Thoughts on protection/family dog

General "standards" discussion not specifically related to the coat variety
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koda
Just Whelped
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Tell us about yourself: own 3 days, 1 black and white lab, 1 rescue dog(unsure of breed), 1 staff x lab

Thoughts on protection/family dog

Post by koda »

So i have been looking into this for a while, and have decided to add a protection/family dog, right now we have 3 dogs (2 old dogs 10years+) and a puppy who has just turned 7 months, due to my personal circumstances i have been looking into protection dogs just for piece of mind more than anything,and i also like the fact that advance obedience is already achieved.

I have been trying to look for a specific answer in regards to how much exercise a dutch Shepard needs per day, but I'm getting very split answers, last thing i want to do is add a dog into my family and then it because depressed because i can not provide enough mental and physical stimulation.

I work from home, so i am more than happy to adapt my schedule to fit the needs of the dogs. they have access to the entire house, and the dog flap is always open, allowing them to access the house and garden when they wish.

Right now, i go for a 45min walk at 6am, feed my dogs and then they sleep until 10, at that point i take the 7month old for another 20-30min walk, since the 2 adult dogs easily get tired out.
Then again at 1 they all tend to play outside in the garden for 1-2hours. and then i will once again go for another walk at 6pm.
And then throughout the day, we constantly do 10-20min mini training sessions. do you think that this would also suit the needs of a dutch Shepard? i am more than willing to put in more exercise if required, as of right now I'm currently teaching the 7month old how to walk beside a bike so we can start going for nightly rides.

I have contacted a few breeders/trainers in regards to my questions but just looking for a overall view from multiple people.
Please also note that i do not take care of the 3 dogs by myself, so there is no issue there either.
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centrop67
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Re: Thoughts on protection/family dog

Post by centrop67 »

My experience with Radar alone is that no amount of exercise alone is enough. And, it's been said often enough here and on other sites that mental stimulation is also required.

It's also probably a balance of both for the individual dog.

I am surprised to not see others already chiming in on this subject, but I also know there's been quite a few posts on the subject over the years the forum has been around.

You might consider searching for exercise and reading some of the opinions there.
Michael
Location - Cutler Bay, FL USA
Image RIP: Leela, Radar, Tequila, and Snickers
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers
Patrick
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Re: Thoughts on protection/family dog

Post by Patrick »

An exercise that I like is to hit them tennis balls as it gives them a chance to run. Going for a walk doesn't come close to getting it done for most healthy, young dogs. But with a tennis racket and some balls, you can run the hell out of them! :mrgreen:
TimL_168
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Tell us about yourself: I am: a father of 2 boys, a carpenter, hunter, runner. We have extensive experience with sled dogs, shepherd mixes, a wolf hybrid, and our current dog a 95# long haired Shiloh Shepherd. We added Endeavor in April 2016. She was not working out in HRD. I train for game recovery and general utility.
Location: central MD

Re: Thoughts on protection/family dog

Post by TimL_168 »

Nosework!
Tim L.
Aurora(Shiloh) Endeavor
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