<DOCTYPE> definition in XML docs

["john Mani" <john@sixthdimension.com>]

We have an application that exchanges XML with a customer's
application, running at their site. The XML DTD is specified
by the customer. These XMLs are used more as a RPC type
command, rather than as documents that may be archived and
reused later.

The customer's XML processor demands that the XML documents
we send have a <DOCTYPE .. > declaration, that points to a URL
hosted by us.

I would prefer that I do NOT include any <DOCTYPE > declarations,
but just have the XML's be declared 'Standalone'. The receiver's
parser afterall has the DTD to insure the validity of the document.
And it certainly doesn't make much sense for me to be hosting
the DTD URL, rather than the DTD owner (me customer, in this case).

Anyways, what's a design pattern in such situations ?

thanx
-john