New member, new to the breed

[Mando77]

Hi all from N.C.! I’m super excited that I found you guys I think I’ve seen all the DS videos on YouTube 4x now! My passion for my dog & this breed have become an obsession to get my girl to her full potential! At 8 months old today “BellaMaria the Destroyer” Is amazing!
I recently got a Dutch Shepherd mix! I am not a professional, I’m just a regular dude! As I must say I was unfamiliar with the breed! I have always had a dog, but had been without for 6 years as it took a while to grieve for my fallen comrade of 18 years, Bailey a cocker/lab mix (no drive)! My wife said I could get another & was set up to get a Boxer! As I did my research for the Boxer breed, I was fully in for the high drive & energetic dog! But the Boxer deal fell through! So a co-worker informed me of a Shepherd/lab mix! Met the mom & was told mom; GSD / lab, father unknown but was thought To be a Pitt bull! We got her at 6 weeks but was told she was about to be 8 weeks! One day her ears stood up & her muzzle became long! Started to research! Everything pointed to the Dutch Shepherd! Silver brindle, ears, super affectionate, intelligent & oh my more mouthy than any dog I have ever encountered! As she got older more traits appeared; bite became incredible strong, tug all day, powerful, protective of the yard & family, high energy all day long, I could not wear her out! People began to ask if she was a Dutchie! I have been honest & inform folks that we think she is a Dutchie mix! So I now cater to her as if she is! I used to play soccer so I run for health reasons! I now have a new running partner (Mile & 1/2 every morning) 2 mile Walk in the evening, then tug & obedience training! I’m the pack leader so as the most common Dutch trait she is always by my side! She totally guards the bathroom while I’m in the shower EVERY morning! She’s protective of my wife & son but I’m her #1! I have done all her training, nothing professional! But I cater to her drive for biting as I want to be 100 that I can call her off when the time comes! So All I can tell you is you have to be An active Person for this type of dog or you will have a difficult time with this dog! You have to be committed to physically & mentally Stimulating this kinda of dog or again you will have a 50 plus pound piece of muscle with teeth bouncing around your house Like a super ball!
I’m head over heels for this dog & the breed! As my monster BellaMaria is not pure breed! She’s pretty close & she’s perfect for our family!

[Tim91118]

Nice story but where’s the pictures ?

[Mando77]

I’m trying to attach photos but my phone is not cooperating!

[Mando77]

image.jpeg (1.84 MiB) Viewed 1024 times

Had to do it the long way!
BellaMaria

[ladyjubilee]

She is a cutie.

Have you had any training with her? Bramble is trained bt Dogs by Andy. They have a couple of NC locations.

[Mando77]

No professionalTraining but I’ve worked with her since day one we do obedience training I cater to the Dutch in her she doesn’t have the drive that the purebreds have but she still high energy and requires a super amount of attention

[ladyjubilee]

Bramble is "high drive" apparantly. I found I needed professional help to give me the skills to keep up with her