Belgians as SAR dogs in Europeinformation obtained on my journey to the IRO conference in the Canary Islands, Spring 2001by Kim Gilmore
During the spring of 2001, I had the distinct pleasure of
representing North America at an International SAR Dog
symposium. This conference was hosted by the International Rescue Dog
Organization and was held in the Canary Islands. During
this time I not only gleaned lots of information regarding SAR dogs in the rest
of the world, but was able to get some insight as to the general feelings of
using Belgians in the world of SAR.
Below is what I posted to the Belg-L in May of 2001…
I met with members of
the Swedish Rescue Dog Organisation who were surprised that Belgians were as used
as they are in the US for SAR work (my quote to them is that I know of
approximately 40-50 of all varieties being worked in N. America. Unknown how
far along these dogs are in training or to what levels they are being certified
in their respective units). Comments made to me from members of the group was
that they were seeing a real decrease in the temperament of Belgians as a whole
which made them inappropriate dogs for use in SAR. I spent most of the day last
Tuesday with the President of the SRDO (and Board member of the International Rescue
Dog Organisation) and really questioned him on the ins and out's of what they
are observing when testing Belgians for SAR suitability.
First and foremost, they are seeing a decrease in the stress threshold in the
long-hairs (Tervs and Groens). Disaster work as well as other venues of SAR
work require a dog not only to have stable and sociable temperaments, but a
high stress threshold...this means working in horridly adverse conditions for
hours at a time. Dogs cannot have noise sensitivities, visual sensitivities or
olfactory/tactile sensitivities in the world of SAR. Certain behaviors can be
trained, conditions de-sensitized, but in a real working environment the dogs
true self will come crashing forth. What the Swedes are seeing in the dogs that
come to test for SAR is that they have low thresholds and when faced with even
minimal pressure, tuck tail and shut down.
What they are seeing in the Malinois (and surprisingly the German Shepherd) is
low bite inhibition. Dogs are getting themselves so worked up that they are
looking for an outlet and will attack anything that is within reach at the
time. As dogs will be searching for people in both disaster situations as well
as wilderness situations, a bite is not only a liability for the handler, but
also the team. These are dogs that HAVE NOT been previously worked/tested for
protection. This is a natural reaction that they are seeing.
The Swedes were the first to admit that they have two definite
"breeds" for every breed in Sweden;
working and show. There is very little attempt to introduce one line into the
other to increase looks or temperament of the adjoining. What they are seeing
in the Belgians is either extreme (in terms of sharpness and quickness of the
bite for protection in the Malinois) working or all show. This has led to an
interesting array of breeds currently being used in SAR in Sweden.
Those being: #1) Flatcoated Retrievers, #2) Labrador Retrievers and #3) Border
Collies.
I had a great, if not equally confusing for both of us in
terms of translation, chat with a handler from Switzerland
who is currently working a Laekenois dog and has a Malinois bitch who is
started in SAR training. She loves and will continue to work Belgians and hopes
to acquire a Laeken pup from one of her boys future breedings to be her next
SAR dog. Her beliefs and comments were very similar to my own in terms of
working Belgians in SAR....you **MUST** give them time to mature before
starting them in their training. Her thoughts were, at least in Switzerland,
that they were testing Belgian SAR candidates too young and as a result they
were failing because they were too mentally immature to handle the pressure
being put upon them. She, like me, doesn't believe in staring her Belgian SAR
candidates on real training until they are AT LEAST 18-24 months of age. They
you can assess their real persona, drives and natural instinct.
Switzerland is
also a country that has few and far between Belgians in SAR. Denise reported
that most of the working Belgians were Malinois because of the "stability
issues". From what I could gather, she has the only SAR Laeken in Switzerland.
There is another working Laeken bitch in Switzerland that will be bred to her
boy this year and a working Laeken bitch from Germany will be bred to him late
fall (from what I gather, dogs registered in Switzerland are only allowed to
breed so many times...whether that is in a lifetime or per year I'm not sure,
but those are the only two "approved" breedings that he is entitled
to in 2001...she hopes to gain approval to breed her Malinois bitch to him in
2002).
The Norwegian contingent was more hopeful. They reported about a dozen
"wonderful" working long-hairs and about as many short-hairs...I was
pleased with that number until I found out that the membership roster in Norway
is over 1500 certified SAR dogs! This in a country almost the size of Montana!!!
They also reported a significant difference between "working and
show" lines in all breeds. One of the handlers at the conference is a
member of the Norwegian Navy and is a dog handler. They still prefer the GSD's
(called Alsatian Shepherds throughout most of Europe),
but are finding an increase in both temperament problems as well as
conformation problems. They are hesitant about going with the Belgian's in the
military...he was unable to tell me why. In Norway
they have both a temperament test (which incorporates loud, sharp noises) as
well as a suitability test. Handlers get an outline of what their dog will be
tested on 6 weeks before the test so that you can train for certain things.
They too are seeing most of the failures in the sound portion of the test
(gun-shots, generators, etc.).
The Spanish team that was represented at the Symposium does indeed have several
Malinois...very small representatives of the breed. Males were about 45-50
pounds and they stated that they had to import from a variety of working
kennels throughout Europe (didn't state where). They are
having a major difficulty with their Belgians in terms of
dog-aggression...again, the low bite inhibition issue. Was hard to talk to
these guys as much as I wanted to twist their ears as their comprehension of
English was almost nil. The handlers of the Tervuren and Groenendael were not
present at the symposium unfortunately and I got what info I could through a
translator. The main dog being used in Spain
for disaster and wilderness work is a smallish native breed (sorry, didn't
catch the name) that looks similar to white Puli. The only certified dog in the
Canary Island
chain, believe it or not, is a Samoyed.
Also had a chance to chat with members of a Russian team (you're going to love
this one...4 of their 7 cross trained SAR dogs are English Cockers and one is
an Irish Setter...guess working English Cockers are really catching on in the
entirety of Europe for SAR due to size, favorable temperament and
drive...wonder what happened in the US?). The Russian team really wasn't sure
what I was talking about when I asked about Belgians...don't think that there
are many there.
There was also a team from Korea
present. They have taken to breeding their own SAR/Police dogs (GSD's) as they
can breed what they need/want in terms of temperament.
Ireland,
England and two
Icelandic teams were also present and although all were familiar with the
Belgians, stated to their knowledge none being used in SAR in their countries.
Preferred breeds there again were Labradors and Border
Collies due to personality, work ethic and favorable drives.
Really wish members of the French and German teams would have attended as I
would have loved to have gotten their impressions.
So, my thoughts with possible answers that have been running around in my
sun-tanned brain in regards to what I have just typed;
1) N. Americans are breeding more temperamentally stable Belgians by either
using "domestic" stock or being very selective when introducing
"imports"
A: Don't think this is true. Where I think I see the biggest difference is the
fact that in N. America (compromising Canada
and the US), we
have **YET** to see the significant difference between WORKING and SHOW in
terms of the Terv and Groen. Mals seem to have a much more stable temperament
that what I am gathering they do in this small representation of other
countries. Breeders here are attempting to preserve the work ethic in their
conformation dogs and vice versa.
2) In N. America, SAR is not as closely regulated as it
is in most other European countries. Standards for performance and
certifications for mission ready status are as many as there are teams
throughout the continent. Therefore, we as SAR personnel in the US/Canada are
more tolerant of un-becoming behaviors that might/would otherwise deem a
Belgian unsuitable for SAR work in these foreign countries.
A: Unfortunately, I firmly believe this.
3) Belgians in these other countries might prove to be more favorable for SAR
if not tested until late adolescence due to immaturity issues.
A: Think that this is also true. Dogs in most of these other countries are
tested before one year of age. An age when most Belgians are rather squirrelly
and seem to be going through yet another fear period (or hormonal issues...who
the heck knows). I was very pleased that unlike the US (who I think really is
into instant gratification), most of these countries don't begin to certify
their SAR dog potentials until they are AT LEAST 3-4 years of age. In the US,
the general consensus is that if your dog is mission ready by two, you are
wasting your time. This in itself is detrimental to our Belgians who finally
seem to start developing gray matter by the age of 24 months and the
will/need/desire to work and learn. Denise (the handler from Switzerland) was
in full agreement of this stating that she doesn't even start her Belgians
until 24-36 months of age in real training and if sound, can and will work them
at long as 10-12 years as they are willing and able even at advanced ages
(unlike GSD's and Goldens who are ready to retire at 6-7 years of age).
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