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Those dogs are not your grandma’s German Shepherd.

Yeah well... Dutch Shepherds are beautiful dogs (I've had three over 18 years),

But they're also serious dogs.

Meet Gandhi:

Gandhi is a "peacemaker" all righty.

The particular test shown is part of a KNPV trial called "the courage test." The decoy has to leave a visible welt on the dog or they run the trial again. The reason is not only for this test (to be sure the dog won't let go in battle), but for the next one in which he comes in for the bad guy facing gunfire. Most of those decoys are big guys, well over 200 pounds. With a 100# DSD coming in on him at 30mph, there's a good chance in this shot that he's going down. It takes guts to train these dogs. I have tremendous respect for these decoys; to them, it's not just a game but a serious physical, intellectual, and emotional commitment.

I've never bite trained a dog, but I've been in and around that community for almost two decades. These are truly serious men, and they'd hose those Muzzie sonsofbitches before letting them mess with their dogs.

Ok, you’ve got to be talking about van Tiekerhook.

Sorry, forgot to address this. I don't remember the kennel's name, but the guy who ran it was Wil Maas (IIRC). I have a story to tell about that weekend (it was about 1995), as it was the highlight of that trip to my family's native land.

It was my interest in learning more about dog training that brought me to Southern Holland, as in 1995 there were was virtually no Internet and I didn't know of any resources other than devouring my monthly issue of Dog Sports, at that time, the best resource around). I had reference to Wil Maas from the breeder who had sold me my (then) current dog. I made abundantly clear to Wil that I wasn't in Holland looking for a dog (I already had a big Dutch Shepherd dog). Yet that interest of mine made him curious. He sent me with one of his men to a KNPV trial that Saturday, much of which I taped. His man and I chatted a fair bit, commenting about each dog.

These were almost all hyper-driven Malinois, all but a couple of them too twitchy for a family protection dog. We were up until two talking, Wil wanted to know more about the American market, complaining that people here cared more about a cert on the wall than they did about the dog. He was thinking of retiring here to see what he could do.

After finishing the trial the next day, as I was accompanied by a dealer, Wil joined us to visit a seller. The dog flunked the "slick floor" test, as he'd spent almost his entire life outdoors. But the seller wanted to prove a point, so we packed off to the nearest dog training park a few blocks away. As the guy was going through the motions for his unimpressed prospective client, out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I came to see: A guy training his dog.

This absolutely gorgeous Mal was just in love with this guy. As the sun lowered, his fringes glowed. The guy spoke and the dog hit the grass with a thud and a grin. He heeled the dog and it was with nuzzles. This dog would kill to defend his pack, gladly, and without question, but only on command.

I stood there, almost in tears. Wil had already told me that he judges a dog by its obedience more than by its performance in a trial and I could see why. He saw me, walked over, and watched me watch. Every move was perfect. This dog was having a blast just hanging out with his teacher and leader. Wil put his hand on my shoulder, "I know what you want, and you are right. When you come to Holland again looking for a dog, let me know." This time, we were up until three. If I ever go back, it will be for a pup.

These people love what they do, and love their dogs with their lives. God help the idiot Mussie-wussie who tries to throw his weight around with them. These guys (almost all ex-military) are armed and ready.