Hello everyone, my name is John Engstrom.? I am fortunate enough to train NVBK here in Belgium with Mike at his club. I have a question that I hope some of you may be able to answer. Specifically, can anyone tell me if they have noticed a change in the average malinois competing in BR over the last 20 or 30 years. Have the dogs gotten bigger, stronger or? higher in drive? Have they changed in other ways? Certainly, the training has changed. Has that influenced the selection of dogs for NVBK? Were the dogs a while ago harder to train? or a little more tuned in to the handler? Thanks.
There has been a quite big evolution in training and the level a dog needs to do good in the competition is much more demanding then let's say 15 to 20 years ago.
Techniques have improved (f.i. use of e-collar) and become much more efficient.
Nowadays you have to have an allround dog to get good results. Obedience, jumps and bitework (also outs) have to be perfect to compete top level. You can't afford any weaknesses.
Trainers think the techniques over very well and adapt them to the character of each dog individually. Behind each top dog there is not only one trainer, but a whole team.
IMO most of the champions of 20 years ago wouldn't stand a chance now. This doesn't mean that the dogs are worse, but techniques have improved. Those who didn't follow the evolution don't stand a chance today.
However there is a strong tendency towards the more sporty type of dogs in the level of the trials. Many trials are made for the sporties. Also the points have tendency to go higher and higher (almost impossible scores if you compare them to the real performances). 390/400 used to be extremely exceptional and this year it happens almost on a weekly basis. Judges used to be much more severe (most of them anyway).
Thank you so much for the answer. I have heard that in recent times, and not just for BR that more "sporty" dogs have become more the norm. But, from what I have seen here, there are still a lot of tough dogs. I hope that continues.
How about the strength of impact on the entries today as compared to yesteryears? Also how about the incidence of trial-related injuries to the dogs in the NVBK-BR to day as compared to then?
Impact hasn't changed IMO nor has the number of injuries.
One thing I do notice however is that sometimes dogs with good grips but bad hips or arthrosis are used for breeding and this should be forbidden. Not only the strong character but also a strong body is very important to maintain the quality of the breed.
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