My introduction to the Dutch Shepherd breed came through my training at the Alabama Law Enforcement Officer's Training Center, in Tuscaloosa, Al. Those dogs had no papers, no known pedigrees, but man! were they working machines!  When fellow police officer, Bob Wierenga, bred a litter using his patrol dog, Dasco,  I got pick of the litter (out of 12 pups!)   That little female, Sofie, was  my pride and joy and the portal to a greater knowledge of the Dutch Shepherd breed.

The Dutch Shepherd may not be AKC recognized, but it most certainly is a breed, with an existing breed standard.  There are those who breed purely for sport without any historical program as a guiding vision, and who call any brindle product of a mating a Dutch Shepherd.  It is not, any more than a fawn product of such a mating would be registerable as a malinois.   I believe that you do not improve a breed by random outcrosses.  Just as in other breed developments, there were a number of contributors, but if there are problem areas in the Dutch Shepherd breed we need to select healthy specimens with strong working drive to reproduce, rather than breeding for the single generation.

Here is an interesting site with information on the early interrelationships between the Dutch Shepherd, Laekenois and Bouvier.  www.belgiandogs.org/hisinterrelationshipsjiles.htm

Another wonderful source of information and a place where you can actually order a booklet about the breed is the Hollandse Herderhonden Herplaatsing.

One of this country's best resources on the Dutch Shepherd breed is Judith Powell at Seven Pines in Texas.   Her website can be located at: www.sevenpineskennel.com .  I am proud to know Judith and to have used her famous dog, Nico van Neerland, to sire my "B" litter and "C" litters.

Some European imports may be FCI registered, which means you can then compete in FCI  events.  If you can show a 3-generation pedigree you can apply for UKC registration, or you can obtain an Listing Privilege ID with a spayed or neutered dog.  For those who enjoy agility, there are a number of other forums out there that do not require AKC registration.  In schutzhund, registration papers are not required on the Dutch, which is <sadly> listed as "Mix" in United Schutzhund Club catalogs.

The Dutch Shepherd has three coat varieties: wire, smooth and long haired.  My Hollanders have smooth coats and the brindle is the distinguishing characteristic of the coat.  I am not an expert in Dutch Shepherds, but I love the ones I have and I continue to learn more about this wonderful breed.

The Dutch Shepherd is becoming a more common face at performance events such as schutzhund, ringsports,  personal protection and agility.  People often ask what the difference is between a Malinois and a Dutch Shepherd and a German Shepherd.  In my experience, the Dutch Shepherd can be more handler sensitive than a GSD, with the GSD being much more tolerant of mistakes.  Beginners are often unfair in their dog handling, with inconsistent rewards and overzealous punishment.  While there are individuals of every breed that will prove or disprove this, I find that the Mal and Dutch are less likely to continue to tolerate unjust treatment.  They are also very, VERY fast and can be more reactive to stimulus than a GSD.   And YES, they CAN track. My female, Sofie, and her son, Digit, both earned an FH and multiple SchH3's.  Some folks liken a Dutch to a GSD on methamphetamine.  A cute analogy, but I prefer to think of them as being a Mal with an "off" switch.  My Dutchies are perfectly capable of doing protection work, ending the game, and being able to socialize with children or of coming home and being able to lounge in the house without mass destruction.

There is something very addictive about "those stripey dogs."  You will soon find that you can't own just one!