So about the riots...

This may not be the most importent issue for me to raise but I'm mildly dog obbessed and while watching the ridiculous riots-literally down the road from me-a thought struck me.
Whats up with the police using malinois sherpard dogs? I didn't see any german sherpard dogs there at all. Why DO the police use them? In my honest opinion they don't look very intimidating, poor things look tiny and skinny. If I was facing down riot police these little fluffy collie looking dogs would be the least thing to intimidate me.
Do you think Malinois sherpards are a good choice? Do you prefer the more traditional german sherpards?
I personally would use black mastiff breeds like bullmastiffs and rottweilers if I was the police commisioner. I bet if half those little yobs had a few black bullmastiffs and cane corsos charging at them the riots would be done in seconds.
I know in victorian times the police used to use labradors because they have good protecting instincts but then stopped because their benign expressions and floppy ears didn't look threatening enough. I think looking intimidating should be much a part of a police dogs as good training, and i think the police should get some new dog breeds.
Is is just me thinking this? What breed would you pick?

Yeah I think german shepards are the way to go, they just look like they mean business haha. But if they were to pick a new type of dog all together I'd say rottweilers, the bigger the better! But then again I don't think I'd like any breed that's a police dog running at me during a riot! lol.

the malinois is a great choice they are so good at there job there very quick have great jaw power and are fearless look them up on youtube and you can see what i mean

Yeah I would say a Boerboel is much more intimidating. But it depends on just what job the dog will be doing though. Sometimes speed is more important sometimes intelligence is more important.

does police use rottie s in this country?

Very occasionally you will see a rottweiler as a police dog. The army use rotties a lot as well as the more well known german shepherds. Malinois are very agile though and they need to think about the dog getting hurt as much as they need to worry about it looking intimidating. Rotts and mastiffs aren't as quick on their feet and are more likely to get hurt. I found these links -

http://www.police-dog.net/pages/belgianmalinois.php

(quote from yahoo answers, user - Kaper)
'They do use other dogs. Malinois are becoming increasingly more popular.
But they are suitable because of their drives and temperament. They are a good all around dog. They aren't the best at all disciplines but do excel at them. They can track effectively, are suitable for protection work, can excel at detection work, although they may not be the best breed for each of those individually. They are athletic and suitable for different climates.
Availability and cost also come into play when we are talking about looking for dogs. A rarer breed may be just as good, but will cost more. That is another reason why we see the increase in use of the Mal. A good Mal is much cheaper than a good GSD.'

Malinois are extremely easy to train, have the same 'drive' as GSDs. They also have less health issues. I've seen a Malinois doing 'man' work, and it's just as scary as a GSD!!

The police can't use the big bull or mastiff breeds because 1, they are not as easy to train & 2, they have a far stronger 'attack' mentality than the GSD. Also, the bigger dogs have more health issues, can't keep going as long as the GSD/Malinois and are not as 'biddable' when not working.

Don't forget that police dogs also have to be good with children & the general public!

Oh i agree with all the above points. Mals are a good all round dog, the Israeli army use them and i've seen vids of them training. However I don't think it would hurt to have a small reserve of large mastiff type bandogs, purely for riots, crowd control-just for intimidation. Like the mounted police; they literally turn up on their big 16hh high hunter horses and charge at people, the horses don't ever have to bite anyone.
They use rottweilers as police dogs in Germany and they used to use them here, I think theres still a handful being used.
They used to use american pitbull terriers in the US as police dogs, not sure if they still do. When you think about it a pitbull would make a great police dog, there agile, quick, have short coats and a powerful bite with a terriers drive. They'd probably have to train the dogs to be less stranger friendly though.
I also think black coloured dogs with short coats so you can see their build generally look more intimidating then tan dogs with fluffy coats, do you guys agree?

Not sure about the dogs I think our mounted police do a excellant job and more could be invested in them they can disperce a crowd in seconds

The horses, unfortunately, cost too much to stable & keep. The Fulham nick used to have about6 or 7 of these fantastic animals, but they had to let most of them go some years ago.

The only problem with the horses is that they are not generally friendly & will bite! In crowd control, they not only use the horses to 'push' the crowds back, but if somebody doesn't move, the horse will bite them!

In ancient ayssiria the armies used only stallions that were trained to bite, and rear up when a sword was raised so when it was slashed at the enemy it would have the full weight of the horse behind it.
Lets get some swords!
Its a good job i'm not police commisioner isn't it...I'd have a few tiger and lion handlers as well.

[quote="Caryll"]The horses, unfortunately, cost too much to stable & keep. The Fulham nick used to have about6 or 7 of these fantastic animals, but they had to let most of them go some years ago.

The only problem with the horses is that they are not generally friendly & will bite! In crowd control, they not only use the horses to 'push' the crowds back, but if somebody doesn't move, the horse will bite them![/quote]
I know that would be a shame if they got bit eh
I got flashed a few years back when I was out on a ride.......... big mistake I gave chase Ive never seen anyone run as fast in all my life he could of broke the world record for sure had to stop when we came to main road but it was a bit of a reward seeing him a bit scared like that jumping fences and streams poor sod wonder if it put him off flashing to people on horses ha ha

And trust me a horse biting you hurts one hell of a lot more than any dog!

i rekon just get bigger battons cus the animals get hurt then put down if man cant fight man then give up !! BIG BIG BATTONS lol

gem wrote:
I know that would be a shame if they got bit eh
I got flashed a few years back when I was out on a ride.......... big mistake I gave chase Ive never seen anyone run as fast in all my life he could of broke the world record for sure had to stop when we came to main road but it was a bit of a reward seeing him a bit scared like that jumping fences and streams poor sod wonder if it put him off flashing to people on horses ha ha

Love it!
Oh, I can just see it...................

I think the Russians use Rotties and Bull breeds.

Connected to the issue I live in Birmingham city centre and have had to move back in with parents for a few days as its not safe to take my pup out on a walk. Even more so being a Staff as I dont want to risk the gangs stealing her.

Mals are excellent police dogs. I have a K9 unit under my command and their drive is second to none. The large Mastiff breeds tire far too quickly and their joints would never hold up to the amont of agility required. As much as I love Bullmastiffs, they are not nearly as capable and trainable as Mals or Sheps. Mals have intense work drive and I have seen a 65 pound Mal flip a 220 pound man onto the ground without any trouble. Rotties are cool dogs, but again, (no offense) not as quick to train or as capable for the various needs of police/military K9. Police dogs must be able to crawl into a car window or be lifted into a house attic. Most K9 dogs are under 100 pounds.

I still dont see why staffys arent used In the police force! Good agility! Extremely strong for there size! Fearless! Good Size! Scary enough! Espeacally with the Jaw lock etc! Come on guys show more support to the staffy! Or dont you have No faith In the staffy ?!

Erm Madeira there is no such thing as lock jaw. Staffies have a strong bite yes, as do most bull breeds but its their inherieted drive from bull baiting that was ingrained into them to bite low and hold and never let go. There is no difference between the bones of their jaw then any other breed of dog. Lock jaw is a ridiculous myth perpetrated by the ignorant who seem to want to demonise staffies and pitbulls into some sort of mythical beast akin to a dragon with unstoppable bite capacity.

A few weeks ago i read up on the malinois shepherd being used by police, they were saying their an amazing breed, they have a high drive and are easy to handle and train but also they have a problem of "letting go" once they have got ahold of someone.
It seems to be common with the breed,they listen to the handler up until they get ahold but not once they go something in their mouth.
Personally I adore the breed and i can not wait until i able to get one.

Well I leave you alone for a week and there are riots galore

lynne wrote:Well I leave you alone for a week and there are riots galore

You back????

No just having a beer and they had wifi so being mosey I just had to look

Hope your having fun!!!

MissRogue wrote:A few weeks ago i read up on the malinois shepherd being used by police, they were saying their an amazing breed, they have a high drive and are easy to handle and train but also they have a problem of "letting go" once they have got ahold of someone.
It seems to be common with the breed,they listen to the handler up until they get ahold but not once they go something in their mouth.
Personally I adore the breed and i can not wait until i able to get one.

That is true, the Mals that fail out of bite school almost always are dropped from their failure to "out" on command. They have crazy drive and I love the breed. However, as far as easy to train, they can be very stubborn and have ultra high energy that can be a little much for some households. The Sheps seem to understand their owners more if that makes sense.

PS So sorry to learn of the riots over there and hope all of you and your families have been safe.