New Member/ Rufus

[Barbara08]

My name is Barbara and my husband and I adopted an 8 month old Dutch Shepherd, Rufus, at the shelter a week ago. We are in Central TX. He was there on bite quarantine and the owners never came back. He was supposedly off leash on a trail and ran up and bit a neighbor in the ankle. He is very high energy and very smart. We suspect the bite might have been a herding behavior, but really don't know much. He is too immature to be off leash, so that was definitely a bad idea. He has lightly nipped my shirt and ankles when he is getting too excited, and I don't tolerate it and he stops right away. His triggers are usually wanting to pull a button off of my shirt or wanting to take my socks off. I am getting better at anticipating the nipping and shutting it down. He has learned frisbee and ball chasing. We work with him on naming things and he already knows what both are. We are kennel training him and that is working well with him. He is even going into his kennel on his own now. He still lacks impulse control at times, so he isn't allowed free reign in the house, yet. We make sure he is with us at all times. He and our elderly cairn terrier are doing great, playing, and walking together well. The cairn terrier had been 1 of 4 dogs (2 large) and after they all died, she was alone and depressed. The paperwork from the initial intake said Rufus was a Dutch Shepherd. Other paperwork said he is a Dutch Shepherd Mix. Our vet thinks there could be some Belgian Malanois in there, but is not sure. Rufus is extremely smart and very athletic and very loving and happy. He is an amazing dog and we feel so lucky to have him. We can mess with his feet, his face, etc, with no aggression.
The only issue I am having is Rufus resisting going on walks alone with me. My husband and I take him together in the morning and I take Rufus on a long walk by myself at least once a day in the neighborhood on the same route or similar. He usually acts out for the first half of the walk. He pulls the leash and tries to go home, he jumps on my back to get my attention, and tries to turn around. He does it over and over. I stop with him each time, have him sit, get him to focus and we start the walk again and he does the same thing again. I will shorten his leash and put the collar up by his ears to have control of him and he will still flop around. He will usually settle down halfway through and walk normally. I play frisbee with him and he always brings it back to me. Same with the ball. I have him wait to cross the threshold coming in and going out of the house. He is great. I run him in the yard before our walks. Any ideas of what is going on with him when he doesn't want to walk with me alone? I am sure I am doing something or not doing something to trigger his resistance, but am not sure what that is. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am attaching pictures of him as well. His ears are floppy and he will have one up if he is curious or playful.

rufus.jpg (838.36 KiB) Viewed 399 times

Thanks,
Barbara

[borellar15]

Not sure about it being Dutch Shepherd or Belgian Malinois. Could be a little mixed in there but it’s a mix for sure. Sounds like he’s just lacking basic obedience foundation and from what it sounds like, is not used to being on a leash per his previous owners mistake. What part of central texas are you in? I don’t do much training for others anymore as my job takes up more time than I used to have but could recommend some good trainers in the area of north Austin. I would suggest putting him through a board and train program somewhere.

[centrop67]

We just adopted a DS 3 weeks ago, and we're going through similar situations. Fortunately, our Mustang is actually at his best when he's on a leash.

One week is too small of a window for a new rescue to become comfortable in his new home. I think you might be better off substituting play or training for your afternoon walk for a couple of weeks, and then, ease him back into short distances progressing back to the full walk slowly.

[Barbara08]

We are in Georgetown, TX. Thank you so much for the feedback! I was thinking of him more as a rambunctious puppy/ shelter dog and was not considering the lack of basic obedience foundation from the original owners. That should have been an obvious issue! I appreciate the reframe, too, about it only being a week. It feels like he has been here longer, but there is no way he has settled in, yet. I am definitely going to continue substituting play instead of walking him by myself. That is a great idea. My husband wants to keep him home and not board him. We have trained and rehabilitated big and small dog rescues in the past. Our Cairn Terrier was dumped at the shelter with no social skills and had grown up in a cage as a breeder in a bad situation. She was very aggressive and had no idea how to be a dog. The pack helped her to learn to play, etc, and my husband worked with her relentlessly on allowing people to touch her feet, face, etc. She would watch the dogs play ball and had this look on her face that said, "what on Earth are they doing?". The day she started running with them all after the ball was an amazing day! Thanks again for the information and I am also reading through all the posts about training, etc. There is a great wealth of information here.

[TimL_168]

It def sounds like you're doing things right. Wash, rinse, repeat. Baby steps!

[borellar15]

If you’re in Georgetown I would recommend Precision K9 Work in Leander. I’ve worked closely with the owner there and he even started Zoey on her protection work. I haven’t been to protection club in a while cause all the Covid craziness but I sometimes help decoy for protection work there too. Good people there.

[Barbara08]

I appreciate everyone's advice so much!! The Precision K9 Work looks great! We are definitely going to check it out.

[Barbara08]

I used Wisdom Panel for Rufus's DNA and he is not a DS at all. He is 40% GSD, 25% Belgian Malanois, 25% Bloodhound, and 10% Mcnab.
He is doing great with his walks now and has settled into a good routine. Thanks again for everyone's help.
Sincerely,
Barbara

[Tim91118]

Well all of those dogs are easily trainable except for the bloodhound...lol

[Barbara08]

We definitely see Bloodhound in him on walks in our neighborhood where we do have deer. He is on their scent and tracking the minute we get to the part of the neighborhood where the deer tend to show up. The bloodhound part makes sense!

[Ronbo21]

Hello,

I just registered, and finding my way around the forum. Ran across your post. My DS is also name Rufous. Named after the Rufous hummingbird. How is your Rufus doing? I'm considering some formal training, but not sure if he is to young. He is 6 months old. Thanks.

[ladyjubilee]

I'd start training as soon as possible.

[Barbara08]

I had an unruly border collie mix puppy 19 years ago. She almost broke me b/c I had no experience with that type of dog. I was single and overwhelmed. She was very large for a border collie, very smart, and was head strong and mouthy. She even figured out quickly how to unlatch her seat belt in the car. I had started using it b/c she would lunge at the steering wheel when I was driving! She could open the closet door and shop for things to chew. She ran away more than once by slipping out the door. I took her to training around 6 months old and it made all the difference. I learned so many skills, learned about everything I didn't know and everything I was doing wrong. She grew up to be a phenomenal dog. I definitely think 6 months isn't too young. Our Rufus is actually doing great. After we regrouped and addressed the basics (thanks to people's suggestions), he has been making great progress. He leaves our parrots alone, which is awesome! We spend a lot of time with him. He gets over 2 mile walks everyday. We take him everywhere to get him socialized. I know that the effort we put in when they are puppies will make their adulthood that much better. I see a lot of people who take the dog to training, have a great dog, briefly, and then the dog reverts to the old ways quickly. I never wanted to end up like that with an unruly dog b/c I sabotaged the training. Anyway, those are my thoughts. I don't have a DS, but those are my 2 cents.

[ladyjubilee]

I actually think one of the advantages of one on one classes has been that the trainer trains me, and I train Bramble. It also holds me to account (I am so going to be held to account in our next session. I haven't been practicing enough.) Sometimes when I've let her get by with things, the little things add up without my notice.

[Ronbo21]

Thanks, for all the replies. Sorry for delay. We have had a unusual snow storm here in Texas. Just now back to some normal.
Question; how do you train to stop the DS from nipping? I’m trying not to get angry with him. He just turned 7 months Thanks

[ladyjubilee]

With Bramble, we had to be pretty direct so that she quickly stopped nipping at my child. We paired a strong "no", with withdrawing all interaction or blocking depending on what she was doing. It didn't take her long to figure it out. Except when the bus comes. She still gets so excited she'll nip occasionally.

[Ronbo21]

Thanks ladyjubilee. I noticed when Rufous (spelled like the hummingbird name) gets excited he starts to nip. I'm researching a training facility in San Antonio, called Bullet Proof Dog Training. I have read many positive reviews, but still researching.

[ladyjubilee]

Thats a good step