Hello everyone:

I am still very confused as to what I want my next dog to be. Perhaps those of you who have worked in the scent detection field (wilderness, urban, and cadaver SAR) can help me out . . . I went to the Tervuren Nationals in RI this week, because I thought I was leaning toward a Tervuren (over a Malinois), but now I'm not so sure . . . I was told that THE top SAR dog in the country right now is a Terv. Aside from the dog-handler chemistry, I imagine what makes the Terv's good is both the longer hair (which, like a blood hound's ears, would collect scent and draw it toward the Terv's face), and I was told that the Terv's are ever so slightly more sensitive than Mal's to changes in all sorts of emotional, electrical, barometric, sound, and light differences that we cannot even detect. However, I was told that this is a double edged sword, and that because of this, the Terv's are the first to shut down in particularly stressful or emotional situations. A departmental head from FEMA who was there said that the Terv's were the first ones to shut down at 9/11/01, while the Mal's kept working to a degree. A firefighter friend of mine who was there, said by the time he got there, not a single Terv was working, because they were all so (literally) depressed. It was suggested to me that the Mal's are still very intelligent and alert, but perhaps can work through slightly more unstable conditions than the Terv's can. Is this all hearsay and anecdotes? I would appreciate input from anyone who has had the opportunity to live with or at least develop a solid relationship with a Terv and a Malinois so that they can form an opinion. I am looking to do civilian search and rescue, including rubble work and cadaver, and I am looking for the optimum breed to do that with. Now am I really confused!

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

Rita Tabraham