Hey from the beach

[Breaking Bombs]

Since I posted yesterday without introducing myself, thought I would do that now.

My name is Nick Sortino and I'm currently stuck in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I am a very big fan of Dutch Shepherds, Dobermans and Belgian Malinois. I love their working attitudes and amazing intelligence and athleticism. At some point I hope to have both a Dutch and a Doberman. I believe I have found that DS through NADSR, which I am amazed exists, and am verry happy it does. As soon as I get him you can be sure I will post a picture though.

I am in the Navy's Bomb Squad (EOD) and it was here I had my first real experience with working breeds. I have the chance to work with military, police and secret service K9 on a regular basis and got to know the Belgian Malinois very well during this time. Early on I saw a DS but didn't know what it was at the time and assumed it was just a BM or GSD (I didn't know much about dogs then). Then after a mission in Japan and spending a lot of time with a Marine K9 handler, he told me about Dutchies and how great they are. Since then I added them to my list of breeds to research and the more I learned, the more I liked them. Now they are tied for number one with Dobes.

One day I would love to get a puppy from a great line and train it in Schutzhund (I want to do this with a Dobe as well, lol) but for now I think a rescue will be a great reintroduction to dog ownership and a great introduction to the breed itself. I still want to do a little dog sport with him for fun, but I know enough to not have any super high expectations (and he excels and surprises me, all the better).

Well, that's about all for now, feel free to bombard me with questions or advice, as I can surely use it. I am happy to be joining this great group of people who know the awesomeness of Dutch Shepherds.

[vneerland]

Welcome Nick.
Great intro. I hope that, in time, you will be able to change one sentence:
"Now they are tied for number one with Dobes" Dobes, of course, have nothing over on DS's.
Oh sure, both are smart breeds, but a (working line) DS will make the Dobe look bad.
No need to take me too seriously. I am pretty much a one breed person. I tolerate malinois rather well, but my heart lies with the brindle beasts, and nothing else will do

[Kristie E]

Nice to meet you! You will be pleasantly surprised by your pup in oh so many ways!!!

[Dutchringgirl]

Welcome,

Even a rescue has the potential, its a Dutchie!!! I have had both BM and DS, both are great breeds but there is something about a DS ( cool stripes maybe??) that I love more. I agree too with Judith too about DS and Dobies

[icvanstra]

Nick,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for serving.

[GSDNanny]

Nick, welcome to this DS forum where you will find a kindred spirit like none other in support of this/our breed. I too have a rescue DS, now 5, and have had many many GSDs in the past 50 years but there is just that something special about a DS. You will find that out too. There are some of the most knowledgeable DS folks on board here and they are very patient and forthgiving in their expertise. So ENJOY!

I agree with Eric, thank you so much for defending our country. Thank you for the sacrifices that you and your troops/servicemen make so that myself and my family can have these freedoms and the peace of mind to enjoy them. My son is an Iraq veteran (Army) so I have an extra appreciation for our servicemen. I am thankful that you are NOT in Japan at present. May God continue to bless you.

[Raven]

Greetings, Nick.

You are amazed that NADSR exists--and thankfully it does! My present Dutch is from NADSR.

I'd only been a breed-specific person inasmuchas whichever problematic dog I adopted, that's the breed I loved...without maintaining any allegiance to the breed (just to problematic rescues). Until I adopted my first Dutch. Now...there's only one breed of dog.

The comments made regarding how critical mental stimulation is should be capitalized and underscored. Equally important is clarity, consistency amd daily work with the dog. Should anyone in your travels advise you to handle a DS "disrespectfully" (i.e., showing the dog who's "boss" backwoods- or macho-style), ignore it. (Ask the K-9 cop who thought he could handle his new DS partner as he had his GSDs, even against advice of cops who'd worked with DSs. That cop and that DS are still partners fighting the bad guys; the cop learned, though he's missing a body part. Ahhhh. Lot of stories. )

Again, welcome.

[leih merigian]

Welcome Nick!

Tell us about the DS you may be getting from NADSR...when will you know more?

[Marjolein]

Welcome Nick

[Breaking Bombs]

The DS I am getting from NADSR is Brutus, and hopefully he will be on his way to VA tonight. And tomorrow night I will pick him up so he can start his new life, surely an adventure filled one, with my wife and I. I am very thankful fo NADSR for this opportunity, and I hope no one took my amazed it exists comment the wrong way. I was just surprised enough people even knew about them for there to be an actual rescue, but I am certainly glad there is.

I like the idea of rescuing a dog, especially one who is a few years old since I do work and won't be around all day to provide physical and mental stimulation. You can be sure though that both will be provided when I am around. Hopefully after I get out in a few years I will be able to get a puppy or two (I still want my dutch/dobe pair) and have lots of time to raise them.

[Kristie E]

This is so AWESOME.. be fair and just and you won't have any issues with any "missing" body parts.

[Christie M]

The DS I am getting from NADSR is Brutus, and hopefully he will be on his way to VA tonight. And tomorrow night I will pick him up so he can start his new life, surely an adventure filled one, with my wife and I. I am very thankful fo NADSR for this opportunity, and I hope no one took my amazed it exists comment the wrong way. I was just surprised enough people even knew about them for there to be an actual rescue, but I am certainly glad there is.

I like the idea of rescuing a dog, especially one who is a few years old since I do work and won't be around all day to provide physical and mental stimulation. You can be sure though that both will be provided when I am around. Hopefully after I get out in a few years I will be able to get a puppy or two (I still want my dutch/dobe pair) and have lots of time to raise them.

Brutus had his vet appointment today for his health certificate and will be leaving in the AM to head your way. I'm kind of melancholy about it He's a cool guy and his DS/GSD friend will miss him tons. But I am glad that he is headed your way Nick, and can't wait to get the updates!

[leih merigian]

Congratulations, Nick!

I can't wait to see pics and hear all about his homecoming!

[Dutchringgirl]

Once a Dutch always a Dutch ! My pup is from NADSR she is awesome! I love the name Brutus!!! DS are very sweet and sensitive, no man handling needed.

[Breaking Bombs]

Just picked Brutus up last night He such a handsome man, and very sweet too. I had to drive about 3 1/2 hrs to meet him on the transport. Ended up being about 15min late because I ran into 2+ hrs of traffic (I really hate where I live), but he was ready to go when I got there. My wife and I took him for a short walk around the hotel area where we met him with some hotdogs to show him how cool we are, and seemed to do fairly well. He rode amazingly well on the way home, slept most of the time, and would stand up to check out everything when we slowed down, but never actually tried to distract me.

I think he had a little too much energy when we got home last night (at 1am!), and who can blame him after being in a transport and car for 13hrs, and didn't want to settle down to sleep. Woke me up at 4:30am to take him out to pee, then again at 8:30am to tell me it was time to start the day, lol.

We took him on a nice long 1:30-2hr walk this morning, including a trot on the beach. Boy was he wound up. I've never been pulled so hard before, I'm no small man and he almost took me with him a few times. Especially when he spotted squirrels. I am fairly certain he has deemed squirrels and evil race that he must eradicate . It looks like it may take some work to get him to walk nicely, but that is part of the fun right?

We played a little in the yard when we got home and I worked on his sit, down, stay, come and leave it. I better keep up the exercise, or he is gonna get fat off of treats from training, alone, lol. He learned very quickly with leave it when the food was in my hand though. I have high hopes for him, if I can get him to calm down long enough to concentrate on anything, lol.

Must have been an exciting, exhausting morning though, because now he is napping at my feet while I am on here looking up good places train, although the moment I get up to go anywhere he is my shadow. All I can say is what an awesome dog

Here are a few pics from this morning:

[Sugars Mom]

How cute! Congrats to the addition to your family and welcome to the forum. I am new to the forum as well as having a DS mix, and its been a great learning experience. Good luck to you all : )

[Breaking Bombs]

just to update a little, I had him walking really well on the leash just a little bit ago. I had to stop about every ten steps for the first mile, but then he got the picture and walked beautifully besides me for the most part. Occasionally felt the need to take off in front, but I would just stop and wait for him to come back to my side before continuing.

One thing that does not fix is squirrels. I have never seen a dog so intent on killing squirrels. He will not be distracted by stopping, leash corrections, or luring with food. I am pretty sure he is gonna choke himself unconscious going after those buggers. Other small animals dont seem to bother him too much, though at least. He alerted to a cat, but didn't attempt to chase it.

Any suggestions for the super squirrel drive?

[Kristie E]

what kind of food are you using? Just curious as the food source might need to be more high value.... When Gwen was going through a reactive phase, I took canned food and packed it into an altoids tin. (after I took out the altoids;-). I am not saying this is fool proof but if he has a high food drive like Gwen running critters may not be a match to something so tasty.

You also might try general attention exercises. Start with his most favorite tasty food treat EVER!! (boiled chicken or salmon treats) When just hanging out in the house ... wait for him to look at you. throw him a treat (if you want Mark the behavior with a clicker or "yes" - you need to "load" the marker first by click pause treat or "yes" pause treat) I have used both and since these are incredible intelligent dogs they will start offering behavior to get treats/praise. the do active attention exercises, show him the treat, hold the hand out to your side, when he looks at your face mark it and give him the treat. change hands and then when he has it down good make him wait and look at you longer. these exercises will teach him to focus on you. then when you are walking use the tin and do directional changes etc... be unpredictable.... there are other things you can do called "Crittering" but I wouldn't use that until you have exhausted many other things first.

Also, what type of collar are you using?

[Breaking Bombs]

What kind of food on the walks, or food in general? In general I am giving him EVO Diet and on the walks was either Evo treats or hotdog pieces. Granted the squirrels weren't really out when I had the hotdog.

I will try working on some of those attention exercises with him. Hopefully as he gets used to me and realizes I am his new person he will pay a little more attention to me as well. Right now I think he isn't sure who I am, or why I've trapped him in some strange new house.

Also, right now I use a 6ft, round, nylon slip leash.

[Kristie E]

what kind of food on walks? I know Gwen will work for her kibble but she is not the norm. In fact a trainer I was working with said some not nice things about the kibble until she saw how Gwen worked for it... You will be able to figure out what kind of value your treats have when and if you can get your boy to work for them in the face of distraction.

I forget if you mentioned what kind of experience you had with dogs, but after several months and experimenting with several types of collars, I decided to use a prong collar on Gwen. BUT if you don't have any experience using one I do NOT recommend you use one with out consulting someone who can be there to help you with your timing and corrections. And I am not talking about your average Petsmart trainer (no insult intended) but they only subscribe to pure positive training (which has its place) and they will not work with difficult dogs.