looking to get a dog. breed choice in Netherlands

[dehun]

Hi everyone.

I am looking to get a dog and currently I am investigating the breeds.
The original idea was to get a German Shepherd. However I am live in the Netherlands and it come naturally to consider getting a Dutch Shepherd.

About us
I, and my wife are expats in the Netherlads. We are living in Haarlem, in the tussen huis with a tiny tiny backyard and several parks in 5 minutes of walk. I am working as software developer 8 hours a day and spend 2 hours in total on commute. My wife is not working. We do not have kids, however we are planning to make few over next 10 years.

My excercising routine during the week is 7km running + 10km running + 60km road cycling. Sometimes I add additional running day. I also enjoy a regular walking =)

Currently we have 4 pet rats. They are living in the cage, occasionaly traveling over the house on my shoulder, so should not interfere much with dog.

About dog
We are looking for a dog that would be a nice addition to our young family.
We have narrowed our search to german, swiss and dutch shepherds. Also as an option we can consider Doberman.
German shepherds are indeed very interesting option, however the list of their health problem is hard to commit to. Life expectancy also seems to be lower than of Dutch shepherd.
Swiss shepherds are not very distinguishable from German Shepherds.
Dobermans seems to be not very good with kids.
Dutch shepherd looks like a good option. According to internet wisdom they seem to be healthy and very intelligent dog.

Dog activities would include -

• walk in the morning 30-60 minutes with games. obedience training
• indoor obedience training
• walk in the evening 60-90 minutes with games. obedience training
• OR
• jogging 7-10km (~1 hour). walking. obedience training
• OR
• on weekend - long walk 120 minutes OR just 3 walks a day

My wife will be able to spent quite a lot time with a dog indoors. However sometimes dog will be left alone for few hours (up to 4h).

For jogging I heard that it can be a nice idea to make dog carry something in small backpack (so dog will feel useful and will get more excercise).

While Dutch Shepherd seems to be matching breed - I still have a concerns about amount of excercise that we will be able to provide. We of course want the dog not to destroy the house for that few hours it will be left alone. We want an inteligent, extremely well behaved dog that will be nice with kids in the future.
We are currently not planning to enroll into guard training or competitions.

Can you guys please advice - is Dutch Shepherd suitable breed for us, or no? Thank you!

[centrop67]

Welcome! I moved your post to the new member announcements.

I think you will find a lot of stories on the site here if you look through some of the behavior and whatever threads.

One of the things your missing in your dog activities list is a job. Pure exercise is not enough for a DS. You may want to consider training for competition activities like agility, dock diving, or flyball (even though you might not actually compete). You could also train scent work or protection. It takes a really short time for the DS to recover from exercise and then be looking for the next activity. If they make it up on their own you're probably not going to like it.

Additionally, there are several members here who believe the DS should not be a pet, but should be for Military or Police only. Even though I personally am a pet owner, I can't say I disagree. Of course, this may come down to choosing the right breeder who can match you with the dog you need. Please check out the "How to select a Breeder" post for some tips.

If your not experienced training "working" dogs, a DS might also be a bad idea as a first timer.

I am sure other members will chime in, but good luck. I hope you find the best dog for your family.

[Dutchringgirl]

welcome.

I would Not recomend a DS, they are not family dogs. They are not your average dog either. I think you will be happy with a GSD.

If you search around this forum you will see much more info as to why a DS is not a good match for you.

Thank you for coming here first to ask questions and research before you get an animal.