28/09/2024
I've been seeing more and more Malinois pups around my neighbourhood, often overly reactive to other dogs/people/the environment already. I know I won't see them in another year or so when they're too big to manage and they've destroyed the house 😞
I've recently been helping someone to rehome one of their Mali/shepherdmix dogs. In doing so, I've contacted about 40 rescues and had some very interesting and sad conversations with them.
I also rehomed another such dog in the last few months from rescue to the police. Prior to this, he was deemed unrehomable - there were no applications for him, and no suitable homes for him, and most of his handlers found him bloody hard work. The police have told me he is one of the best dogs they have ever had and is expected to qualify within the next couple of months.
With the current dog, only 1 of the rescues had any space, which was reserved for emergencies only. A number of the rescues that already had shepherds waiting for homes described how long those dogs sit in kennels, with 0 applications for them. One rescue has gone from 30 applications a month for their dogs to 3. And they could pull out or not be suitable for the dogs ready for rehoming there.
Whilst it's never been easy for rescues to rehome their dogs due to the number of dogs always surpassing available and suitable homes, at the moment there is a crisis within rescue.
The truth is that most dogs surrendered to rescue are so due to reasons that were preventable and very treatable - namely, behavioural reasons. Most rescues (I know not all) vet their homes very well to minimise the number of dogs being returned, but 10-15% of dogs in rescue (from those who told me) are still returned; usually for not meeting the rehomer's expectations. Most rescues also offer free or low cost training and behaviour support. However, most people surrendering their dog choose not to take this offer up and also do not seek training/behaviour support elsewhere. Most homes that surrender their dog for training/behavioural reasons have not sought the help of any behavioural/training professional before deciding to surrender their dog. Most of these homes are not surrendering their dog because their dog has bitten or has any serious behavioural problems, but because the owner perceives normal and breed-specific behaviours to be abnormal and needing fixing.
What strikes me is that all of these rescues described struggling to rehome their shepherd dogs, and yet their rescue has a surprising number of shepherd dogs surrendered to it.
What this tells me is that a lot of people want Mali/shepherd puppies and will buy them from a breeder, but very few people want to rescue an adult or adolescent Mali/shepherd dog. All of the Mali/shepherds surrendered to rescue were originally bred or bought from a breeder. That Mali/shepherd dogs are sitting in rescue for 1-2 years or more waiting for a suitable home tells us how few suitable homes there really are out there for them. Any dog spending 1-2 years (and more) in kennels is a serious welfare issue.
There seem to be a number of reasons for this applying to all dogs, all of which were described to me by many of the rescues I spoke to:
- The cost of living crisis meaning that people can no longer afford basic care for their dogs, never mind training
- With the XL bully media circus, people are more wary and risk averse of the breeds of dogs they are willing to home.
- Mali-type and high drive shepherd puppies are extremely popular, with people liking the idea of a dog that will 'protect' them, be a 'nanny' to their kids, and be a status symbol.
- People's expectations of their dogs have never been more unrealistic. People want a dog that will love them to death but won't mind being left home alone all day; a dog that will protect them but won't bark at visitors, the post man, the trees blowing ... people want a dog they can take to the pub, shopping, cafes, holiday, to see friends, to cities and parks ... people want a dog that will not need training, that will cope with whatever life throws at them. For most dogs, even with all the training in the world, this will never be them.
- We are still experiencing the effects of lockdown pups with behavioural problems, where people who may not otherwise have got a dog are now experiencing problems from dogs now having to be left home alone a lot/experiencing fear-based problems from lack of socialisation during lockdown/experiencing what adolescent looks like in most dogs, regardless of breed/background (aka not easy!).
- People liked the idea of having a highly trained dog, perhaps trained in protection work or sport, but did 0 training when the novelty wore off.
- People liked the idea of a Mali/shepherd dog but the reality was very different.
High drive dogs - Mali's and working type GSD - will often:
- Bark (a lot).
- Show territorial behaviour. Expect to be alerted to every passerby, near your house and for every visitor coming in the door. And they will expect to be thanked for it.
- Have been bred to BE reactive, and quickly without thinking, to their environment.
- May show guarding behaviour - this may be 'protecting' you in a lovely way that makes you feel safe. It may be scaring the life out of anyone that sees you out on walks, or in a fearful dog come out as aggression
- Have a strong sense of self and will not suffer fools. Manhandling or bullying will lead to someone getting bitten.
- Need a lot of daily mental stimulation even when you're tired, ill or lacking motivation.
- Will do things you never imagined: open doors (including your front door when the postman comes) - yes that includes locked doors - jump out of windows, scale a 6-7 foot fence if they have separation anxiety, detect threat, see a friend the other side of it, or spot something they wish to chase
- Are very single-track minded. Once they have an idea in their head, they will be highly motivated to do it.
- Be impulsive
- Jump up a lot. Expect big hugs when you come in from being out, including your visitors.
- Probably have one play style, which is rough
- Otherwise will not be playful but be very serious instead
- Chew, lots. They will destroy toys, chew beds, branches in your garden, bushes, your dustpan, cause why not.
- They will steal food off the side
- They will watch you open the bin once and from then on know how to do so themselves to get that juicy bone from dinner
- They will dig holes in the garden
- They are likely to be high energy, boisterous and not know their own strength. You'll get scratches and bruises regularly, as well as the odd tooth in your face.
Anyone who thinks their Mali/shepherd dog having a job or being trained 'well enough' will remove any of the above characteristics is highly mistaken.
I do appreciate these characteristics are a generalisation.
Directed appropriately, these are wonderful dogs. If a home cannot tolerate any of the above behaviours and want a labrador that looks like a shepherd, then a Mali/shepherd is not the dog for them.
I have had a rather depressing search of gumtree, preloved etc where Mali/shepherd dogs are being sold (or given away - don't get me started with the risks) for not fitting into their home. Are prospective homes vetted well and properly? I sincerely doubt it.
Please, please research your breed, and find out what is NORMAL dog behaviour as well as breed behaviour. If you like a boisterous, jumpy, confident, ballsy, noisy, large dog that will body slam you a number of times and poke you in the eye a lot by accident, then a Mali/shepherd is for you!
