Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi,

What do you think. Is he DS?
We got Diego in a dog shelter 4 months ago. He was then about 3-4 months old. His discription was: that he likes people (he really does) and he will be a bit taller.

On a picture he is with my first dog Bella.

thank you for rescuing! Can you get some side pictures? some head shots?

Some more pics of Diego:

great pictures. I would say yes that he is a DS

i agree

Hi!

Well what can I say about Diego....fjuu

Currently we are having a little problems with his outburst when he see other dogs...expeciall small annoying dogs...how are you dealing with this things?
We move off the road and trying focusing him on us......still, results are very little...

but since last week he started roaring on people who walked pass us,... today he almost attack someone who was runnig by...

we didn t have that kind of trouble since now....yes of course if a stranger wanted to pet him, he was like waving with his tail, but when they touch him he started roaring, but still waving with tail....to people he knows he doesn t roar

We dont know what to do...the problem is also we are teaching him to become a search and rescue dog...one of the tasks is that owner lift a dog and give it to stranger.....if the dog roans they fail the test...
with one member in the club we could do that without him roaring but few days ago he starter roaring at him...we are slowly giving up....dont know what to do

Please get a trainer now that can help you you with conditioning or behavioral adjustment.

These interactions will NOT get better over time without help (I am talking to you from experience).

They will in fact get worse.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

thank you for your answer.

we do have a trainer...he is well know trainer...in that case he does not know what to do..
so what is your suggestion...how to approach...with force, food, toy, ecollar....how?

We used classical conditioning - positive reinforcement.

The trick (or very difficult part) is to catch attention before the dog is over threshold, and treat like crazy.

You have to be completely vigilant to all the things that create the behavior including signs that Diego will give you. If you fail to catch it before threshold, you must move away from the target immediately and quickly. As soon as Diego turns his attention to you, treat and praise.

This is almost impossible to learn and do yourself. You need someone who can assess both yours and Diego's behavior in controlled environments. And then, you need to practice ALL the time and slowly introduce him back to real-world triggers.

The one thing you absolutely do NOT want to do is punish the behavior. You are likely to get bit yourself and make the behavior worse.

Thank you for your help....we will try...

LBone wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:51 pm thank you for your answer.

we do have a trainer...he is well know trainer...in that case he does not know what to do..
so what is your suggestion...how to approach...with force, food, toy, ecollar....how?

Then you need to find another trainer.....

Specifically one that has extensive experience with intense working dogs.

I’m guessing from how you write, you’re from another country, if there’s nobody like that you can find. Then I’d ask the police dog handlers where they get theirs trained and if they have any tips.

yesterday we agreed to sit down next week and look for other options. what are we doing wrong and ....

one more question.... diego is full of energy, he likes to play, he quickly fall in playing, if you throw a ball over different material he will go without hesitation... but when we want him to search he is afraid on jumping, he is sniffing, his energy level is very low...when we say come on diego, search, or go with him he is like...ok i will if i must...... when he finds a person he plays with him....

why such a difference?

Thank you all for your help

You rescued this dog so you have no idea what his triggers are and no one on the forums can help you to determine those triggers. It needs to be your trainer someone that is there with you and has the experience to diagnose the situation at hand. I don’t mean to be rude but I just went through all of this with my DS rescue. You 100% need to change trainers so it asap. I had a solid trainer but they did not understand working dogs so they not fix the behaviors I needed help with. I got a trainer who specificallly only works with working dogs. He has 30 years experience in military/police/search and rescue / service / schutzhund. Find a truth working dog trainer it will probably cost a bit but worth every penny unless you love a headache. Malinois and DS dogs are trained different they other breeds they are faster to shutdown then other breeds if not handled properly meaning they will stop listening to you because they don’t care or don’t feel like it. You have to keep them interested during each training period. My trainer did 8 hours a day for 3 weeks at 15 minute intervals with my dog. When I got him back was he perfect no but he was 80% of that because you will have to continue the training at home daily. This breed is very smart and you can’t let them dictate anything at the beginning. If you say “down” they need to down right where you said it if you give them 1 inch from the place you said down the next time they will take 2 inches. They will push until they understand the limit and the limit is always zero. I work a ton and still have to put in at least 15 to 30 minutes a day conditioning my DS that’s after play camp or 4 walks a day. Again change your trainer immediately it will save you time and money.

LBone wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:23 pm Hi!

Well what can I say about Diego....fjuu

Currently we are having a little problems with his outburst when he see other dogs...expeciall small annoying dogs...how are you dealing with this things?
We move off the road and trying focusing him on us......still, results are very little...

Training needs to come before you take the dog into the world. If his focus is not good when you are around other stimulation, work at home until its good, and I mean hours and hours. Focus on him making and holding eye contact with you until YOU release him, he cant eat, go out anything until you release him. He should not go around other dogs or other stimuli that will set him off until this is solid.

LBone wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:23 pm but since last week he started roaring on people who walked pass us,... today he almost attack someone who was runnig by...

again, he is not to go out until the focus on you is solid.

LBone wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:23 pm we didn t have that kind of trouble since now....yes of course if a stranger wanted to pet him, he was like waving with his tail, but when they touch him he started roaring, but still waving with tail....to people he knows he doesn t roar

Tail waging is not always a happy sign

LBone wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:23 pm We dont know what to do...the problem is also we are teaching him to become a search and rescue dog...one of the tasks is that owner lift a dog and give it to stranger.....if the dog roans they fail the test...
with one member in the club we could do that without him roaring but few days ago he starter roaring at him...we are slowly giving up....dont know what to do

If your trainer is good, he should have known to teach you this, find one that does know this breed.

My older girl was a trained protection dog and I was able to take her anywhere and around anyone and any number of dogs.

That’s the best advice. I hope you pay close attention to it and follow through. Diego has limits and to think of a trainer not first stressing this is one that doesn’t know shepherds, especially Dutch Shepherds.

My one year old has the same tendencies. After 3 months of working to train him not to do it, I decided to instead teach him what he can do and when. He’s been working with a master K9 trainer who is both well known and very familiar with the breed. For Burt, it didn’t matter who the handler was (he knew three very well, including me), he would, on his own time, lunge out. We all worked with positive reinforcement to modify this behavior, with limited success. I joined a local PSA club and he’s loving it. It’s a great group of people that meet weekly with dogs of all levels, from beginners (me) to PSA-2. Its truly awesome.

I read all the advice and I agree 100%. Get an experienced DS trainer immediately. You won’t be sorry. They are an amazing breed. BUT, they must have training and a JOB. Dock diving, therapy, agility, protection, sports, frisbee, etc. I’m sure Diego would love to try some nose work too. It’s easy and can be done in the house. Look at YouTube. Or hide-and-go-seek. Burt loves this. He searches, sniffs, and jumps like a 13 year old cheer leader when he finds it.

hi,

first I would like to thank you all for your advice.

You have to be completely vigilant to all the things that create the behavior including signs that Diego will give you. If you fail to catch it before threshold, you must move away from the target immediately and quickly. As soon as Diego turns his attention to you, treat and praise.

I bought him the best sausage in the world we are slowly improving....it is very hard to eliminate all the surroundings, because we live in apartment.

If you say “down” they need to down right where you said it if you give them 1 inch from the place you said down the next time they will take 2 inches. They will push until they understand the limit and the limit is always zero.

he taught us that 2 years ago

Focus on him making and holding eye contact. how you are doing it? we say look..and when he looks we gave him a treat. we are prolonging the time he needs to look.

keep them interested during each training period

search time is max 10 min....but i dont understand the difference in: if i throw the ball on search area, he will run like crazy, no matter what the obstacle is....but when he is searching he wont jump, he will sniff a bit...

one of the tasks is that owner lift a dog and give it to stranger.....if the dog roans they fail the test..If your trainer is good, he should have known to teach you this

. he dont know how to handle this problem. any suggestions?

I am searching for other trainers....

You need a real dog trainer! Well known doesn't make you good.... if a dog trainer says they dont know what to do with a behavior issue then they shouldn't be charging money to train dogs

Where are you located

Just a little follow up....
we are slowly progressing....
we are prolonging eye contact, and threat like crazy

Sounds like good news. I told you it would slow.