First time dog owner

[mob42o]

Hello, I am new to this forum. I joined to supplement the research ive been doing on the DS with information from people who personally own them! I've definitely fallen in love with the breed. Mostly intrigued by their smart personalities and training abilities, as well as being great family pets. I have high hopes to own a Dutch shepherd in the near future but first I have some questions I would love some input on; Would you recommend a DS for a first time dog owner, why or why not? And also this is obviously repetitive .. but I keep trying to find breeders online specifically near me (Massachusetts) but all I've managed to find so far is Von Falconer and I'd like to see more options?

[TimL_168]

I've got a(almost) two year old female from some fairly serious lines. She was completely uncomfortable around my son when we first got her. I will say this with complete and total sincerity: it took total dedication and a s-ton of SMART work to get her to the point where she's happy to be with him. She's got work to do around the house. She's in training for tracking for me. They NEED something that they see as worthwhile to do every day. It's a real pain to keep ahead of her sometimes. If you have little experience with working dogs, find some local trainers and ask if you can sit in. Seeing these dogs in real life is totally different than a couple minutes on YouTube.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

They are not family pets. At all.

The DS MUST have a job or a sport to actively compete in. They must be trained 2+ hours a day and physical... well, I walk mine for 3-5 miles a day, more on the weekends, and after a 15 minute nap he wants to go again. There is no tiring them out. They must be kept mentally and physically happy or they become destructive and unruly. They challenge you as a handler and are true working dogs. There are no sick days or lazy days. H will give me a break when I'm deathly ill for all of two days before he's bouncing off the walls.

They are protective. I don't mean the cute little dog syndrome. They will bite you and they will take strangers and people on their property as a serious threat and actively try to defend. You must be able to handle this or you will end up with an aggressive dog. This gets worse when they're bored because in the mind of the DS it is more fun to terrify strangers than lay on the couch and snooze.

As pups they are devils on crack. If you have experience with toddlers, amp them up with sugar and multiply by 5x in the body of a cute puppy. They are land sharks and will constantly be biting you. They can be possessive and they only respond to one person. They can live in a family unit but they have their person and the rest can eat dirt. They have extremely high prey drive so it's like holding back a great white when they see a bunny or sometimes even a child.

For first time handlers I would not recommend them unless you had a very good trainer ready to guide you and really wanted to dedicate yourself to a dog sport or the art of training. They make "good family dogs" about 5% of the time, with all of the described work above. For those who like the idea of a training challenge and a complete Energizer dog, the DS is a great choice, but require constant work and up keep to keep them happy. Be prepared to be constantly planning training sessions and paying for training/classes, as well as changing things up.

As far as breeders, the only ones I know of around MA won't sell to first time handlers. If you're serious about a dog I would only buy a Cher Car pup because they have a pretty consistent type of dog they produce that would maybe fit more into a family life style if you give them a job and train them constantly. I know Lexi has a Cher Car pup and she loves them, but she also does a fantastic job of working her and meeting her needs.

[mob42o]

Sorry if I came off as ignorant I didn't mean too. I guess I may have been a little misled that they could be "family" pets I have just seen a lot of Instagram accounts / blog posts about people with non-working Dutch shepherds. I also should've probably clarified that I am a single young adult, self employed so I have the time to dedicate to the training which I am very interested in, honestly inspired by the obedience and agility training
done with the DS, considering a career in law enforcement and I live on my own but I have 3 siblings and plan to bring the dog around my family, so that's why I said that! I didn't realize I should've been more specific, first time posting =\ I would like to work the dog and was planning on looking into finding some sort of mentor / classes. Just curious on what I was getting in to, thank you for the information so far.

[k9lexi]

I should change my sig to be more descriptive live some. My name is Alicia. I have a dutch shepherd, 1 1/2 yr named lexi, a mix shepherd and a mix akita. Ive owned akitas and a rottie in the past. Lexi is by far the smartest dog I've ever owned. I agree that she was a demon pup on crack from 3 to 9 months. We threatened to ship her back to Cher Car time and time. She was way more work than I ever imagined. But now I wouldn't trade her for the world. But as a pup she wasn't a lot of fun, just a lot or work. With our new akita pup, she is fun. I can come home and cuddle with her and I can with lexi now ... she will come and plop down next to me on the floor for loving. I can only speak about my experience and about lexi. She was NOT a great family pet for a long time. She is way better now, but I agree, I have to be ready when her guard instinct kicks in. She is territorial about our home and property. I could go on and on but my opinion would be if you want a fun family pet, there are other smart breeds better suited. If yu want a project and have lots of extra time, go for it. Next time I get a dutch shepherd will be in 10 years or so when I RETIRE and truly have the time needed.

[mob42o]

Hi Alicia! thanks so much for the reply I looked at the Cher Car kennel and i do think that a dog from there would probably be a good match for me if I do decide to get one, depending on which parents are bred, it seems like there is a nice variety of options!

[k9lexi]

Yes, I think they have more breeding dogs / litters than a couple years back. Lexi's parents are Lothar and Luna. Lexi is around 60 to 65 pounds but doesn't seem bulky. More lean and mean. Tonight will be her first time going out into the pastures, maybe woods, with us on horseback where I board. I'd like to get her conditioned to go on long trail rides with us this fall. Wish us luck

[cordeliandemon]

theyre certainly not family pets, even the "5%" of the time figure would be a hopeful exaggeration as far as ive witnessed.
i definitely would not recommend a dutch shepherd to a first time dog owner i cant stress that enough. owning any dog for the first time takes some sharp learning curves and inevitable mistakes even if its just a labrador, and a DS is as far from a starting dog as you can get. they dont bounce back readily from mess-ups like most pet breeds do and you, someone else or the dog can easily get hurt as a result.

i can agree thats its very very easy to fall in love with the breed from a distance. the internet is full of amazing dogs doing amazing things (be it working dogs or a photo of a DS cuddling with a small child/cat ect) but we're usually only shown the good days and the success stories, not what goes on behind closed doors or the back breaking work/blood drawn or even sheer luck that went into making it all happen.

i dont say this from some high moral ground but genuinely for the well being of you and your future pet, i really REALLY dont recommend a dutch shepherd as your first dog.

[TimL_168]

Just a thought for ya-
The first dog I've really put a lot of work into beyond basic obedience and going everywhere with me is a Shiloh Shepherd. They're big dogs, very healthy (do some research on lines though), crazy smart and all around awesome dogs. I'm sure there are breeders close to you that you could visit. They're generally lower energy dogs with a very forgiving mind. I was totally spoiled with her until I started thinking I needed a harder working dog. She doesn't get in the cat box, doesn't counter surf, loves everyone that isn't a crack head, and at ten, I can still teach her anything her old body is up to. Strongly recommend them!

[Dutchringgirl]

hello and welcome ! Why do you want a ds? are you in law enforcement at the moment or is this a future plan?

I have two and they are NOT family dogs, and I would not recommend one as a first time dog owner. I did Ring sport, a VERY intense training for defense. My second is a rescue and she is so high drive !

I would not recommend you get one. The dogs you see are usually mixes, some are pure , I am sure but when you only see pictures, seconds of the life of a dog, you are not going to get the full picture. You dont see the rest of the day in the life of a DS.

[Mark77]

Depends who bred the dog. I have two Dutchies and a Malinois. They are great dogs but they require a lot of effort and your time above all else.

[Dutch DD837]

We got our DS from Aachen Dutch Shepherds in Oklahoma. They had several litters and asked what we wanted the dog for, thought that was strange, but then they told us there was only one litter we could pick from. We basically wanted a family dog and other litters were bred for working, K9, etc. So she chose by the parents, etc. It worked because he loves all of us, but took to my husband the most. He lives our 10 yr old grandson and our 8 yr old Chihuahua. He is a beauty, but a lot of work. So just be prepared to have some throw rugs eaten, several dog beds ruined and an untidy house. If you can honestly say that you will be able to devout time to train these beauties, then go for it. They are well worth it. But you need patience and devotion and you will have a new live in your life.
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