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd be sure that all you ducks are in order to breed good strong protection dogs.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Breeding, CCK9, German Shepherd, Guard Dog, Guard Dogs, Protection Dog, Protection Dogs
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Monday, December 20th, 2010
 The Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging (KNPV), or translated in English as the Royal Dutch Police Dog Association was founded in 1907 in the Netherlands. This organization was originally formed as NPV and the K was not added until February 28, 1912. When looking at the KNPV logo, many will wonder where the K is, but it is actually represented by the crown above the crest. KNPV was created because there was not a organization whose goal was to organize training of police dogs or to spread the knowledge of this training. This organization conducts police dog trials and then offers certificates that are coveted and respected around the world. These tests require a dog of great character, physical strength, agility and stamina.
The Dutch Shepherd is one of the many dog breeds used in KNPV. Normally most of the dogs that get the title for the KNPV is the breed of the Belgian Malinois. However, there are other breeds that are chosen as well. For example, there is 1% of German Shepherds chosen and 3% of Dutch Shepherds chosen. This year however most of the trials in all parts of Holland there was a higher percent of Dutch Shepherds that received the KNPV certificate. The major different between Dutch shepherd and the Belgian Malinois is there distinctive brindle coloring. They have a coloring that is predominately brindle. Hollanders selectively choose Dutch Shepherds as a breed that they take a lot of pride in. The fact that more have been title this year then any other year is a great thing for these Hollanders.They have genetically strong bred nerves, which is very valuable. They are social, affectionate and loyal yet very guarded toward strangers. Also they make great Family executive protection dogs. These characteristics help to make the Dutch Shepherd a great guard dog and protection dog.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, K.N.P.V., Protection Dogs
Posted in Belgian Malinois, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, K.N.P.V., Protection Dogs | No Comments »
Monday, December 13th, 2010
 It is very important to work and train your protection dog in the environment that it is going to be placed in. For example, if you are selling dogs for the military your dog should be trained and housed in a field environment. If you are selling personal protection dogs for family home estate security then the dog should be trained on the street to prepare it for the world it will be working and living in. Just as soldiers are trained under working conditions protection dogs need to be also trained in their working environments. Being street trained is so important on many levels because there are many things that can distract your protection dog from its job of protecting, such as weather or street noise. A good dog has to be trained in all weather conditions, from extreme temperature differences to extreme weather conditions. In fact when one is training their dog in obedience under bad weather conditions such as a thunder storm, this removes the stress of the obedience, as one knows obedience is the only unnatural form for any dog. Street noises such as a passing police car or fire truck can be a very distracting thing for a dog but if you train the dog on the street from the beginning with these distractions they will become use to them and learn to ignore them in the future. When you get the dog comfortable with its environment, not only will it be a great protection dog it will also have good street smarts as well.
Unfortunately a lot of companies out there that are supposedly buying and selling protection dogs are really just selling there customers sporting dogs. These dogs have never worked or trained in a street environment in their lives. Most of these dogs are trained on a groom field or at the club house, and then brought home to be put in a kennel environment. We train all our German Shepherd, and Belgian Malinois puppies from a young age on the street each and every day. Not only do we make sure that all of our dogs are comfortable with their future working environments so that they can be the best when coming to protect you and your family we also make sure that each protection dog is social with other people and good with there own kind.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, German Shepherd, Protection Dog, Protection Dogs, Sporting Dog, Training
Posted in CCK9, German Shepherd, Guard Dogs, Protection Dogs, Training | No Comments »
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
 An outcross, is the mating of two largely unrelated animals within the same breed. This type of breeding has been thought of by many breeders as very dangerous. They think this because outcrossing dilutes the qualities of a line and creates a disastrous situation. There have been numerous cases of where breed has gone extremely wrong because of outcross breeding. But before you make the judgement of whether or not outcross breeding is a good idea, it is important to have a good understanding of it. Again an outcross, is when two animals are mated but are completely unrelated. Most people do not realize that virtually every dog in a certain breed can be traced back through their pedigrees as being related. For example if you are mating two German Shepherds, look at their pedigrees to see if they have any family in common. If you do not look far back enough there is a chance that they will be related, making this not a apparent outcross. One of the best ways to determine whether mating two dogs will result in a outcross or not is by calculating their COIs. The COI is calculated over ten generations, fewer would not represent the background accurately. After calculating, if you find out that the cross is low (under 6.25%), or at least substantially lower than the lowest parental COI, then it will be confirmed as a outcross.
Outcross breeding has both advantages and disadvantages. Many specialists advise that an outcross should be performed only if necessary. When you perform an outcross one of the disadvantages that you will more than likely come across is having a “heterogeneous lot”. This mean that all of your offspring will display barely any uniformity. For example, if you breed two unrelated Belgian Malinois, their offspring will turn out one of three ways. Some will look like their mother, or their father, and some will look like neither at all. After breeding a outcross the appearance of the offspring’s similarities and differences are immediately noticeable in their appearance; however, in their health and temperament it will take longer. Breeders ultimately risk the danger of losing any breed type they desire to retain. One advantage of outcross breeding is Hybrid Vigor. Hybrid Vigor is a outcross resulting in healthier and stronger offspring. However, obviously not all outcross breedings will result in a Hybrid Vigor. This type of breeding is one that should be taken very seriously by all breeders, because the hopes of maintaining their breed may be at risk.
Remember that when purchasing a German Shepherd or any other breed for that matter it is always best to find a reputable breeder and be aware of things such as outcrossing, inbreeding, etc.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Breeding, CCK9, German Shepherd, Outcrossing
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Monday, November 29th, 2010
 Many would agree with the statement that man’s best friend has always been known as a loyal and loving companion. Dogs have always had the natural tendency to protect their owner, that is why for years they have been trained to become trustworthy protection/guard dogs. These dogs are intensively trained to constantly be there looking out for your family and ensuring their safety. The dogs know that their owner will protect them from harm and in return do the same for them. Often great guard dogs are born and not just trained to become one. Certain breeds are simply meant to be protection dogs, such as the Belgian Malinois, because they are born with a solid temperament and the natural instinct to protect. To create a dog into an excellent protection dog, constant training needs to be started from when the dog is very young. Many techniques and different types of equipment is used during the training of these dogs. For example, The German Poachers Coat is a piece of equipment that is used in the training to make a ordinary dog into a phenomenal protection dog.
The German Poachers Coat is a 3/ 4 length bite coat that is worn by a decoy during a defense exercise. It is an old fashioned design, which is made to permit easy movement. This coat is also used in leg transfer training as well. In training we primarily use three types of bite suits, the French Ring, KNPV bites, and the German Poachers Coat. We do not use any sleeve tugs or towels in our training, instead we use interchangeable sleeves. We use these because they allow you to use different metals, which keeps the dog challenged during training. All of our protection dogs are trained in defense meager starting from a young age, we do not train our dogs in pray. This is why it takes a very special dog with strong nerves to do the type of training to ultimately become a protection dog. The decoy (helper) must be very experienced to withstand the compression of a strong dog on the poachers coat. Our dogs are trained not only to bite the legs, but to initially target the weapon hand. When a strong dog engages, the decoy will feel the pressure but not the pinch. The German Poachers Coat is a very valuable piece of equipment when it comes to training a strong, civil, functional protection dog.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, German poachers coat, Protection Dogs, Training
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Friday, November 26th, 2010
 Most believe that the definition of inbreeding for dogs is mating two relatives. However, many specialist have come to agree that this is too general of a definition. This is because in any species, such as the German Shepherd, after each generation the ancestors double. By studying species, including dogs, it has been discovered that it is possible not to have anything in common between five generations of animals. Although, there is a chance for similarities to occur ten or even more generations back. So, the true definition of inbreeding is the mating of individuals more closely related than the average of the population from which they come. Also, this definition may vary from breed to breed.
Inbreeding has been known to have many pros and cons that come with it. For breeders a positive side of inbreeding is the fact that they can fix or create traits that occur in their breed. This can be done by mating together two animals that are related and share the desirable trait. For example, if a breeder has a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, or Dutch Shepherd that has a very well-mannered temperament, then they will breed this dog to hopefully produce offspring with the same desirable temperament. Over a few generations the traits will become homozygous (genetically uniform) and the offspring of the inbred will inherit the genes for those traits. On the other hand there are some negative effects to inbreeding. The most common known con of inbreeding is the creation of genetic defects and diseases. The more inbreeding is continued, the more limited the gene-pool becomes. This causes the breed to potentially overtime become weaker and weaker. Also, inbreeding can also cause animals that are so identical, to the point where they are considered clones. In conclusion, there are certainly good and bad points to inbreeding. One of the most important things to note is that the breeder who is performing the inbreeding must be ethical and responsible. Even thought they may want to create the perfect specimen of say a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, or Dutch Shepherd breed, they must also consider the risks as well.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Breeding, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, Inbreeding
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Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
 Around 15 million U.S residents take part in hunting every year. Each hunter has the goal of killing their game with as little error as possible, so that they can easily find where the game has landed. Regardless of how skilled of a hunter you may be, everyone will eventually make a bad shot. When the less than perfect shot is made, the deer will become wounded and most likely wander off. This makes it difficult to recover the animal, especially if the hunter can not visually see the path or blood trail that it took. The best thing that you can have when you find yourself in a situation like this is a trained tracking dog. German Wirehaired Daschshunds started off as the predominate breed for tracking dogs, but other breeds like the Labrador, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Basset Hound have been just as successful. It is a matter of personal preference as to which dog breed you chose to use a a tracking dog. The most important thing is finding a dog with a great sense of smell, intelligence, and a desire to please their owner.
A well trained tracking dog can recover the wounded game hours, or even days after the shot has been fired. Once you have given up on the trail you have been following and have decided to bring in a tracking dog, make sure to mark the last blood sign first. It is important not to start your dog at the place where you lost the blood trail, mostly because this spot will be covered with human scent in your attempt to find the next spot of blood. So even though it may be time consuming, it is always a good thing to start your dog yards off the visible blood trail and possible even at the very beginning. This will also help your dog to become familiar with this individual deer scent. A well trained tracking dog must learn how to follow day old lines of wounded deer and ignore the fresh scent of deer that may have recently passed the trail. Remember that the dog could get lost because of the blood and deer scent that the you have on your shoes. If the dog is having trouble slowly lead the dog on a 50 or 100 yard radius, carefully watching them because the dog may find a new drop of blood that has not been spotted before. Continue searching until the dog finds the deer, and make sure that you give the tracking dog a lot of praise. Please understand that success is not always guaranteed, but your chances of finding the wounded game will definitely be enhanced by having a tracking dog.
Do realize that almost all dog breeds have some natural hunting and tracking ability but we find that the Labrador, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Basset Hound have the greatest sense of smell, intelligence, and desire to please their owners.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, German Shepherd, Hound, Hunting Dog, Labrador, Tracking
Posted in Belgian Malinois, Dog Breeds, German Shepherd, Training | No Comments »
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After a long 14 hour trip we finally made it to beautiful sunny Houston Texas to deliver YaYa. YaYa is a Female 
