Did I end up with the exception?

[TDS_Rises]

We've had Huntress now for a month. Everything I read online is pretty accurate when people describe their DS temperament. But with that said I think my Huntress is broken, yes she has her pure Dutch shepherd moments but I honestly believe she's fine laying down next to one of us.

She crated for about 6 hours daily gets play time with my 2 smaller dogs, a run and 1-1 catch time with me. She learned all her basic commands from me (although we got her when she was 7 months old) very quickly and hasn't had any potty issues since the first week.

I thought I was going to end up with an unruly dog that was going to need constant stimulating or correcting for 2 years but instead I got a brindled ball and chain that listens better than my other 2 dogs. Maybe we got lucky or maybe my other dogs are crazier than I thought. She's excellent and we're happy to have her.

She's almost 25" at the shoulder and about 50 lbs. super athletic jumps over my toddler to avoid knocking him down and knows when to quit when being too rough with her 2 older smaller brothers. Lets my son hug her and is super affectionate with my wife.

I must be a dog whisperer or she's just really perfect for us.

[TimL_168]

that's definitely one busted DS. You should send her on over to me
Check out my last two pictures on page 1of Endeavor in the photos section! ... ... I'll warn you though, those photos were taken well after my son had done something very stupid and gotten himself nipped. They CAN be sweet dogs. But they are less likely to take kindly to typical child behavior. PLEASE TRAIN THEM TOGETHER!

[TDS_Rises]

Yes. For sure. We have all intention on them growing together but not thinking they're play buddies. She a giant compared to him and it'll be years before he catches up. Right now we are showing them that space means respect and I hope they bond and no hard lessons need to learned.

[TimL_168]

I only meant that my particular experience caused me to bump up the work I had planned on doing with the two of them a lot sooner.
How's your dogs prey drive? Can you call her off of a rabbit or cat after they've started to chase?

[TDS_Rises]

In all reality I don't really know how prey driven she is. We live in the city The walks and runs we don't normally run into cats or rabbits seen a few squirrels I let her chase but she comes back when I call.

[TimL_168]

The only reason I ask is because En is totally bats*!t crazy for anything she might possibly have a slight chance at chasing. I don't trust her around kids outside the family. Her body language is all wrong. She's not playful& happy.
Work her around some fields at dusk. Check out how she reacts to smelling& seeing rabbits running around. That's the kind of thing you want to make her as numb as possible towards...

[TimL_168]

Reading through again...I got En at 15 months. There's a lot of stuff that get old owner warned me she would probably do: counter surfing, getting in the trash, eating the cat, etc. She's done none of those things here worth is really at all. Plus, she's super affectionate to the whole family. That's the part that REALLY surprised ME. I'm curious how much of the attitude had to do with being rehomed.

[TDS_Rises]

Does EN let your kids play or is that something that you still look out for?

I haven't seen bat crazy yet. We had a painting fall from the wall she almost killed it instantly and then left it alone after we de-escalated the situation.

I've seen her stop and stare down pedestrian during our walks/runs but that doesn't seem strange to me. I've actually told my wife to encourage the behavior if she feels that Huntress thinks she needs to be protective then reset and keep going on.

I wonder for now is enough but once she's a adult is she going to need the extra stimulus.

[TimL_168]

The kids and their cousins can play in the house and the yard. En doesn't really engage with them. She'll play tug if they present one to her, but if she(when she) gets it away, they usually won't catch her to keep playing. She still jumps and nips at their clothes if she's too excited.
My son plays hide& seek with her. He does obedience work with her to build trust. She listens to him very well, but if he were to startle her, he's probably still going to get nipped at. She does know he outranks her. It's just...who she is.
I do not let them play or work together unsupervised. My 5 yr old is doing great-but he's 5. I will allow myself to walk out of the room for a short period of time, but only if they're both sitting back peacefully doing their own thing. My thinking on things is that Endeavor will become less likely to be reactive to him as he continues to grow. If I sneak up on her and touch her, she sounds around with teeth out for a bite. She sees it's me and instantly turns into my mushy little pup. I've only done this a couple times in the year that I've had her...just to see what her reactivity is so I know how careful to be with her and others.